Townhouse Renovation

Existing boulders from the site were moved and used as minimalist landscaping at Casa Roca. Solar panels above were prefabricated off site so as not to disturb the surroundings.

This Toronto workspace designed by architect Anya Moryoussef features an 18-foot-long built-in floating desk with integrated storage.

Located two hours north of Boston, the Rocky Brook weeHouse is carved out of the grade of a steep creekside lot.

The owners toured this home, which surrounds a mature tipu tipu tree, while visiting relatives for the day. The brick is original to the 1947 construction.

Situated on a small-footprint site on the banks of the Westport River, Mark Lawton Architecture constructed a high-functioning home for a total of $851,000.

For the study room, a friend who is also a carpenter crafted custom built-in bookshelves that matched perfectly with their new kitchen cabinets.

Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.

The double-height wall of windows in the living room looks out on the property and was a big draw on their first walk-through.

Nestled on a large private lot in the southern corner of West Hill Park, the three-level home features numerous patios and terraces, in addition to a meandering lawn.

The outdoor areas were designed with two perspectives in mind. “Typically people focus on making the house look beautiful from the outside,” says Briana. “Because of all the windows, I wanted to also consider how we experience the outside from the inside.

The original home was converted into a bedroom level, and given a second-story addition and roof deck. The dark exterior color, a charcoal-eggplant hue, lets the landscape colors stand out in contrast. “The existing house roof became the roof deck,” says Rogers. “And then I just shifted over the addition so that it floated over the landscape.”

A new office is wreathed in custom cabinetry, as well as a sitting and standing desk, and relishes the views. A pocket door fashioned after a Shoji screen enables privacy.

The stone slab forms a display niche in the cabinetry, and syncs up with the materials used elsewhere in the house. The step up, and the flooring material change, designates the boundary between foyer and the rest of the home.

On the top floor, a Cumberland chair by Thos. Moser faces a Room & Board ottoman, a Twiggy lamp by Foscarini, and a vintage sofa upholstered in cowhide.