wood slabs

The ceramics studio was formerly a pergola wrapped in chicken wire, used as a dog kennel by the previous owner. Inside the new structure, a vintage Danish chair, found on eBay, provides a modern perch. The windows’ deep mullions double as display shelves.

Delighted with the result, they requested additional structures, including a pool house with a dining area that opens to the outdoors. Rising from the edge of the pool deck, a planted overhang shelters a gym and sauna below.

Master Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori is an original thinker, and a pro at melding ancient traditions with modern design. So who better to offer a quick primer on how to char your own cedar wood, in order to seal the wood against rot, rain, and fire? Here, six (only slightly dangerous!) steps to transform your boards into surprisingly sleek and smart siding. To see this kind of cladding in action, check out our Facade Focus slideshow. Fujimori, demonstrating the process of charring cedar boards, packs newspaper into the base of three planks that have been bound together. To begin the charring process, the newspaper that has been packed between the boards is set on fire.

“[The clients] wished for a simple and flexible space that could be reconfigured to suit the evolving needs of the family,” principal Thomas Schaer says. “Our goal was pretty simple: don’t overthink it and have fun.” Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal covers the siding, while Segovia Red adds a pop of color to the exterior doors. Two Chair_ONEs by Konstantin Grcic stand on the patio.

Working with a limited budget, First Lamp designed and built one principle architectural flourish: exposed Douglas fir rafters that would weather to a brighter red over the years and accent the white siding.

Using simple and easy-to-maintain materials in innovative ways was a guiding principle in the Stonorovs’ design. The bathroom walls are made out of HardiePanel vertical siding, which they also used to clad two of the exterior walls.

Lighting in the bathroom is provided by San Francisco-based Aion LED’s modular fixture system. The linear lighting mimics the redwood siding.

Shane Michael Pavonetti, an Austin-based architect and contractor, and his wife, Holly, built their eco-friendly home on a lean budget of $175,000. The cedar siding used on the exterior reappears throughout the house. Keen on recycling the wood, the couple added shelving to their kitchen as well.

“The main volume presents a traditional front and is wrapped on the west and south by a deep porch,” says architect Erin Sterling Lewis. “Living and dining spaces access the porch.” A standing seam metal roof with a Kynar finish and HardiePlank Lap Siding cover the exterior of this 3,000-square-foot home.

Toronto designer Julia Knezic built this house for her own family in a narrow lot next to her mom's house. Photo by Sean Galbraith. Check out the interiors here.

The aluminum sliding glass door system, manufactured by Solar Innovations, comprises five seamless panels that meet at the corner.

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.

Two San Francisco art and travel addicts overhauled a loft—and customized a pair of shipping containers—to accommodate their collection and reflect their passions. The shipping containers were stacked, joined with steel tubes, and lashed to reinforced floor joints to make them earthquake-safe.

The pair painted the upstairs master bedroom white, and added a G55 sling chair and leather baskets from their recent design collections. The carpet is from a souk in Casablanca, and the bedcover is from Zara Home. Atop the vintage cup-board is an artwork by Vereecke’s father. Verheyden incorporated all-new woodwork of his design into the room.

The interior of a treehouse at the camp features a wood-burning stove and antler chandelier.

A tradition of weekend hiking trips served as the premise for Jeff and Millie Baird’s off-the-grid retreat in California’s Sonoma County. Affectionately named Camp Baird, the home is located on a 165-acre parcel near a campsite the couple and their two young daughters had visited for years. Architect Malcolm Davis worked with contractors Fairweather & Associates on the new build; landscape architect Cary Bush of Merge Studio incorporated drought-resistant nativeplantings into the property.

New residential buildings are few and far between in England, so architects like Phillips have increasingly been charged with creating groundbreaking modern environments within the shells of historic houses. “People just find it easier to work within existing houses to transform them to be sleek, stylish and functional,” says Phillips. “Extensions have almost become a requirement for any homeowner who wants to be a part of modern living within the U.K.”

A covered porch on the south side provides comfortably shaded outdoor space, and its roof keeps the high-angle summer sun out of the house.