Kitchen looking South
Honed Carrara marble lines the kitchen countertops as well as the backsplash.
The kitchen is streamlined and modern, with a black seamless backsplash, a minimalist faucet, and a wood-clad vent hood.
A band of windows wraps around the kitchen to bring the outdoors into the kitchen, which is outfitted with Piacere equipment.
Grain Super Black countertops from Stone Italiana sit atop sleek black cabinetry, which hosts the integrated appliances, including a cooktop, oven, and warming drawer from V-Zug.
This colorful terrazzo makes a bold statement against the all-white cabinetry.
Whereas others might look at a board-formed cement wall in a basement and see, well, a concrete wall, Jess and Jonathan Taylor, the design duo behind the L.A.-based firm Taylor + Taylor, were inspired. The couple had purchased a virtually untouched 1952 house in east L.A. and that concrete wall became the backdrop for a new guest kitchen in the basement. "It was really the starting point of the whole design," says Jess Taylor. "As designers, our goal is to always try to incorporate the existing surroundings whenever possible, utilize them in practical ways, and be inspired by them."
A young Vancouver family asked Falken Reynolds Interiors to convert their waterfront vacation home on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast into their primary residence. To facilitate livability for the foursome, an enlarged kitchen, complete with a large white island with wood hardware, was a major part of the renovation.
The Stewart-Schafer team hand-selected each slab of Calacatta Vagli marble to be book-matched. "We love the beautiful natural veining and imperfections of marble against the clean lines of the kitchen design," noted Stucker. To protect the marble, they used a trade secret sealing product that comes with a lifetime guarantee, which, according to Stucker "helps alleviate the hesitations some clients have with marble."
See Arch removed a wall to create a more spacious kitchen with a stronger visual connection to the dining area. The updated kitchen is outfitted with quartz countertops and Viking, Fisher Paykel, and Asko appliances.
White laminate cabinets are the perfect solution to keep costs down for the small, open kitchen in this Madrid apartment.
The owners of this updated Tudor-style abode in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, Amanda and William Hunter, are the design duo behind the William Hunter Collective, which rehabs homes. Handmade tile, soapstone counters, walnut wood, and steel make up the artfully styled kitchen.
What was once a poorly planned floor plan has transformed into open, brightly lit living spaces at the hub of the home.
Since Josep and Encarna wanted to live on a single level, Tapias removed part of the mas’s second floor to create a double-height space. Pendants by Faro Barcelona hang near the balcony Mas. The ground floor, designed to be flexible, currently holds offices for the couple, a library, a living room, and a piano for their teenage daughter. The terrazzo floors are original to the house.
The backsplash is a tarnished sheet of bronze. Raft Stools by Norm Architects provide understated seating.
The family cat, Rey, steps in front of the concrete fireplace in the living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows enhance the indoor-outdoor connection.
A more narrow window focuses the eye on tree trunks, creating an “abstracted view of the landscape,” says the firm.
The sunken lounge was designed with "slowing down and appreciating the environment" in mind. A custom-made, built-in sofa wraps around the space, bleeding into the stairs and a custom wood display shelf. Not having a TV was an intentional choice. "We wanted the client to be able to lie back and watch the clouds and the sky, to have conversations, to read a book, to play with their pets," says Knights.
In the living area, sofas and a chair by Piero Lissoni for Cassina join a floor lamp by Michele de Lucchi for Artemide.
Oak slats in the living room echo the timber slats that enclose the entry courtyard. The black-marble Empire side tables are by local furniture brand Seer Studio, and the white-marble Tulip table is by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.
Ben Koush has amassed a collection of new and vintage furniture that complements the few pieces he designed himself, like side tables and art stands in the living room.
Deep-set windows and skylights ushers in plenty of natural light that spans throughout, all while further enhancing the bright surrounding hues.
Main living space
With the bed and desk tucked away, there’s more room to move about in the shipping container.
Earth tones adorn the living room, which is anchored by a Sisal rug from ABC Carpet. A low-slung Dune sofa from Poliform is an invitation to lounge.
The home consists of three cottage-inspired forms that are connected by a more contemporary, flat-roofed central structure. “One of the main challenges was how to bring the competing aesthetics the clients desired—they sought a simple, historical vernacular architecture with a more contemporary aesthetic,” says architect Matthew Erickson.
Floor plan of Lake Pepin Farmhouse by TEA2 Architects
"Some days the view is insanely vivid, and other days it's very muted. But it's always changing, even within minutes,
The curving, bulbous walls of the bath and shower reveal an unexpected secondary role as a screen for film projections, giving the house a sci-fi glow.
In the living area, Mori pendants by Rich Brilliant Willing hang above an Erased Heritage rug by Jan Kath.
Near the front door, charred oak treads float on a blackened steel stringer to the master suite and on to the roof.
Clinton Cole, architect, builder, and director at CPlusC Architectural Workshop, gave Welcome to the Jungle House, his family's home in suburban Sydney, the eco-friendly treatment, what with a solar-panel facade, rainwater harvesting, and a rooftop full of fruits and vegetables and a fish pond. Visitors are first ushered into the imposing steel "shroud" entry, facing the timber-clad staircase.