Dream House

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.

"Maintaining sight lines to the outdoors and the adjacent den, we introduced a connectivity that transforms the kitchen into the center of family life,

In this seating area off the main living room, Amanda designed a built-in seating area. "When we first moved into the house, I hung out in this space all the time,

Amanda reupholstered the low, striped chair after discovering it at a garage sale. The living room painting is by Ali Valenti.

In Austin, ceramicist Amanda Rivera helped design the renovation of her family's 1930s Spanish Mediterranean style home. Amanda crafted many of the interior elements herself, including the new ceramic backsplash tile in the kitchen.

For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”

The ground floor material palette features polished concrete floors and lime washed walls.

The unit's extra high ceilings and large windows are remnants of its former life as an artist's workshop.

The riad is equipped with two bedrooms and three full bathrooms.

As a practicing architect for over 30 years, Scott looked to his network to help take on the project and, to an extent, mitigate the budget. “I’ve described this house as less of a construction project, and more of an Amish barn raising.”

Set at the edge of downtown’s Fairmount Park, this fantastical home blends architectural styles from the past century and beyond.

An imported Bocci chandelier spans two stories, connecting the bedroom and living room.

The lofted bedroom is bookended by windows overlooking Ponderosa pines

For the bathroom design, Ann was inspired by a visit to Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado years ago, where there was a tree indoors. Here, a staghorn fern hangs over the bathtub. Talavera Tile by Reeso tile in San Antonio covers the tub front and floor, and the window covering is a Pojagi-style curtain bought off Etsy.

Architect Fareez Giga believes custom cabinetry and shelving was not substantially more expensive than buying quality furniture, and advised to solicit multiple bids before selecting a millwork provider.