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Home Design Photos and Ideas

Designed for off-grid functionality out of necessity, the self-sufficient bach that Herbst Architects designed for their friend is a stellar getaway on New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island. Clad in cedar, the modestly sized abode embraces outdoor living and views of the Pacific Ocean.
After finding paradise on a Hawaiian papaya farm, filmmaker Jess Bianchi and jewelry designer Malia Grace Mau tapped San Francisco artist Jay Nelson to design and build their dream home in just five weeks. Located just one block from the beach, the home takes inspiration from laid-back surf shacks and is mainly built with reclaimed wood.
Fed up with flashy, environmentally insensitive beach homes, architect Gerald Parsonson and his wife, Kate, designed a humble hideaway nestled behind sand dunes along the New Zealand coastline. Crafted in the image of a modest Kiwi bach, their 1,670-square-foot retreat consists of a group of small buildings clad in black-stained pine weatherboards and fiber-cement sheets.
It was essential that the home felt nestled into the landscape, rather than perched on the edge of the dramatic clifftop site. “My client had commissioned a house design that was rejected by members of his family—the formidable force that is his sisters,” says architect Belinda George. “They felt the site deserved a more considered approach. As I had worked for Tom before on more urban projects, he asked me to design a bach for him and his family. He wanted it to feel relaxed and connected to the land.”
One side of the building contains two simple bedrooms and a bathroom. The other, larger side houses the open-plan living area, kitchen, covered deck with fireplace, and additional bedroom. The deck-hallway that runs the length of the building is partially covered, but the decking boards and inset fiberglass door panels allow air and light to penetrate. The architects wanted to suggest that moving between the different living spaces involved a trip through nature, as it does in traditional camping.
The floors are Doug fir, and the framing and rest of the wood inside is redwood. The french doors and lower window were made by Mike York at Ocean Sash & Door Company, while the upper windows were made by Jeff and Molly.
After a forest fire destroyed their cabin in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer built a new retreat with salvaged, charred timber and a community of friends.
A Go-Box can be transported to different locations easily, making it an ideal alternative for "van life
Tile by Zia Tile runs along a wall of the upstairs bathroom. The cabinets are by Cabinets quick, and the floor tile is by Concrete Collaborative.
“I’m a huge fan of yellow,
Emily and Jason Potter of DEN Los Angeles furnished the living area with Paul Laszlo's cane bench for Glenn of California, a Frank Lloyd Wright marble-topped “Taliesin” coffee table for Heritage Henredon and an Alvar Aalto lounge chair for Artek.
Warwas offset the rear of the ADU to accommodate the power lines running behind the house, and he designed a window in the office/guest room upstairs that meets the roof in the same way that the window off the dining area/kitchen meets the ground.
Ben Warwas set a slider by Western Window Systems at a diagonal beneath the overhang created by the second floor.
The dining area pendant is a vintage Louis Poulsen piece, and the dining table is from HAY. The dining chairs are a mix of antique wood chairs, a Thonet, and an Eames DCM chair. The lounge chair is a mid-century Norwegian piece from Skarbos.
The new dining area takes shape via a pair of IKEA floating shelves installed below the glass block window, which Xu and Becker painted blue along with the other window sills. "Once the blue paint was on, it really made the frame glow with natural light,
Studio Becker Xu streamlined the kitchen by building all of the appliances into the millwork. The budget-friendly countertops are a Formica solid surface.
A blue checkered Moroccan rug amps up the visual interest in the space, along with a new yellow Togo couch and Herman Miller coffee table. Switching out the mullioned windows for new tilt-and-turn windows from Semko help the space feel larger and increase energy efficiency.
<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">Leah designed a stone planter that works as an herb garden and vinyl storage, noting that </span><span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">"it's truly a piece that integrates the worlds of cooking and lounging."</span>
Fun fact: Inky, who is <span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">SVP of Strategy and Chief of Staff for the NBA, is a passionate home cook and attended culinary school in 2019 to refine her home cooking skills. </span>
A “weird two-story closet” around the staircase, says Butcher, became the powder room on the first floor and a reading nook on the stair landing. The couple’s twelve-year-old suggested the forest theme, achieved with wallpaper from Murals Your Way and a log sconce from Unique Lighting Co on Etsy.
The original fir floors were patched and refinished. Holly fell in love with an Italian marmoleum that Matthew installed in the kitchen. The fireplace artwork is from Holly's grandmother. Says Matthew: “It's a pastel drawing by Kay deGreef, an artist whose main gig was painting Hallmark cards.”
Matthew and Holly opened up the foyer and kept the exposed framing in place to speak to the house’s history. The figurine on the newel post is not original to the house, but a vintage replacement found online and rewired by Matthew.
Matthew and Holly worked with Best Practice Architecture on the remodel, removing the front addition from the 1950s and reinstating the historic bay window. The remaining addition had to be rebuilt and was clad in tongue-and-groove 3-inch vertical cedar "tight knot
Chester and Chloe opted for practical vinyl upholstery in the dining nook.
Noho Architecture maximized space and natural light to revamp this cramped dwelling on a 14-foot-wide lot in Sydney.
The couple’s contractor, Tim Schmidt, is an artist whose medium often involves steel fabrication. Tim custom-made the steel window frames and came up with the idea for the steel foundation.
Despite its small footprint, the flexible, multi-purpose space includes bike storage and a niche for storing weights.
Stevie works from a built-in L-shaped desk. The marker board is also a much-used feature.
The pot wall lights are dimmable.
The main floor spans 200 square feet, and the loft is 65 square feet.
A built-in banquette with a custom table designed by Engelsman saves space. The bench has a cushion made by Caroline and the chairs are Vintage J.L. Moller Model #75 Dining Chairs. A partial wall now separates the adjacent den and TV room, to balance connection and separation.
Caroline found the backsplash tile at Los Azulejos in Tecate, MX, while she was on a scouting trip for work. She texted Joel a photo: “He was like, ‘I don’t know, it looks a little terrazzo-y,’” says Caroline with a laugh. “But it turned out to be subtle enough.” The team actually had to install the backsplash twice because the first time, the red grout stained the tile surface. Joel and Caroline drove back to Mexico to purchase a second batch, with which they used white grout.
A skylight was added to bring in more light, and the existing ceilings painted Benjamin Moore ‘Black Tar’ for contrast. The island pendant is the Schoolhouse Ray 17” Pendant and the stools are the Artek Aalto High Chair K65.
Engelsman gave the kitchen an L-shaped layout with a large island workspace at the center, and pushed the tall storage into the garage, to create a wide circulation space to access the dining room and backyard.
“Having nice design is great, but how can you support the ways you want to live?” says Adair. She and Kopp did the same discovery process as their clients to help push them into purpose. “It was so helpful in figuring out how to shape the moments we wanted.”
Adair has long wished for Togo chairs, but as much as she loves the design, she tries not to be too precious about it. “We let the kids use them how they want, and they’re perfect fort furniture,” she says. “They’re really durable. It’s a design that makes architect parents happy.”
Getting the hammock installed posed a bit of a challenge. Adair and Kopp found it tough to find a company to help with executing their idea. “It’s interesting to know that if you want to do something with a little bit of risk, it really takes some convincing,” says Adair. With the help of a U.S.-based company that dealt with large-scale net facilities, they got a group together and lashed the whole perimeter to create a safe, sturdy, supportive weaving.
Adair and Kopp commissioned the metal fabricator who did the railings to create the monkey-bar rungs that line the hallway, powder-coated in seafoam green. Rings can attach to the monkey bars to give the boys a different type of challenge.
“My orange cats look really good in the green kitchen now,” says Nicola.
The clients have a large collection of indoor plants, and 4 S Architecture designed a scheme with plenty of spots to display plants, from the deep windowsills to the semi-recessed extractor above the island that features an integrated shelf. “We had originally specified a fully flush extractor system, but they are very expensive,” says architect, Julia Hamson. “We went for one that is semi-recessed, so was cost effective but still has less visual impact than a dropped extractor.”
The kitchen cabinets have also been cleverly designed by 4 S Architecture to combine a luxury appearance with cost-effective construction. The carcasses were sourced from DIY Kitchens and delivered preassembled, which cut down on labor costs. While the white cabinet doors are also from DIY Kitchens, the cherry veneered doors are bespoke. “We worked with as many off-the-shelf products as we could to minimise cost and added a few bespoke items to elevate the scheme,” explains architect Julia Hamson.
The home now features an elegant, brick side extension with a rounded form that elevates the view of the home from the garden. “I really wanted a curved wall,” says client Nicola Kendall. “It all began with an image of a house on a mood board I put together on Pinterest.”
The new kitchen features green kit kat tiles, a terrazzo-effect rubber floor, white cabinetry, and cherry wood veneered cabinets. The client originally wanted teak cabinets, but 4 S Architecture recommended using cherry wood instead as it is more sustainable but has the same warm tones as teak. “We couldn’t get behind teak as a product so we used FSC certified European cherry that has less air miles than American cherry,” explains architect Julia Hamson. “The client was really pleased with the result.”
The kitchen acts as the family hub, its multicolored surfaces anchored by a black tile backsplash, sprinkled with dots of uncolored, earth-toned tile.
Also in the foyer, beside a wall of glass that brings light into the living/dining area, is storagefor coats, bags and shoes.
In Portland, Oregon, a culinary couple called on architect Michael Howells to raise the roof, revamp the floor plan, and spice up the kitchen.
Almo Troup repurposed nearly all of the materials from a tumbledown shack to create a dreamy, minimalist workspace in his backyard.
“I wanted to bring in a little bit of apricot to nod to the name of the studio,” says Troup of the $25 USD orange velvet curtain he hung as a space divider.
The LED lighting is encased in translucent poly-carbonate panels on top and bottom. Daylight streams through from the roof when the lights aren't on.
"We contrasted the linearity of the etched granite by curving the island edges and introducing fridge panels with hand-carved pulls,
The original brise-soleil on the front facade was kept but repaired.
Concrete and travertine slabs were installed on the exterior, alongside an ipe deck with mahogany railings.
Walls are covered in Fireclay tile in Navy Blue. The vanity has a custom concrete basin by Newbold Stone Architectural Concrete and steel base from Metal Works Austin. The custom steel shelf and steel-edged mirror are paired with a perforated pendant by Allied Maker.
The custom banquette has a slatted back so as to allow the window behind it to open and let in light. The table is a vintage piece from John and Kelly, made with reclaimed wood from a bowling alley. The overhead pendant is by Brendan Ravenhill.
Previously, a screened porch at the front left had been enclosed for additional living space, but wasn’t very usable, so Jobe and Corral converted it back to its original purpose. Now, it serves as a mudroom and a transition space before entering the living room. The preserved board and batten siding is painted Benjamin Moore ‘Kendall Charcoal’ and the ceiling fans are from Schoolhouse. Board-formed concrete replaced the brick, and new steps are formed by limestone slabs taken from the tops of quarries so that the top surface is natural.
“We wanted something cozy with nooks, where you can be aware of what’s going on elsewhere,” says Isabel of the floor-to-ceiling shelving units. “They separate the environment, and cut the light a bit, but you can still see what’s happening in other spaces,” adds Matías.
“The arrow opens up to the north so it can receive all the natural light from the sun’s path,” explains Noguera.
“Our objective was always to have a luminous house,” explains homeowner Isabel Pinto of the choice to have a window cover the entire north-facing wall.
The founders of the design studio Rima set down roots in an arrow-shaped Patagonian dwelling where they harvest their own food and electricity.
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