A grey-and-purple color scheme and bold-but-sleek design elements—such as the large fireplace—make this room elegant and comfortable. Fireplace: Spark Fires; Fireplace surround: Concreteworks Studio, Oakland. Architect: Matthew Mosey; Photo By: Mariko Reed by California Home + Design

The brief for this project was for the house to be at one with its surroundings. Integrating harmoniously into its coastal setting a focus for the house was to open it up to allow the light and sea breeze to breathe through the building. The first floor seems almost to levitate above the landscape by minimising the visual bulk of the ground floor through the use of cantilevers and extensive glazing. The contemporary lines and low lying form echo the rolling country in which it resides.

Matthew Carbone

Ben Colvin - Spacecrafting / Architectural Photography

Photo by Kailey J. Flynn

Nestled into sloping topography, the design of this home allows privacy from the street while providing unique vistas throughout the house and to the surrounding hill country and downtown skyline. Layering rooms with each other as well as circulation galleries, insures seclusion while allowing stunning downtown views. The owners' goals of creating a home with a contemporary flow and finish while providing a warm setting for daily life was accomplished through mixing warm natural finishes such as stained wood with gray tones in concrete and local limestone. The home's program also hinged around using both passive and active green features. Sustainable elements include geothermal heating/cooling, rainwater harvesting, spray foam insulation, high efficiency glazing, recessing lower spaces into the hillside on the west side, and roof/overhang design to provide passive solar coverage of walls and windows. The resulting design is a sustainably balanced, visually pleasing home which reflects the lifestyle and needs of the clients. Photography by Andrew Pogue

The modest, single-floor house is designed to afford spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Set in the idyllic Virginia countryside, distinct “pavilions” serve different functions: the living room is the center of the home; bedroom suites surround an entry courtyard; a studio/guest suite sits atop the garage; a screen house rests quietly adjacent to a 60-foot lap pool. The abstracted Virginia farmhouse aesthetic roots the building in its local context while offering a quiet backdrop for the family’s daily life and for their extensive folk art collection. Constructed of concrete-filled styrofoam insulation blocks faced with traditional stucco, and heated by radiant concrete floors, the house is energy efficient and extremely solid in its construction. Metropolitan Home magazine, 2002 "Home of the Year" Photo: Peter Vanderwarker

Photograph by Art Gray

Photo Credit: Thomas McConnell

Chad Holder

The key design driver for the project was to create a simple but contemporary extension that responded to the existing dramatic topography in the property’s rear garden. The concept was to provide a single elegant form, cantilevering out into the tree canopies and over the landscape. Conceived as a house within the tree canopies the extension is clad in sweet chestnut which enhances the relationship to the surrounding mature trees. Large sliding glass panels link the inside spaces to its unique environment. Internally the design successfully resolves the Client’s brief to provide an open plan and fluid layout, that subtly defines distinct living and dining areas. The scheme was completed in April 2016

Interior and exterior lighting w/ Soraa Vivid LED. Russell Abraham, photography

bill timmerman

Photography by Matthew Millman