Stucco

The Ames House's south-facing windows are inset to provide shading and mediate heat gain.

Daylight floods the home from large windows and a skylight in the kitchen.

The home presents as a simple terrace cottage to the street, however it opens up to a surprising and textural collection of volumes inside. It steps down the gently sloping site toward the western garden, where stairs create small amphitheaters for sitting.

Sundius and Ichiki sided the home with sand-colored stucco that ties to the other stucco-clad homes in the neighborhood.

An outdoor shower on the rear gable of the house is used for rinsing off from the pool or after an outdoor excursion—or for a quick wash down for their two rescue dogs.

The couple stripped the original home's rusty red cladding and replaced it with cement board with a painted stucco finish. All doors were custom made by Mike and Lauren out of laurel, an affordable and beautiful tropical wood native to the mountains of Costa Rica.

The couple introduced new landscaping and privacy walls, one of which screens off a new pool in the front yard. The exterior received a fresh coat of white stucco, architectural embellishment around the bell, and black paint on shutters and original metal windows.

When the couple noticed tile poking out of the ground near the front door, they began excavating. To their surprise, they discovered a rectangular reflecting pool that had been buried due to neglect. Now a concrete bridge leads over the rebuilt water feature to the front door, which is painted an eye-catching orange to match its original color.

The geometrically disciplined facade is composed of blonde cypress, white stucco, and cedar that was charred black by Delta Millworks.

The cedar-clad recessed entryway of Hyde Park House, with a generous front deck, warmly welcomes visitors.

The south elevation features a prominent window that’s large enough to heat the living space with sunlight in the winter. During the summer months a shade is deployed to keep the interior cool.

“The design needed to allow each group enough privacy and independence so that the home would meet their needs regardless of how many people were under its roof at a given time,” Lewis said. Architectural white stucco and tongue and grove cedar comprise the siding, and Cambridge architectural asphalt shingles from IKO cover the roof.

The hillside house appears to be single-story in the front, but it actually comprises multiple levels. The garage door, gates, and mailbox are made from stained cedar that ties in with the siding on the back of the house.

Massive, timber-framed sliding doors connect the master bedroom with the outdoors.

This massive Durand oak tree inspired the design of the house. Thanks to a wall of welded steel and tumbled limestone, the home has an abundance of privacy.

A parking area near the entrance.