Studio

Linden specified a black stain from Cabot for the house’s exterior. The shade draws on Scandinavian and Japanese building traditions and helps the structure blend into the landscape. Native grasses populate the courtyard.

This archetypal Swedish building form, shaped like a Monopoly house, serves as an artist’s studio, with a simple plywood interior and massive skylights to let in natural sunlight.

Each villa is composed of a series of spaces, varying from two to three bedrooms, and offers different views out to the ocean. Overlapping timber roofs made from recycled teak planks and built by local craftsman provide shade from the powerful sun.

"It's not about the space; it's about envisioning what you can do with what you have." —Loretta Gargan

Light from a new skylight pours into the home's entryway and living room. Steel columns and beams were added for structural reinforcement, and the couple left all beams, old and new, exposed.

Natural light floods the space from both sides

Studio Junction transformed a two-story apartment above Mjölk, Juli Daoust and John Baker’s design boutique on Toronto’s busy Dundas Street West, into a tranquil space. A courtyard joins the living room and the open kitchen and dining area.

Yurika Ninomiya says good morning to busy central Nagoya from her third-floor bedroom while husband Takuya opens up the shop and gallery that they run below.