Homes
Plan a Porch A porch is another opportunity to extend your living space and add architectural interest to your home’s exterior. This custom home in Paradise Valley, Montana, by Fishcamp Custom features a mixture of hand-hewed logs, reclaimed lumber, custom stonework and reclaimed lumber doors. Boulders surround the back porch and adjacent patio, making it appear as if the home is nestled into the natural landscape. The outdoor seating areas overlook a creek that feeds into the Yellowstone River.
Consider a Contemporary Black Exterior Black and charcoal exteriors featured prominently in spring 2020’s most popular exterior photos, and for good reason. A dark color can make small, nondescript houses suddenly appear larger and more architecturally interesting. And traditional homes feel younger and less stuffy with a coat of matte black or charcoal paint. This home in Atlanta by design-build firm Core Group nods to the past with its board-and-batten siding and classic American Foursquare-style architecture. But its black painted exterior, standing seam metal roof and contemporary detailed porch feel decidedly current.
Get the Air Circulating Air will flow only if it is forced (via a fan of some sort) or if there is a large temperature difference with a neighboring body of air. Night cooling is a great way to naturally decrease the temperature in your house and exchange hot interior air for cooler outdoor air. As I mentioned before, I have my windows open only in the early morning, at night or late in the evening when it is cooler outside than my ideal temperature indoors. You may need to do some testing to see what works best for you, depending on your climate and the orientation of your house toward the sun. For this to work, there needs to be a substantial difference in temperature between the inside of your house and the outside. Once the outdoor air starts to heat up, I close my windows to try and keep as much of that heat out as possible.
The homeowners bought the barn through Heritage Restorations, which specializes in salvaging and giving second lives to dilapidated barns. The team dismantled the barn timbers and relocated them here. Then, using computer-aided design, Samsel Architects was able to retain a majority of the barn timbers for the rebuilt frame. Any timbers or siding that was excluded was later used as trim throughout the home. The result is a rustic structure with subtle modern finishes.
A place to unwind. Most of all, when you spy your rustic home from across the street, you should immediately think: Ahh, now that looks relaxing. A good way to mark your home as an R&R hot spot is with an icon of relaxation: Hang up a hammock, install a porch swing or set out a rocker or Adirondack chair.
A porch for sitting. No rustic home worth its salt should be without a porch, and the bigger, the better. An open, wraparound porch like the one shown here is ideal, as it provides ample outdoor living space and doesn’t block any views. Complete the picture with a pair (or two) of chunky wooden rockers.
Rustic color and texture. Pull your color palette inspiration from the countryside scenery: smooth logs, rough stone, weathered wood, a pop of barn red or pine green. Natural materials should be the star of the show, so choose a clear finish for exterior woodwork and always choose the real deal (wood, stone) when possible over a synthetic alternative.
Candy-Colored Conversion in South Australia This 150-year-old converted church stands tall in Exeter, in Australia’s South Australia state, and catches the breeze from the nearby beach and port. Architect and interior designer Stewart Kirby bought the property in 2013 and set about improving the comfort and energy efficiency of the home. Aside from its colorfully striped door, the exterior of this church-turned-home is in keeping with its heritage. The trim is painted in Wood Murowash by Murobond. The paint has a beautiful texture that suits the rough finish, Kirby says, and the color blends in well with the superb stonework of the walls.
A Cool Chicago Conversion Located in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood, this former Methodist church, built in 1901, was a dream project for a young couple who wanted an open, light-soaked home in which to raise their three children. Combining the best of contemporary design while preserving much of the historical character and architecture of the original church was the focus of designer Linc Thelen’s master plan. The kitchen’s gas range is centered directly underneath an original stained glass arched window. The window’s frame is painted black. A large central island with room for five counter-height stools is wrapped in white quartz. “Adding a colored granite or marble to the kitchen would’ve distracted from the stained glass window that brings so much texture and color to the space on its own,” Thelen says.
Contemplate pullout steps. What about if the steps themselves actually become drawers? You may not want all of them to be like this, but a few close to the bottom of the staircase could be useful for shoes, as shown here. Amending existing stairs wouldn’t be difficult for a skilled woodworker: You could simply have your first three steps removed and refitted with a drawer system.
Fit drawers into the side of your staircase. One space-saving trick is to use the area under a staircase — including the steps themselves — as storage. This might not work in a traditional interior, or if you already have storage under the stairs, but if you’re building in a new staircase, or steps between levels in an open-plan space, consider this savvy idea.
The wall between the bathroom, bedroom and hallway is constructed from microcement. “This is a fantastic material that’s waterproof and very flexible, so it won’t crack, allowing us to use it as the shower wall too,” Stewart says. “I was very keen to have a continuity of color from the outside to inside the shower. Plus, the wall goes well with the brickwork and gives a nice industrial feel.”
Putting the square footage where they needed it most was a top priority. “When I started drawing up a 6-by-6 powder room, Wim said ‘What are you doing? That’s such a waste of space — make it 3-by-3!’ ” Price recalls. “After living in China and the Netherlands, they wanted spaces like this to be as efficient as possible, and it really works.” All of the toilets in the home are wall-mounted, saving precious inches. “All you need to do in here is use the toilet, wash your hands, maybe look in the mirror and get out,” Wim says.
The great room is completely open to the kitchen. Skylights help to delineate the spaces. “When designing a house, it’s so important to imagine what you want to do when you come home — ask yourself where you’ll take off your coat and boots, where you’ll move through from there, what you’ll do next and how you’ll want to move around,” Wim says. “Then create spaces in the house to support that vision.” He knew that most of the time it would just be his family hanging out, making dinner and spending the majority of their time together here. Accordingly, he knew that these spaces would be the most important rooms.
The south-facing windows take in the view of the mountains and harness the sun. Price found many ways to make the home energy-efficient. The windows are high-performance, low-E, double-paned glass. The overhang allows the sun to come in and warm the floors, which serve as a thermal mass and also have radiant heat as backup. The design also includes staggered-stud, 8-inch-thick walls. This type of construction eliminates thermal breaks in the walls. There’s also extra insulation around the roof, foundation and slab. The home has a passive cooling system for those rare hot days in Park City. Two 6-inch earth cooling tubes extend 150 feet into the ground, where the temperature is usually 50 to 55 degrees. Fresh air is drawn from the outside, cooled as it travels through the tubes, then enters the house with the help of a simple small fan. “This is a simple, effective and cheap way to get cooling,” Price says.
Most of the public areas are on the main level. Here, a shou-sugi-ban accent wall creates a beautiful contrast with the ceiling and connects the interior and exterior. Pieces the couple collected in China are on display in this room, including the chest against the wall and the small stools in front of the sofa. Three spherical pendant lights create a sculptural effect in front of the wall. “Both Wim and Suzanne have a great eye — I told them they have to decorate my next home for me,” Price says.
“On an uphill site it can be hard to place the front entry,” Price says. “When you use a split-level strategy, it saves space — there’s already going to be a staircase, so you can make the most of the landing and create a foyer that has extra height.” The staircase, of reclaimed oak and steel, leads down to the lower level, which contains bedrooms and the kids’ lounge; it also leads up to the main level and the public areas such as the living room, dining room and kitchen. The shou-sugi-ban charring technique continues indoors around the staircase. Wim built the stairs, the railings and the front door himself.
“They wanted a house that was simple and modern but still fit into their neightborhood, which is full of more traditional homes composed of big timbers and lots of gables,” Price says. The home nestles into the hillside, its wood siding complementing the neighboring residences. The recessed area at the lower left has a sliding door that leads to the kids’ room, and the orange door opens to a storage closet. At the right is the garage, with the deck above it.
The north-facing back of the house shows the smaller windows used in more private areas. Behind the home are mountain biking trails, and ski trailheads are a five-minute drive away.
Wim is a designer himself and has had a lifelong fascination with architecture and interiors. “The houses in the Netherlands are small; to make them look more open and larger, we create what translates roughly to ‘let the sun go through houses,’ ” he says. In such homes, sunlight passes completely through the house from front to back; standing in the middle of a room, you can see the outdoors from both sides.
Low-Energy House Built by Brothers in Denmark
Low-Energy House Built by Brothers in Denmark
Integrated Wooden Beach House in New Zealand
Relaxed Larch-Clad Home for Urban Downsizers in Germany
The exterior was finished with panels made from local larch boards fitted onto the building in alternating vertical and horizontal patterns, accentuating the modular nature of the structure.
Beautifully Crafted Cottage in Scotland
The Hineses love to entertain around the custom fire pit. I
A covered section provides relief from Texas heat.
The expansive patio runs along the back of the house.
Their home’s floors are polished concrete, and the couple worked with Riverbed Concrete in Boerne, Texas, to achieve the look they wanted. “After the concrete slab is poured and before Sheetrock, they come in and cut the floors as deep as desired,” Brandi says.
“It was important to have a family home, a space that felt cozy and like a home you could be comfortable in, and still keep the modern elements,” she says. “It was all about blending a traditional farmhouse feel with modern elements.”
Reclaimed barn wood walls and ceilings
porch screened in steel and wood banister
More correctly termed Spanish Revival architecture, these modest one-story houses are often referred to as Spanish bungalows in Southern California. They have the traits of Spanish architecture with stuccoed exteriors, clay tile roofs and arched windows and doors. It’s the scale of the structure and a single level that distinguish them as being in the bungalow mold.
This Spanish bungalow has a beautiful parabolic picture window at left, a detail rarely found in any other styles of architecture. The same window design can be found in both modest and extravagant Spanish Revival houses throughout the country.
This example could be called a Mission bungalow. The parapeted roof line conceals a level or slightly pitched roof while paying homage to California Mission architecture. Note how clay tiles cap the parapet. The entrance is gently shaded by a clay-tiled pent roof held up with wrought iron brackets. Charming handpainted tiles frame the wooden entrance door and picture windows puncture the stuccoed facade.
metal roof, column shape
Columns shape
Decking rail wire secured between cedar
Windows, top open for air flow
deck rails with wire sliding cedar doors for storage
Deck rail, boxed wire Sliding cedar doors under deck for storage
Plywood. Sheet materials, especially plywood, can be a real boon to a homeowner’s budget. Although cost isn’t the ideal factor on which to base key design choices, it also can’t be ignored. Fortunately, plywood can look incredibly warm and stylish in its raw state, and it’s a brilliant base on which to redecorate at a later date if you tire of the look.
Daughter Jana’s treehouse bed was built by Rogier, based on a design by Piet Hein Eek. A hanging rope provides a quick way down from the bed.
Daughter Jana’s treehouse bed was built by Rogier, based on a design by Piet Hein Eek. A hanging rope provides a quick way down from the bed.
Fireplace design and TV shelf
The master plan for the property includes future places for educational programming and a small outdoor amphitheater for concerts, mirroring some of the cultural activities offered at nearby Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s onetime winter home and currently an architectural community.
An aerial view of the house taken not long after its construction shows some of the grapefruit and orange trees that eventually engulfed the property. When David and Gladys Wright became too aged to take care of the orchard, David turned off the irrigation and allowed the trees to die. He lived to be 102, passing away in 1997. Gladys passed away in 2008 at the age of 104.
From the roof deck, we can see that the property is linked by curving walkways and an expansive lawn. Olive and citrus trees are being planted to once again shelter the site.
The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed guesthouse was added in 1956. Wright sited the guest quarters with views toward the main house, rather than to Camelback Mountain to the north.
The small kitchen, which the architect titled a “work space” on the original blueprints, uses state-of-the-art materials, including vinyl flooring and countertops. The range is original. The home was designed with central heating and cooling, using underfloor ducts for heat and ceiling ducts for air conditioning.
The conical fireplace in the master bedroom is one of two in the house. The other one is in the living and dining room. “The water stains in the ceiling are the certificate of a genuine Frank Lloyd Wright house,” Rawling says, drolly, referring to the architect’s reputation for leaky roofs.
Lighting at night accentuates the interior’s lapped mahogany board ceiling and shows off its boat-like form.
The home’s windows were designed to best capture views when people are seated. The concrete floors are painted in Wright’s signature Cherokee red.
The home had an original Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rug in the living and dining room, woven by Stanislav V’Soske, which was sold at auction by the home’s interim owners. Working with artist and former Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice Ling Po, Rawling commissioned another rug for the house based on the architect’s March Balloons pattern.
Porch And in Point Loma, California, Lars Remodeling & Design transformed a beach bungalow into a larger home with more of a Craftsman feel. For the exterior, that meant adding post and rock details, wood siding, eaves and a new front porch, a hallmark of many Craftsman homes. The porch provides the homeowners with a place to sit, relax and greet passing neighbors.
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