The Farm
Draw a barn. Now look at the shape. It almost certainly features a triangular roof. When a Canadian couple approached Cindy Rendely to design a home for them in the Ontario countryside, however, it took a lot of convincing—and cries of "modern doesn't mean flat"—for her to agree that a vernacular slope could work itself into the design of this weekend retreat.

The home primarily features two materials: tile and wood. In between the dining room and living room, a fireplace is wrapped in floor tiles of a similar color to those lining the ground. Above, Douglas Fir plywood lines the ceiling. Rendely wanted a ceiling that had a rustic, distinctively non-urban look to it, and everyone agreed a wooden ceiling would make the space feel more cozy.

Rendely, who is also a product designer, prides herself on the way the house sits in the landscape like an object, as The Farm was her attempt to create architecture as sculpture. The residents are happy they have their rural retreat with a barn-inspired profile. "This is much more interesting than if it were white and flat," they said when it was finished.
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- Cindy Rendely