Touring a Cottage Style Prefab Home in Chicago! #modularhome #prefabhome #hometour

Every kitchen needs a focal point. In the modern kitchen that is often draped in neutral hues and has an understated appeal, a simple infusion of color can get this done without much effort. There are many ways in which you can add a bit of color to the kitchen without splurging a fortune. Some […]

You’re reading Feisty and Trendy: Awesome Red Bar stools and Chairs that Steal the Show, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

We are always on the search for new ideas that help change the old into the new and bring new possibilities to existing spaces. Generally, it is the attic and the basements that are often transformed into fabulous living paces, second bedrooms and additional areas that come in mighty handy. But there are occasions when […]

You’re reading Turn the Garage into a Fabulous, Functional Home: Brilliant Conversions that Wow!, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Designed for a young couple, the 5,000 sf home and 1,700 sf back house sit on a flat 21,000 sf lot in a 1920’s Palo Alto neighborhood (a few blocks away from Steve Jobs’ residence). The architecture is a study in strong simple composition and is museum-like with its highly refined materiality and emphasis on craft. The massing defines solid and void, captures natural light, and connects the indoors with the landscape, seeking to ‘experience the outdoors from within.’ The ground floor volumes wrapped in an elongated hand-fired brick from Denmark, emphasizing the horizontality of the architecture that lays solidly on the land. Bronze-trimmed ceiling planes slide between the brick masses, and floor-to-ceiling glazed openings are captured by thin-profiled bronze frames. In contrast to the grounded brick volumes, the second floor is clad in stainless steel panels and oversized aluminum-framed windows. The lightness and openness of the second floor is nestled among the oak-tree canopies of the site. At the basement level, a wine cellar and tasting room open to a sunken landscaped courtyard. A 30ft by 10ft continuous pane of glass runs alongside the grand stairwell of floating stone steps, connecting the three levels of the house. Due to the unprecedented size of this glass in residential design, it was custom manufactured in Germany and shipped to California. This dramatic moment in the sequence of progressing through the house helps visitors feel connected to the lush landscape outside. Inside the house, materials such as a custom leather door and bronze anodized details were selected for their unique craftsman-style quality. Another custom-designed element is the steel mesh screen that wraps around to enclose the kitchen for privacy, separating this from the more public “guest hosting” areas adjacent. The steel screen slides along a track embedded into the teak slatted ceiling and disappears into the pantry when retracted. A freestanding structure set deep back into the site is a zen-like fitness/yoga studio as well as a guesthouse with a kitchenette. This dramatic stone mass opens up completely in the center to give the impression of exercising outdoors. The landscape integrates California native plant species, grasses and trees to compliment the materiality of the architecture.

The Camp feels like an unassumingly simple name for a getaway that takes you into the wondrous world that awaits at Tawharanui Peninsula. Yet, it feels perfectly apt for this lovely wooden cabin designed by Fearon Hay Architects that utilizes timber shutters in an innovative and elegant fashion. The cabin broadly consists of two different […]

You’re reading Timber Shutters and Wooden Cabins Create the Gorgeous Camp in New Zealand, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Over the past seven years, Australian architect Jeremy Bull has renovated his home three times, describing it as a “scaffold for a growing family.”