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Collection by Diana Budds
Editor’s Pick

Ways to Incorporate Trees into Homes

In the following slideshow, spy seven ways that architects and designers crafted their structures around trees.

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When Jeremy and Robin Levine remodeled their house in the Eagle Rock district of Los Angeles, they chose to keep it at the scale, if not the style, of other houses in the neighborhood. They expanded it back and front by building shady decks around existing trees. The sliding, slatted doors of triple-panel wood reinforce the inside-outside living experience. A young, drought-tolerant Tristania conferta (also known as Australian brush box tree) grows up through the chill-out room under the deck at the rear of the house.
When Jeremy and Robin Levine remodeled their house in the Eagle Rock district of Los Angeles, they chose to keep it at the scale, if not the style, of other houses in the neighborhood. They expanded it back and front by building shady decks around existing trees. The sliding, slatted doors of triple-panel wood reinforce the inside-outside living experience. A young, drought-tolerant Tristania conferta (also known as Australian brush box tree) grows up through the chill-out room under the deck at the rear of the house.
The 300-year-old beech tree supplies shade, movement, sound, and color to the site, and provides a towering natural counterpoint to the renovated home's long, low expanses of glass.
The 300-year-old beech tree supplies shade, movement, sound, and color to the site, and provides a towering natural counterpoint to the renovated home's long, low expanses of glass.
It’s not easy to transform a 15-foot-wide building site—wedged between houses in every direction—into a home that feels more spacious than its location allows. Mamm-design’s solution was to dedicate two-thirds of this tiny 653-square-foot house in Tokyo to a 20-foot-high garden room to bring a sense of the outdoors in. A centrally positioned evergreen ash anchors the airy terrace, which is paved with complementary gray bricks. The kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and workspace are all connected to the central space, transforming the covered veranda into a surrealistic theatrical setting for day-to-day life.
It’s not easy to transform a 15-foot-wide building site—wedged between houses in every direction—into a home that feels more spacious than its location allows. Mamm-design’s solution was to dedicate two-thirds of this tiny 653-square-foot house in Tokyo to a 20-foot-high garden room to bring a sense of the outdoors in. A centrally positioned evergreen ash anchors the airy terrace, which is paved with complementary gray bricks. The kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and workspace are all connected to the central space, transforming the covered veranda into a surrealistic theatrical setting for day-to-day life.
House 2.0 relies on recycled wood for support—notably, two enormous former mooring posts of basralocus wood and an entire elm tree, which supports the suspended living room.
House 2.0 relies on recycled wood for support—notably, two enormous former mooring posts of basralocus wood and an entire elm tree, which supports the suspended living room.
Finally, the stone pine tree reveals itself from the backyard looking over the Venice neighborhood. Its canopy stretches over the first floor of the home and can be glimpsed by the skylights placed strategically above the living area.
Finally, the stone pine tree reveals itself from the backyard looking over the Venice neighborhood. Its canopy stretches over the first floor of the home and can be glimpsed by the skylights placed strategically above the living area.
In stark contrast to Monti’s 1920s home now being rented out, the Walnut Residence never seems to run out of natural light. “After six months of living here, my wife and I noticed that we never turn on the light," remarked Monti. "I never have to turn on the light—ever."
In stark contrast to Monti’s 1920s home now being rented out, the Walnut Residence never seems to run out of natural light. “After six months of living here, my wife and I noticed that we never turn on the light," remarked Monti. "I never have to turn on the light—ever."