Mélanie Labrosse and Idir Saïdani’s Plateau-Mont-Royal home opens to the neighborhood with double gate doors.
While prefabs cabins have the same amenities and footprint, orienting the long side of Kabn 2 towards the loch shortened the inbuilt bench. Its fabric woven from PET yarn, a lounge chair by Ferm Living was added by the window to compensate.
Backdrop’s After Hours, a soft charcoal hue, gives Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown’s home in Woodland Hills, California, sleek curb appeal. Lund Sconces by Kuzco Lighting punctuate the exterior, and the streamlined garage doors are by Amarr.
Shaw and the clients talked a lot about materials and how they would weather. “As Cor-Ten ages, it darkens to the color of the pine needs on the forest floor so the building will recede into the site,” Shaw says.
Kate and Anton turned their garage into a 250-square-foot ADU for hosting visiting family members.
The house, painted in "Poppyseed
A lime green-painted concrete floor makes for a vibrant bedroom.
This corner house on Harrison Street in Princeton, New Jersey, seemed to sprout a green shell overnight. Residents David and Rachel Mostafavi didn’t mind that their unconventional suburban renovation took neighbors by surprise. The new exterior suits the couple and their children, Violet and Ellis, just fine.
Another backyard hotspot is the deck, built around an existing boulder, where adults can lounge while the kids climb.
The clerestory windows have been preserved, and the house now has a dark facade that recedes into the foliage.
Geometric decks hug the home's exterior, encouraging intimate indoor-outdoor living.
A Seattle couple built their own backyard house with a city-sponsored design—and then rented out their old home on the property to friends.
wanted the house to be a thoughtful contribution to Fire Island's distinctly modern aesthetic. The geometric shape and expansive windows call to mind the vernacular of Sea Ranch while the cedar-clad exterior fits right in with the neighbors. An overhang on the deck adds architectural flare while also helping to reflect light back into the home.
The house's modest entrance leads one up the stairs to an unfolding panoramic view.
The post-and-beam frame extends beyond the home's envelope.
The cabin’s exterior is clad in dark-stained western red cedar and fiber cement panels, and its cantilevered deck provides panoramic views.
After staying in a tree house listed on Airbnb, Remo Kommnick and Emi Moore wanted their own getaway in the woods. "It was amazing being up in the trees,
Ash chats with Juan Mercado, his wine business partner, at a lunch on the wraparound deck. “The house is maximized for entertainment,” says Ash. “I like to entertain every time I come up here.” The picture windows, one of the larger budget items, are from Home Depot.
Says Krista, “We needed to know that whatever we built would not take away from the landscape.”
Heating elements are built right into the countertop in this minimalist kitchen.
Everything is custom designed, from the light fixtures to the bedroom headboards and desks.
One of four sited in South Los Angeles, a starter home designed by Lehrer Architects and constructed for roughly $200,000 occupies an infill lot provided by the city.
“We want to make houses that both respect the neighborhood and enhance it,” says firm principal Michael Lehrer. “Our main question was, how do you fit it in?”
A look at the lower-level bathroom and courtyard garden.
Decks add almost 2,500 square feet to the 3,280-square-foot interior, encouraging outdoor gatherings.
DeNiord designed a simple concrete bench with a honed top to run parallel to the randomly sized concrete pads that lead to the covered entry. He planted blueberry bushes behind the bench and a river birch tree behind the boulder. To conjure a wabi-sabi feel outdoors, diNiord poured concrete around a boulder. “It represents the interruption of perfect geometry,” he says.
“We designed the landscape and house in tandem to ensure continuity between the exterior and interior,” diNiord says. An outdoor sling chair by Croft House sits in front of the outdoor shower under the covered patio in front of the primary bedroom.
DiNiord collaborated with craftsman Ken Hood to design the concrete bench with firewood storage and detachable wood back. Douglas fir columns along the walkway creates a colonnade. The mono-sloped roof is a nod to the long roofline of the original house that stood on the property. “Reducing the angles also reflects the strictness to budget,” the wife says.
The exterior is clad in corrugated, galvanized metal. “We just spray it off with a water house,” says Mark.
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