My Property Life

Nothing creates a more beautiful and relaxing garden than the perfect balance of elements. Be it the eastern philosophy of feng shui or more contemporary approach to design that takes about living closer to nature, water is an essential part of this delicate balance. And a DIY water feature, like the one below, is the […]

You’re reading 25 DIY Water Features for Your Garden, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

A guest house that has a distinctly contemporary character and yet seamlessly integrates both with the main house that is more traditional and a lush green garden, the Paddock Brow Guesthouse does it all! Designed by Blee Halligan Architects for a homeowner who traveled a lot before finally coming back to his roots in UK, […]

You’re reading Contemporary Guesthouse in Wood and Glass Flows into the Garden, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

This was a 285 s.f. rear yard addition to an existing house, adding a family/dining room out back, and a roof deck above. It sits a half-floor below the main floor, allowing easy access to the backyard, and its new stairs to the basement replace the demo’d old stairs down from the kitchen, which opened up a lot of usable space there. Highlights of the project include the Panoramic folding-glass door wall, opening out to the new back yard terrace; the steel stairs (fabricated by the owner’s father) with thick fir treads; the vertical grain oak kitchen cabinets, with an island on casters, and eating bar overlooking the new room below; the new roof deck; and the standing-seam metal siding.