Sloped Villa With Green Roof in Belgium Studio Okami Architects

By Sophie • Feb 20, 2020

The invisible house was designed by Studio Okami Architects.

Prefab Norway Skogbrynet Houses by R21 Arkitekter

By Sophie • Feb 19, 2020

Three houses situated in a row, replaces an old villa. The houses share a driveway, while parking and entrances are solved separately on the ground floor in each volume. Designed by R21 Arkitekter

Concrete DenPaku The Beachfront MIJORA Villas

By Sophie • Feb 14, 2020

The Beachfront MIJORA is a collection of villa style tourist accommodations, designed by Yasuhiro “Hiro” Yamashita of Atelier TEKUTO. Situated along a beach in Amami Oshima, a subtropical island in southern Japan, each villa boasts a breathtaking view of the sea.

Australia Family River House by studioplusthree

By Sophie • Feb 13, 2020

A single-storey bungalow with an unsympathetic later addition previously occupied this sloping site, facing south along the Cooks River.

De la Palmera House in Chile designed by Prado Arquitectos

By Sophie • Feb 11, 2020

This house is conceived from the commission of a couple with two children, in a 596.8 m2 site located in a consolidated residential sector in Pedro de Valdivia, Concepción.

Black Prefab Multi Unit House Riedholz by Tormen Architekten AG

By Sophie • Feb 10, 2020

The plot on a sloping hillside in Kanton Solothurn is defined by two roads deriving from the south adjacent crossroad and a significant elevation of the terrain on the north side. The architecture explores the concept of creating a house within a house. With displacements in the outer monolith, various space was established outside as well as inside the building.

Small Lithuanian Hunting Cabin by Devyni architektai

By Sophie • Feb 7, 2020

A shelter for a hunter’s family leisure time is located on a small hill in the deep Lithuanian forest. Design by Devyni architektai

Spectacular “Zilvar” wooden Cabin Inspired By Nature

By Sophie • Feb 7, 2020

The house called Zilvar designed by ASGK Design, is located on the outskirts of a small village in Eastern Bohemia, surrounded by fields and forests.

Chatterbox House by Trish Becker

By Courtney • Dec 17, 2019

In the sunny, sleep little town of Harbour Island, in the stunningly bright and tropical Bahamas, famed designer Trish Becker has recently completed yet another colourful, signature kitschy house renovation and overhaul, dubbing the wonderfully pink finished result Chatterbox House!

When New York based designer Trish Becker first fond the old Colonial style home that would become Chatterbox House, it was in need of not just repair from years of weathering in the tropical Bahamian climate, but also a restyling that would better show off the stunning traditional home’s positive attributes while still turning it into a modernized home that might provide more comfort to future owners and guests.

More specifically, the house is located in the heart of a beautiful little seaside community called Dunmore Town. The original cottage that this new, super fun dwelling was created from was first build in the late 1800s and, despite its rather dark interior and rather extensive wear and tear, was the perfect embodiment of what the designer described as old world Bahamian charm.

The first priority in the home’s redesign was to restore it to its original glory in structure and quality. After that came the modernizing steps, which happened in two parts. First, the home’s systems and amenities were updated to modern comfort standards. Next, design teams filled the home with colours, patterns, and textures that would excited any guest and provide all the typical visual draw of a beautifully unique Caribbean getaway.

Although colour is a central element throughout the entire home, the exterior combination might be our very favourite match up of shades. The powdery, petal pink main facade catches the eye of essentially anyone passing the house on the street outside, while a beautiful bright turquoise provides stunningly eclectic contrast. Both colours stand out excitingly against the natural, beachy setting in which the house is nestled.

On the front porch, visitors are greeted by a stunning tile inlay that contrasts once again with the two exterior colours we’ve already described. This piece is actually a reproduction of an original one that was created on the house in the 1800s but was too damaged to salvage in the update. Instead, design teams chose to recreate their own version from fresh but similar tiles in homage to the colonial piece.

The tile piece adorns the wall near a stunning porch swing that provides a sense of the home’s atmosphere immediately, before anyone has even walked through the door. This sense of rustic but impressive calm and casual permeates the entire space both inside and out; chairs and lounge spaces are positively everywhere, offering people countless places to bond and enjoy each other’s company in comfort.

The blend of bright, bold colours with visual texture and awesome patterning is a theme that carries throughout the entire house. This holds true for the fun throw cushions and circular teal chairs in the lower living room, the decor scheme in the kitchen, and all the way upstairs into the master and guest bedrooms as well. The colours and patterns shift from room to room, so that no two spaces are quite the same in their aesthetic.

At the top of the large house, two spaces in particular hold our attention the most. The first is a rooftop deck that offers yet another open-air seating space, this time with its own bar station. Even higher than this, up one last flight of wooden stairs, is a crow’s nest style nook that offers breathtaking panoramic views of the island, which are particularly stunning at sunrise and sunset.

Photos by Annie Schlecter

Historic old home transformed into rustic modern Deco House by Taller Mexicano de Arquitectura

By Courtney • Nov 22, 2019

In the middle of the beautifully historic Merida in Mexico, an old house near the landmark rich city centre was recently recovered from its sadly run-down state by forward thinking design teams at Taller Mexicano de Arquitectura and transformed into a breathtaking home with an old-world influenced by modern atmosphere, now called Casa Deco or Deco House.

The project is part of a fairly new but ongoing initiative in the local area on the part of city developers and architects to preserve the fundamentally historic integrity of the downtown core before it’s lost to weathering and lack of care. Rather than abolishing crumbled older buildings like many city centres do in order to replace them with new ones, designers and building teams are encouraged to make over and repurpose the old buildings where they standing, doing their best to preserve their style and cultural visuals and thereby keeping the city accurate to its history.

Deco House is actually one of the few houses in the area that actually already had the very traditional architectural style of the name it now bears, although this wasn’t always the case. A brief research of the building reveals that it initially was not created in this local style but that its facade was remodelled in the style once upon a time in a much earlier attempt to make the building resemble the local historical cityscape a little better, long before its interior was neglected and its exterior began to whether almost severely.

Rather than go back to its unmatched roots or change the facade to something entirely different, designers for the current project opted to lean into the home’s slightly unconventional history and adapt the building as though it was always rooted in the world of deco architecture and design. Since the style is typical of the area anyways, the team felt they were simply refining a previous attempt to inject some historically accurate culture into a street-scape where it was originally sadly lacking.

Now, the project is a merging place for traditional architecture and more modernized downtown living. It’s a place where all of the amenities of contemporary living can be found amidst details and decor that hearken back to more culturally and historically accurate visuals, colours, materiality, and patterns. Luxuries are integrated without sacrificing any of the originally transformed elements that made the building into a nouveau deco home in the first place.

To pull all of this off, design teams had to carefully balance and reinterpret each space in the house in order to make a newly renovated dwelling while still preserving the historical integrity of what already stood there. Of particular importance in their plan were the backyard, balconies, and terraces. These were spots that already bore a particularly stylish visual nature and good function all at once so, besides the addition of a beautiful pool, they did not need to be overhauled quite as extensively.

Other parts of the house, however, were slightly too antiquated in their function to be left as untouched as the previously mentioned outdoor spaces were. Designers kept the goal of preserving historical character at the forefront of all plans, which decor schemes and materiality were key aspects of achieving, but they still modernized and streamlined interior spaces like the bathrooms and kitchen to give the home all the convenience a modern family needs.

Some things in the house like the central winding staircase, were built entirely new for practicality, where things in the original untouched building were lacking initially, but were meticulously recreated from typical local designs that would have been historically accurate had they been included in the initial building process. This further contributes to the unique and winding nature of how the house blends aspects that are old and new, and which pieces of the house fit into which category.

Perhaps the best example of what kinds of historical and original pieces were preserved is the stone walls, where the original masonry of the house from before even its first and already outdated deco inspired remodelling can still be seen well. Designers manipulated the level and location of natural light in other parts of the house that they did overhaul in order to draw attention to things like the natural changes in colour and texture within these untouched original features.

In places where new interior structures were built, designers worked in locally sourced and repurposed timber with a natural stain, keeping things accurate and complementing the historical nature of the building while still updating the space for both function and style all at once. Even in spots where more modern joys like hammocks and artistic furniture were included, colour schemes were kept accurate to the era of the home’s origin. One notable variance is the beautifully hand painted tile floor in the dining room, where pops of colour show proudly through. This piece was created by a local artist who, though current, works in styles that have long been part of local tradition.

Photos by Tamara Uribe

Julieta House created in a corner plot by Steck Arquitetura to blend indoor and outdoor spaces

By Courtney • Nov 20, 2019

In a beautifully green suburban neighbourhood in Brazil, creative designers at Steck Arquitetura have recently completed a stunning, sprawling corner house that provides stylish and luxurious feeling interior spaces with boundary-less transitions to the warm, sunny outdoors.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the house is that it is completely open concept at each of its four cardinal points. This was made possible by the fact that it was erected on a spacious corner plot that leaves its views and space uninhibited on nearly all of its sides. The corners of the home take great advantage of that reality with lack of boundaries and transparent materiality.

Regarding the inner core of the house, however, things are a little more protected. The internal transition and more intimate spaces that lie towards the middle of the structure are where the house closes in, creating a sense of comfort that’s akin to a quiet haven at the heart of the home.

In total, the house boasts three floors. On the ground floor, visitors find the spaces where the majority of indoor social interactions take place. Above that are the intimate chambers, where each member of the family enjoys private spaces. Below the ground floor rests an inferior storey with a garage, a storage warehouse, and space for yard maintenance equipment.

Over the ground floor’s social spaces, a sloping ceiling with a uniquely hooked shape creates an appealing and cozy energy throughout the shared rooms. This is mirrored in the way the towering overhand swings above the door in the main entrance and the inner hall, inviting and protecting visitors. The shapes here are particularly impressive given that, on the exterior, they’re moulded from a natural concrete that subtly complements the landscape around the house.

Around the back of the house, designers ensured that owners could take full advantage of the fantastic local climate by building a gorgeous pool and surrounding patio area and yard. The pool itself is situated such that it has both sunny and shady areas, letting those using it bask in or take the edge off the heat of the sun as they need.

The outdoor area was also purposely built with year-round use in mind. At one side, a beautiful pergola creates a calming shady spot across the poolside but also extending into the water for cool paddling in hotter months. Near there, a winding staircase leads from the terrace towards the pool as part of the designers’ goal to create pool access from all levels and areas in the house.

In fact, access to the pool is so good that the stairs actually lead right down directly into the water. From here, the pool itself is arrange in a series of relaxing, watery courtyards at each different point of entry, all eventually leading towards the main “swimming streak”. The sense of flow is tangible.

It is clear the moment one lays eyes on the house that its materiality is intentionally natural, but that’s not the only green element of the building or feature designed with the home’s surroundings in mind. Designers also aimed to make the building as sustainable as they could, installing a solar water heater, photovoltaic solar panels that are responsible for the electricity production, and a rainwater catchment system that naturally irrigates the gardens surrounding the beautiful pool space.

Those active systems don’t end the sustainable features. The large overhands featured all over the house simultaneously provide comfortable thermal regulation in and outside the house and also give home to a beautiful roof garden. Additionally, double paned UV resistant glass creates thermoaccoustic comfort, essentially regulating temperate in a low impact way.

The use of wood throughout the house and exterior elements are significant as well. Visually, the wood balances out the heavy presence and look of concrete and blends the aesthetic of the home into its natural surroundings, especially at the open corners. A combination of concrete slabs, laminated wood, and ruffled metal installed in levels and unique shapes passively regulates light and heat and even influences the home’s view, providing perfectly framed glimpses of the moon at night.

Another beautiful and functional theme throughout the home is the way that some of the interior versions of the shapes, structures, and overhangs mentioned above are movable and adaptable. Most balconies, terraces, and spaces with indoor-outdoor transition spaces can be closed off for privacy or totally opened for limitless flow by sliding doors, retracting panels, and wooden blinds. The whole concept is to make the home feel like a moving, breathing, organic part of its surroundings rather than a block that was dropped into an ecosystem not its own. The whole idea was pulled off with a sense of finesse.

The decor scheme found inside the house is deliberately minimalist but with an organic spin. Rather than establishing a totally different sense than the actual structures of the home, the colours and materiality of features and furniture are kept purposely in line with the moving structures and adaptable elements in each room, creating a sense of stunning and comfortable cohesiveness.

Photos by Adriano Pacelli

Beautiful Country Garden House by Olson Kundig made using wood from floor to ceiling

By Courtney • Nov 13, 2019

In the lush greenery of the rural areas right outside of Portland, in the United States, creative designers at Olson Kundig recently completed a new home called the Country Garden House, which actually boasts an impressive example of its namesake.
View in gallery

From the very outset, the primary goal of everyone involved in the home’s planning and design was to create something that could exist in harmony with its lusciously green and natural setting. This was motivated by the fact that the home was being custom built for a master gardener who wanted their greatest passion to inspire, be reflected in, and surround their living space.

Natural materiality, windows, and a nearly seamless-feeling blending of indoor and outdoor space became key components in how designers incorporated as many opportunities as they could within the house to take in and really appreciate views of not just the beautiful surrounding gardens, but also the rolling hills and expansive trees around the plot of land on which the house sits.

At the same time, the team wanted to make sure the space inside remained warm and comfortable, giving dwellers and visitors these views without feeling too much like privacy is sacrificed. The home was created with multi-generational use in mind, so the spaces are open concept, adaptable, and easy to move between, creating awesome flow of not only people but also energy, light, and air circulation.

Perhaps the number one tool used by the building team to allow the house real communication with its natural landscape was reclaimed barn wood. The facade of the house was clad durably in this material, giving it a look that’s reminiscent of old barns in the area. Its slightly more contemporary shape, however, also recalls that of a greenhouse, which is entirely appropriate given who the house was built for.

Inset into the wooden structure, beautifully high and energy efficient glazed windows serve several functions for the house. Besides being a key tool through which visitors access those breathtaking views we mentioned earlier, they also flood the house with natural light, giving it a cheerful and energized feeling and cutting down on power requirements. Of course, sunlight can heat things up quite quickly so, rather than just encouraging the owners to use air conditioning, designers used gridded glazing from floor to pitched ceiling, allowing UV resistant glass to handle residue heat.

The emphasis on beautifully stained and locally reclaimed natural wood doesn’t stop at the home’s frame and facade. This was also the primary material used on the floors, counters, shelving units, walls, ceiling, and most other furnishings. Rather than looking too dull in its monochromatic appearance, however, the wood perfectly blends with the view outside for a comforting sense of cohesiveness that other colours in the decor scheme and pop against very well indeed.

Where wood couldn’t be used, naturally sourced metals and stone were employed in order to keep all materiality consistent. The gardens outside the house, which bloom visibly all the way around and can be seen from every room, were a collaboration between the home’s owner and notable plantsman Dan Hinkley.

Designers chose to situate the largest windows near the most impressive gardens in order to visually invite them right into their home. They also made the metal finish on the roof, which is designed to withstand weathering, a very intentional shade of green, furthering the sense that the whole house has of blending beautifully into its surroundings so it doesn’t interrupt the gardens it was nestled amongst.

Rather than just letting the gardens sit around the house to be looked upon, designers actually chose to incorporate greenery into the home like an actual experience. This starts at the entryway where visitors pass under an expansive leafy trellis walking to the front door. From here, they move through a living room that boasts those big, view-rich windows we mentioned earlier, allowing them to drink in the sight of the rolling green hillsides just past the property.

Greenery in the public spaces is balanced out and contrasted against a lovely collection of artwork. The primary gallery is displayed in a long corridor that separates common spaces where the family might host guests from private spaces where the bedrooms and rest areas lie. The way the whole area presents art and greenery together as viewing choices simply heightens the beauty of each.

Art continues to be a theme throughout the house, making that beautiful contrast between its own colour and detail and the natural beauty of the ever-visible gardens consistent. Towards the living room, for example, custom shelving boasts an impressive collection of traditional Asian porcelain before guests encounter a stunning wall mural behind the table, hand-painted by Leo Adams.

Beyond the art, the interior space is intentionally designed to feel earthy, just like the gardens outside. Neutral tones and natural textures are paramount to this atmosphere, peppered throughout the rooms by a mixture of furnishings that all suit the aesthetic but that might be either antique or contemporary. The overall sense is one of rustic refinement.
Photos by Jeremy Bitterman

Sliding Doors house completed by CplusC Architectural Workshop with seamless indoor-outdoor experiences in mind

By Courtney • Nov 5, 2019

On a grassy plot in the sunny streets of Canada Bay, Australia, architectural and design teams from CplusC Architectural Workshop have recently completed a beautifully and naturally lit home project called Sliding Doors.

The actual Sliding Doors portion of the home itself is really an addition to a gorgeous pre-existing bungalow. The intention of the addition was to create some extra functional and diverse space where the young family dwelling in the home might seek out and bond in more beneficial natural sunlight than the home had to offer originally.

The family initially approached the design team with a request to help them expand their home in a way that was productive and might help them accommodate their every growing and changing needs. Abundant outdoor space at the rear of the property provided the perfect opportunity to build a new and innovative space that’s completely custom to the family.

Designers opted to use the new living space as a unique sort of transition spot between the original home’s interior and the lovely rear yard. This way, the parents could be afforded another place with plenty of sunshine and fresh air, but one that’s easier to keep an eye on small children within, unlike the much wider full garden.

The addition was built with duality in mind; once the children have gone inside for the day, or while they’re enjoying the bigger yard we mentioned, the addition can easily be turned into a place where adults might socialize and entertain company but keep track of their kids either inside watching TV or outside running through the flowers with friends. Flexibility was key.

That theme of flexibility encompasses the doors between the home’s interior and the new transition space as well; the expansion actually got its name from the pair of large sliding doors that rest between the living room and the new fresh air filled haven. These can be closed for privacy, quiet, and protection against weather or opened full and collapsed into the walls in order to merge the living room almost entirely with the green beauty of the addition. This capability makes both spots feel more dynamic.

The adaptable nature of the doors doesn’t stop at just their ability to be full opened or closed, depending on the time of year and the family’s needs. They can also be left partially closed or open to control the kind and amount of natural light and air that filters between the two spaces, and when. This is thanks to the materiality of the doors, which are made from a mixture of opaque, clear, and frosted glass.

While this unique materiality might sound very decorative (which it undoubtedly is), we’re interested in the fact that it actually has a very practical use as well. By being able to increase or decrease how much light and air travels between indoor and outdoor spaces in the home, the family is given an eco-friendly way to more passively heat, cool, and light certain rooms in the house, easing the structure’s green impact.

Speaking of green initiatives, it was also an explicit priority of the family to teach their children, from a very young age, about food production and gardening, which is something both parents are passionate about. That’s why designers helped them conceptualize and build a beautiful, well stocked, and space efficient vertical herb garden along one wall of the new external courtyard. It’s decorative, agriculturally smart, good for learning, conveniently placed for use in food preparation, and a chance to boost the children’s sense of contribution to the home through how easy the herbs and their garden system are to cultivate.

Like the adaptability of the sliding doors, the vertical shape and placement of the herb garden is an example of how designers aimed to very simply improve the naturally based visuals of the home in simple, subtle ways. From the kitchen, you see, glimpses of the green herbs flourishing in the sun all up and down the wall can be seen in the mirrored backsplash of the kitchen.

Of course, this whole emphasis on green space and natural home elements can be found in the basic materiality throughout the whole kitchen, rather than just in the namesake doors. This creates a sense of grounded cohesiveness. The materials that compose the addition were locally sourced things like reclaimed timber, recycled brick, repurposed glass, and natural concrete.

The way the materiality of the addition suits not only the house itself but also the natural environment around the plot creates a sense of communication in the outdoor space that makes the new space see, very generous in size, even though it’s not actually an atypical square footage for an average bungalow. At the same time, the use of timber and neutral tones keeps the expansion feeling warm and welcoming.

Photos by Michael Lassman Photography

Stunningly stone worked Rustic Home created by Dillard-Jones Builders as a gorgeous family retreat

By Courtney • Sep 20, 2019

In the midst of the beautifully sunny wooded areas in Keowee Springs in South Carolina, innovative design and architectural teams at Dillard-Jones Builders have recently finished a grand and comfortable luxury family retreat called Rustic Home!

More specifically, this beautiful home is located in a small, quiet community called The Cliffs. It is a spacious building comprised of two storeys and it was specifically designed with the prioritization of outdoor living experiences, guest entertaining, and family bonding in mind, as well as seeking out the calming peace of nature.

One of the main structures that enables a seamless indoor-outdoor living style is a sprawling upper floor balcony with a beautiful view, the floor of which creates a lovely, shady covered patio underneath. These areas each offer space to store supplies for all kinds of outdoor activities, as well as comfortable lounge spaces fit for the owning family and any guests they might also be hosting.

Whether you’re spending time on the top or bottom floor, you’ll notice that each one has a stunning view thanks to the slight elevation of the plot the house was built on. These lovely outdoor spaces overlook the lakeside setting that was the original draw for designers and owners alike, letting guests see a boat dock and invitingly clear waters below. The whole scene is very picturesque indeed!

Inside the house, the living and social spaces are just as sprawling and comfortable as the outdoor ones, but with an added sense of warmth and luxury. The goal was to blend a rustic sense of style with all of the modern amenities of modern living in a way that feels cohesive and makes sense, rather than making a jarring or nonsensical contrast throughout the house. The finished product is rustic chic but also elegant in a way that creates a rather soothing atmosphere.

Just like the outdoor living spaces, the home’s interiors are afforded lakeside view that are nothing short of breathtaking. In nearly every room, large windows made from glazed, UV resistant glass (which stops the home from heating up too much) provide all kinds of cheerful natural light but also positively idyllic views of Lake Keowee’s beauty.

Around the other side of the house from the covered patio, another covered outdoor lounge area that’s even more specifically designed for relaxation sprawls luxuriously outward. This bluestone space is covered with large area rugs to add comfort and warmth and define its borders. To one side, a full outdoor dining set incorporates even more of the family’s daily routine into their impressive outdoor space and brings even more draw to hosting guests for dinner.

Throughout the social spaces and also in the private and guest bedrooms, vaulted ceilings sit high above all the furnishings and create a sense of increased spaciousness than the home’s impressive square footage actually already offers. The furniture choices, which alternate between wooden, grand, and very stately looking and more rustic and homey things like vintage wicker chairs, build a sense of comfort and variance.

Both inside and outside, fireplaces play a large role in the comfort the home provides. These beautiful central pieces become the focus of several lounge spaces, creating cozy central hubs that help the seating areas surrounding them withstand more seasons than they might if they didn’t feature an extra heating source. These also add another sense of rustic grandeur.

Two primary elements of the home in both the bedrooms and social spaces contribute to the irresistible blending of indoor and outdoor spaces. These are the consistent inclusion of stonework on all of the walls throughout the inner spaces and that facade alike, as well as the presence of large sliding doors that retract to remove physical barriers between the inner home and the fresh rural air on warm days.

Photos by Inspiro 8

Cozy Farmhouse in Truckee, California by Sandbox Studio

By Courtney • Sep 17, 2019

Located on a stunningly green and natural camp property on the edges of Truckee, California, creative designers at Sandbox Studio have recently completed a gorgeous ranch style home called the Cozy Farmhouse.

The home sits prominently at one end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the quiet greenery of Martis Camp. It spans a total of 5,414 square feet and boasts five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and panoramic views of the valley that can be seen from nearly any room in the house.

The house was conceptualized and designed for a young family that still has intentions of growing and expanding. This influenced the size, but also the aesthetic and atmosphere as well. By going with a comfortably rustic and traditional farmhouse style, the family hoped to build a sense of coziness, spirit, and appreciation for family bonding and nature for their kids as they grow.

The mountain setting in which the house is built actually influences just about every aspect of the home’s style, layout, and function. The view and atmosphere is simply so naturally exquisite that designers and owners alike wanted to harness its beauty, comfort, and everything else it has to offer as extensively as possible. That’s why the house clearly prioritizes a blending of indoor and outdoor spaces, both visually and physically, so highly.

In all rooms, gorgeous high windows extend from floor to ceiling, giving nearly uninterrupted views of the surrounding scenery and giving each room plenty of natural sunlight. In most rooms, these windows are accompanied by full height glass sliding doors that work like a moving wall, physically breaking down barriers between indoor living spaces and the fresh air and outdoor living spaces.

Part of the home’s biggest draw is actually the extensive outdoor living space it offers. Designers wanted to be sure that the family really could take full advantage of their gorgeous chosen setting. They built a full BBQ space, a sunken hot tub in the sprawling wooden deck, and a fire table surrounded by lounge seats that are perfect for hosting guests on warm evenings.

The outside deck isn’t the only space that offers a lot of opportunity for hosting and entertainment! Inside, ample space has been included for guests, social gatherings, and family bonding time as well. Spare bedrooms, kids’ bunk rooms, and plenty of cozy seating space are plentiful. The house also boasts a media room for movie nights and an indoor gym. The master bedroom even has its own indoor-outdoor shower, taking that blurring of spaces and boundaries we mentioned earlier to a whole new level.

The inclusion of modern amenities is something that helps with the whole blended nature of the house itself. Sure, it has a rustic atmosphere and a more traditional materiality, but owners still wanted to provide their kids with all the cutting edge amenities of modern living. The finish result is, therefore, comfortable and accommodating almost to the point of decadence; an undoubted forever home that the couple will eventually retire to permanently.

Photos by Vance Fox Photography

Angular Rammed Earth Home created by Kendle Design Collaborative in a beautiful mountain valley

By Courtney • Sep 13, 2019

Amidst the dips and mountains of a rocky area called Paradise Valley in Arizona, Creative design teams at Kendle Design Collaborative recently put the finishing touches on an expansive, angular house called Rammed Earth Home.

This home was born from the unique goal of combining modern, almost minimalist architectural and decor styles with a celebration of the awesome natural environment surrounds it. Through creative shapes and organic materiality, design teams were able to create a stunning blend of elements that, thanks to a breaking down of borders and colour palettes that mirror the valleys and mountains, pay tribute to the very ground on which the structure was built.

The house itself spans 6,100 square feet and every last inch of it is inspired by the rolling desert around it. The materials used in the building process itself were sourced locally, letting things that are actually indigenous to the land provide dwellers and guests with not just home comforts and amenities, but also unparalleled mountain views.

True to its name, the walls of the house are actually made of layered rammed earth in combination with metal, concrete, and glazed glass. The large number of expansive windows, sliding glass doors, and transparent walls helps break down visual and physical barriers between the home’s interior and the natural environment around it. At the same time as the home almost feels like a cohesive part of the beautiful desert, the glass walls also allow it to stay bathed in cheerful uplifting natural sunlight for most of the day (without overheating, thanks to UV resistant glass coatings).

Upon approaching the house, the most notable feature is clearly its roof. This angular structure, which appears to float above the house, is a canopy roof. The underside of this roof is made of a tectonic-like plates which are inspired by both the local geology and how the rocks historically formed, as well as how the monsoon clouds form in certain seasons.

Besides just looking decorative and interesting, almost sculpture-like, the canopy roof actually serves several practical uses as well. The angle at which each part sits provides weather resistance against the occasionally harsh desert climate changes. It also provides shade to certain outdoor living spaces, giving those lounging there a bit of protection from the hot afternoon sun.

The roof is also a place where, in the owner’s goal of harnessing both coziness and grandeur within the house, grandeur briefly takes centre stage to welcome guests. The roof’s structure rises dramatically towards the mountains in a way that’s almost as breathtaking as the natural view in how it mirrors the rocks, crags, and cliffs themselves.

Both in and outside of the house, designers made the choice to conceal all lighting, figures, and mechanical devices smoothly within the walls, ceilings, and built-in structures unless they were chosen and included to be purely decorative within themselves. This allows the shape and form of the roof, facade, and interiors, as well as the materials used in building, to remain the focus.

Another notable element of the structure lies in the way several interior living spaces are arranged carefully around a central outdoor atrium. This lets daylight and fresh air (when walls, doors, and windows are opened) to pass simply and easily from room to room, providing maximum comfort.

In fact, light was intentionally considered within the design of each room and in the placement of the swimming pool. Designers wanted to harness the beauty of how it might bounce off reflective surfaces and water, light dark corners, and change the look of certain spaces as shadows move about the house during the day’s progression. The entire pool area, for example, is dynamic but also remains zen-like throughout the day.

From the modern, almost minimalist bathrooms to the home office, this home is so clearly inspired by and blended into its surroundings that the overall sense is one of pleasant cohesiveness. Despite its contemporary nature, no warmth or coziness is lost in the home’s interior; in fact, it is quite the opposite.

Photos by Alexander Vertikoff

Wyoming Mountain Home created by KAM Designs as a perfect blend of modern and rustic style and living

By Courtney • Sep 10, 2019

Nestled onto a stunningly green mountainside area on the edge of Teton Village in Wyoming, KAM Designs has recently completed a sprawling and beautiful holiday home called Wyoming Mountain Home.

This impressive looking house is lovely through and through for more than just its location (which is undoubtedly breathtaking). From the outset, the goal of both the owners and the design teams was to create a space that perfectly blends modern living and amenities with rustic styles and settings as seamlessly and comfortably as possible.

The actual mountainside plot that the home itself sits on is part of a beautifully rural housing community called The Shooting Star. The whole area, which is quite exclusive in an attempt to preserve its quiet, peaceful nature, is positioned at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

On one side, the plot sits next to an award winning golf course, which only bolsters the home’s already unbelievable view of the Grand Tetons, as well as the Gros Ventre Range. The home itself encompasses a whopping 8,000 square feet, boasting five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and stunning open concept shared living spaces.

Inside the house, the rooms are open concept and spacious. In an attempt to keep the modern and rustic blend of styles and functions consistent all throughout the home’s experience, designers used mixed materiality. A perfect example of this is the mix of antique hardwood flooring that contrasts beautifully with glazed stone and skip troweled walls.

The floor isn’t the only interior feature that involves wood. The formal dining room, for example, also features large, locally sourced reclaimed timbers across the ceiling, which extend downward to frame the great room next to it as well. Similar themes, with the addition of wooden furnishings, are found throughout the kitchen.

Rather than succumbing to a bit of darkness as so many rustic, heavily wooden houses seem to do, this house accounts for the abundant inner shade provided by its sturdy structure by also boasting expansive windows. This lets dwellers and visitors enjoy mount and valley views that are nothing short of mesmerizing.

The area of the house with perhaps the veery best view is the master suite. Here, a large window in the social wing on the edge of the bedroom provides breathtaking views while dwellers sit in comfort by a gorgeous fireplace. This space also includes a home office, a luxury bathroom with a spa sized bath, a boutique walk-in closet, and even its own exercise room! Should the owners wish to enjoy the sunrise before they’ve even left the bedroom in the morning, the master wing also has its own beautiful (and impressively sized) porch.

Besides being a place where one can seek the convenience of modern amenities alongside the comfort of more rustically traditional settings, the house is also a retreat. This puts relaxation, social and familiar bonding, and entertainment at the forefront of its functions as well. Designers made sure it had plenty of special features to offer as a result.

For example, the Wyoming Mountain House is home to not only a stunning stone deck with a secluded outdoor seating space for quiet personal time and a home office just in case real life does come calling, but also four cozy fireplaces, a wet bar in the great room, and even a home movie theatre, fully equipped with HQ surround sound.

Photos provided by the architects.

Dream Home