These Old Houses: 5 Renovations That Blend Old and New

A modern addition designed as a "blank canvas" brings this 19th-century home just outside London directly into the 21st century. Meanwhile, plantings inspired by the Australian landscape put an unexpected twist on the traditional English garden.

Architect Gregory Phillips connected the original house to a new modern extension that doesn’t interfere with the surrounding houses. “I try to be true to the location,”he explains, “so it doesn’t seem like some spaceship has landed.”