PNW Modern Ideas

“I wanted the buildings to be crisp, bold, and clean,” Coleman said. Exterior vertical siding is made from locally sourced cedar stained in a “hazelnut” shade by Sikkens Cetol SRD.

A high band of windows on the east side of the home lets light in, while a simple wood overhang shades an outdoor dining area on the terrace with mountain views. "On clear days, it feels like you can see across the high plains to Kansas," says Hirsh. Photo by Ron Johnson.

At night, the quiet drama of the shed roof's angles glows against the darkened forest.

The Timber House by Peter Zumthor

Douglas fir walls and beams extend to the exterior of a weekend house near Golden, British Columbia. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Bohlin Grauman Miller Architects, it was designed for an active family that likes to hit the slopes. A chalet-like pitched roof emphasizes its cabin feel.

Custom walnut and stainless steel sheathes the kitchen, which is open to the living-dining area and the patio. The Twiggy lamp is by Foscarini; the sliding doors are from Fleetwood.

Hufft Projects designed the blackened steel "fireplace wall," which includes a Lennox wood-burning stove and an entertainment center. Ample firewood storage is incorporated below the fireplace and television, with enough wood storage for over a week.

A vintage sofa purchased from Open Air Modern mixes with Low Pad chairs, by Jasper Morrison for Vitra, in the living room, which features a window inspired by Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum of American Art.

In the living room are a sectional by American Leather for Room & Board, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, and a custom floor lamp and coffee table by Jeremy Clark and Ed Haynes.

A Desiron sofa and a chaise longue from Restoration Hardware furnish the living room.

Set in the lush Wisconsin forest, this neatly stacked cabin was built vertically in order to minimize the amount of grading and landscaping necessary for construction. Photo by: Narayan Mahon

A tight construction budget informed the choices Sean Guess made as he designed a house for a couple in Austin, Texas. Budget-minded materials, like the James Hardie fiber-cement siding, helped hold construction costs to $130 per square foot. Sherwin-Williams’s Cyberspace hue colors the exterior and Parakeet coats the custom kitchen cabinets by Austin Wood Works. The planter is made from Cor-Ten steel.

Sarah Magill and Copa, her golden retriever, relax in the kitchen of her home in Kansas City, where an eco-quartz-topped island can be used as a dining table—one of the home’s many adaptable features. The Akurum cabinets and handles are from Ikea, as are the Franklin folding bar stools, and the appliances are compact models from Summit.