GRAPHĒ

Peach, Ochre, and Neon-Green Paints Punch Up This £935K Cottage in Somerset

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:56:30 -0700

A contemporary addition and a colorful palette bring a certain joie de vivre to the Grade II–listed stone home.

Location: Frome, Somerset, United Kingdom

Price: £935,000 (approximately $1,263,727 USD)

Footprint: 2,200 square feet (4 beds, 2 baths)

From the Listing: "This wonderful Grade II–listed four-bedroom house lies on a pedestrianized lane in Frome, Somerset. Exceeding 2,200 square feet, the house retains much of its original character, while a recent timber-clad extension introduces light and a distinctly contemporary sensibility. A vibrant landscaped garden filled with seasonal flowers is at the rear, and a graveled parking area with EV charging frames the approach to the house. The heart of Frome is a 10-minute walk away, while the town’s railway station provides regular services to Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff, and London Paddington."

A blackened timber addition extends from the traditional rubble-stone cottage.

Photo courtesy of Inigo

See the full story on Dwell.com: Peach, Ochre, and Neon-Green Paints Punch Up This £935K Cottage in Somerset
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Data Centers Are Trying to Cozy Up to Towns—and Everything Else You Need to Know About This Week

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:56:42 -0700

AI garbage truck cameras are policing home violations in Dallas, Trump and Mamdani’s plan to create more housing in Queens, and more.

As communities push back against environmental pollution, higher bills, and other negative impacts of data centers, the companies behind them are opening their doors and making a more "public case" for new projects and the tax incentives that come with them. In Virginia, Digital Realty’s server showroom gives officials, residents, and students a rare look inside what data centers actually do in hopes of winning back trust. (Bloomberg)
Actor Christian Bale opened a nonprofit foster care village in Palmdale, California, designed to keep siblings under the same roof. Together California’s six town houses, which can accommodate up to 72 children and their caregivers, share a courtyard, playground, and community center. (The New York Times)
An Oakland couple turned seven homes into Radish, a communal living compound where up to 20 adults shared meals, childcare, and everyday life. The compound was built around the belief that people are happiest living near those they care about, and includes a shared space called "the Blueberry" and a nightly "baby happy hour." After eight years, the $3.95 million property is up for sale. (The New York Times)
The Gaetano Pesce Foundation in NYC will safeguard the late Italian designer’s archive while supporting exhibitions, research, partnerships, and authorized editions of his work. Here’s how it plans to carry his experimental practice forward. (Design Boom)

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump spoke to the press outside Gracie Mansion after agreeing to advance a plan on building 12,000 homes in Queens.

Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani just agreed to advance talks on building 12,000 homes above western Queens’s Sunnyside Yard rail tracks, though the project has no funding or timeline yet. Local leaders are skeptical of any real movement, though, and Trump’s architectural track record isn’t inspiring much confidence. (Gothamist)
Dallas has put AI cameras on garbage trucks to spot possible code violations, flagging more than 21,000 properties. Here’s why critics worry the system could hit lower and fixed-income homeowners hardest—and call it a "money grab." (The Drive)

Top photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images

A Sustainably Designed Modern Home on the Upper Delaware River Valley Hits the Market for $1.2M

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:56:25 -0700

A finalist in 2010 for our very own "Houses We Love" feature, the bold facade takes on an almost sculpture-like form within the trees.

Location: 194 Mapes Road, Barryville, New York 12719

Price: $1,195,000

Architecture & Interior Design: Shadow Architect, P.C.

Architect of Record: v. Baras Architects

Year Built: 2008

Footprint: 2,600 square feet (2 beds, 2 baths)

Lot Size: 6.0 acres

From the Agent, Barry Becker: "The Bluffs, a finalist for Dwell House of the Year 2010, is a striking example of sustainable contemporary design set on six private acres in the scenic Upper Delaware River Valley.

Courtesy Keller Williams

Built in 2008 and offering approximately 2,600 square feet, this LEED-Silver certified residence showcases a sophisticated palette of concrete, glass, and wood. Designed with passive solar principles, SIPS and ICF construction, radiant-heated polished concrete floors, and energy-efficient systems, the home seamlessly blends minimalist aesthetics with exceptional comfort and performance.

Courtesy Keller Williams

See the full story on Dwell.com: A Sustainably Designed Modern Home on the Upper Delaware River Valley Hits the Market for $1.2M
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Just North of NYC, This $1.7M Cabin Is Not Your Average A-Frame

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:56:39 -0700

Built in 1966, the quirky Westchester home has striking triangular rooflines and a series of decks made for gazing out over sculpture-dotted gardens and serene woodland.

Location: 1750 Baptist Church Road, Yorktown Heights, New York

Price: $1,700,000

Year Built: 1966

Footprint: 4,976 square feet (4 beds, 2.5 baths)

Lot Size: 6.74 acres

From the Agent: "Affectionately known as the Woods Home, this 1966 contemporary sits on 6.74 acres in Yorktown Heights, with gracious lawns, a sylvan pool, a woodland pond, and gardens surrounding the house. Built into a landscape of rock outcroppings, the home is defined by soaring ceilings and walls of glass.

Nearly every room connects directly to the outdoors through terraces, decks, or second-floor balconies—several with reservoir views in winter. Garden paths wind through the property past sculptures and specimen plantings. Located in Westchester County’s Huntersville neighborhood, the property is convenient to New York City by car or train."

Photo by Anthony Moreno - Tree Falls Photography

Built in 1966, the Woods Home sits on 6.74 wooded acres and is set atop the property’s natural rock outcroppings.

Photo by Anthony Moreno - Tree Falls Photography

See the full story on Dwell.com: Just North of NYC, This $1.7M Cabin Is Not Your Average A-Frame

The New Owners of This L.A. Lloyd Wright Want to Party Like Hollywood Used To

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:56:13 -0700

The update of the 1949 De Jonghe Residence focuses on outdoor living, with a new pool, spa, and garden spaces designed in equal measure for cocktails and recovery.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Los Angeles, California

Architect: Michel Architects / @michel_architects

Footprint: 2,100 square feet

Landscape Design: AJ Canfield Landscape Design

Wood Restoration: Stosh Fila

Geotechnical Engineer: Feffer Geological Consulting Inc.

Photographer: Sean Hazen / @sean.hazen

From the Architect: "Michel Architects has completed a careful and contemporary restoration of the De Jonghe Residence, a historic home originally designed in 1949 by Lloyd Wright. While the residence has remained relatively under the radar, it holds an important place in Los Angeles’s architectural history. Past restorations, including a notable interior restoration by architect John Powell, preserved much of the home’s spirit. Michel Architects was brought in to reimagine the exterior and landscape with a contemporary sensibility that would honor the original architecture while crafting a new vision for outdoor living. The clients—musicians and global performers—wanted a space with potential to host memorable parties reminiscent of Old Hollywood and punctuated by dramatic design, while also providing a sanctuary to relax and recover the next day.

"The resulting project includes a comprehensive exterior masterplan, a redefined approach to the landscape, and a restrained yet impactful architectural intervention. The new design introduces a pool, spa, and multiple garden spaces, all integrated with a sensitivity to Lloyd Wright’s ‘integrated landscape’ ethos. The intent throughout was to play down the role of the new work and give deference to the original architecture—ensuring the historic residence remains the visual and conceptual centerpiece.

"Michel Architects approached the project through rigorous research and site documentation. Every original and previously introduced element was cataloged. This led to a deliberate material palette rooted in the home’s architectural language and lineage. Drawing inspiration from the board-formed concrete with broad-faced aggregate forms, the team paid homage to the structure’s muscular yet serene expression. New materials were kept minimal and purposeful. In particular, extensive efforts were made to source flagstone that closely matches the original hardscape.

"Interior restoration efforts centered on reviving the home’s rich wood character. Working closely with artisan woodworker Stosh Fila, exposed structural elements, tongue-and-groove ceilings, wall paneling, and original casework were refinished or reconstructed to respect the home’s historic fabric. New components were detailed with the same intent—custom integrated furniture and precise replacements of cabinetry, doors, and windows that quietly reinforce the architectural lineage. A custom stained-glass piece, designed by Michel Architects and fabricated by James Thomas, introduces a final luminous gesture, nodding to the Lloyd Wright legacy while amplifying the play of light throughout the interiors.

"The landscape design emphasizes sculptural plantings and a dense, textural green palette punctuated by moments of color. As a counterpoint to the structured architecture, the gardens aim to evoke a natural serenity, creating a place of escape while reinforcing the home’s site lines to city, ocean, and mountain beyond."

Photo: Sean Hazen

See the full story on Dwell.com: The New Owners of This L.A. Lloyd Wright Want to Party Like Hollywood Used To

Budget Breakdown: It Took $61K—and a Huge DIY Project—to Save This Tiny Portland Cottage

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:56:27 -0700

"I told Lara it would take three months, and I think it took a year and three months," Workaday Design cofounder Jason Stamp says of the process of converting the house neighboring their home into a rental.

It all started with a very tall cedar tree that towers over Jason Stamp and Lara White’s house in the Concordia neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The couple had remodeled and added a second-floor bedroom suite to their home, which overlooked the tree in their neighbor’s yard. "People would always be like, ‘What are you going to do when someone buys the house next door, builds a giant house, and tears down that tree?’" recalls Lara.

Of course, the couple didn’t want that to happen, so they decided to buy the property if it ever went up for sale, and they told their neighbor they were interested.

In 2021, Lara White and Jason Stamp of Workaday Design bought the house next door in order to save the cedar tree between them. It has 580 square feet, with one bedroom and one bathroom.

Photo: LUKE + MALLORY LEASURE

Fast-forward to 2021, and the owner was ready to sell the one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 580-square-foot cottage. Unfortunately, there was a lot of deferred maintenance, so Jason and Lara, both designers and founders of Workaday Design, started planning a spec house for the lot. Their design had considerably more square footage, five bedrooms and a detached studio, and included a courtyard for the tree. "The whole goal was to save that beautiful cedar tree," says Lara.

But just two weeks before they were supposed to break ground on the rebuild, they had to halt the project due to ballooning construction costs. They tried to adjust the design in order to lower the budget, to no avail. "We would get another quote back and it’d be more expensive than the one we had before," says Jason. "That was just an indication of where the market was going at the time."

Before: Dining Room

Before: The house had not been cared for, and it needed a full gut remodel to make it livable.

Courtesy of Workaday Design

After: Dining Room

The Maru Pendant from Cedar & Moss hangs over a Tulip table with a marble top from DWR. The hutch is from Mustard Made.

Photo: LUKE + MALLORY LEASURE

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: It Took $61K—and a Huge DIY Project—to Save This Tiny Portland Cottage
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The Dining Room Is Also a Bedroom—and an Office—at This Renovated Athens Flat

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:56:23 -0700

A pocket door, fold-down bed, and pop-out desk built into one wall make it the most versatile space in the apartment.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Athens, Greece

Architect: Georgios Apostolopoulos Architects / @georgios_apostolopoulos

Footprint: 860 square feet

Photographer: Lorenzo Zandri / @lorenzozandri

From the Architect: "The renovation on this 1970s apartment in Kifisia, Greece, began with subtraction. All internal partitions were removed to reveal the apartment’s spatial potential and expose the existing structure. The project questions the conventional role of room-making in domestic space. Instead of rebuilding walls, the apartment is conceived as a continuous interior where light and movement flow without interruption. What remains is the apartment’s essential form, organized by a series of joinery elements that define use without enclosing space. At the center of the plan, the kitchen becomes the main social device. Treated less as a room and more as an inhabited object, it forms a solid volume that gathers cooking, working, and meeting around it. The island anchors the space, inviting people to move around it and use it from all sides. It supports daily rituals without prescribing them, encouraging a more open and informal way of living. Around it, living and dining areas unfold through gentle transitions instead of separate rooms.

"This continuity flows into the main bedroom, which feels like a natural extension of the living area, not a self-contained room. The vanity extends beyond the bathroom enclosure, wardrobes act as layered filters, and privacy becomes adaptable, negotiated through occupation and use rather than predetermined by walls. At the opposite end of the apartment, the idea of a second bedroom is replaced by a flexible joinery system. A fold-down bed, integrated desk, and sliding panels allow the space to shift between sleeping, working, and storing. It functions less like a room and more like an adaptable domestic device. Materials are kept simple, with a monochromatic palette that keeps the interior quiet and allows the original structure to remain present. Slim-frame windows bring maximum light into the interiors, reinforcing the sense of continuity between spaces. The project rethinks the domestic interior as a system of spatial relationships, not a collection of rooms. Boundaries remain fluid, privacy is adjustable, and the organization of everyday life emerges through occupation."

Photo by Lorenzo Zandri

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Dining Room Is Also a Bedroom—and an Office—at This Renovated Athens Flat

They May Be Divisive, But I’m Never Getting Rid of My Stone Bath Mat

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:56:41 -0700

Haters say they don’t live up to their marketing claims, but in seven years of use, my diatomaceous earth mat has remained superior to its cloth counterparts.

One of the lasting influences that my former roommate, Liz, has on me stems from her refusal to deal with a regular bath mat. Soggy, mildewy bath mats grossed her out—and they have always grossed me out too, but I had never considered an alternative. In 2009, when we lived together, we used a bamboo shower mat.

Long after Liz moved away, and many roommates later, I still had the wooden mat. It wasn’t perfect, considering that water would still pool under the slats, but it was a lot better than throwing away and repurchasing crappy textile mats that would never seem to get clean.

About a decade later, while I was in a friend’s bathroom, I noticed a different kind of bath mat, made of a slab of thin stone called diatomaceous earth. It was from a brand called Dorai, a company that my friend had known about through her job at Kickstarter when the founders of Dorai had used the crowdsourcing fundraising platform to bring their diatomaceous earth products to market in 2019.

Dorai Bath Stone™ Mat

Unlike traditional bath mats that absorb moisture and generate bacteria, the Bath Stone™ Mat is designed to quickly remove water, actually helping prevent mold.

Diatomaceous earth is a firm but subtly porous, quick-drying material made from microscopic algae called diatoms that had been fossilized. When I sprinkled water on the mat, the droplets absorbed and disappeared into the stone immediately, as if never there to begin with. I bought my first stone bath mat not long after, and it effectively changed my life. I went ahead and bought a Dorai dish rack, which is built atop a stone drying mat, too.

I’m personally obsessed with the stone bath mat, but I know it has its haters or skeptics. A common (and rather alarming) complaint, as I’ve read on Reddit and heard through other online chatter, is that it actually doesn’t do what it’s supposed to, which is to dry in seconds and remain antimicrobial. Turns out, this stone is only effective in non-humid climates or in regions where there’s some dryness in the air. New York City, where I live, may now be considered subtropic but there’s enough variation in temps and dew points throughout the year that the stone bath mat isn’t often dank. I gather that the quick-drying stone isn’t designed to handle intense amounts of water—I don’t expect to see this material at a spa or public pool, for example—but it suits my needs.

While I’ve never had an issue with my stone bath mat, I’ve had to replace my stone dish rack, which got moldy after a few years. I first chalked up to the spots appearing on the slab to normal food-drying drippage, only to flip the stone over one day and saw that black mold had quickly spread underneath. Barf. Instead, I bought another (expensive) Dorai dish rack—now, with a slightly updated design—and vowed to be more careful about pouring out all excess water from my dishes before setting them to dry.

The dish rack mold was inevitable, and it was entirely my bad, considering how often it got soaking wet, and in my kitchen, which is always sort of steamy, sticky, and greasy. Every other month or so, and after my dishes have been cleared away, I’ll give the stone a quick rinse to wash off any crumbs or dust. And then I’ll watch it dry immediately before I place it back beneath the rack. So far, so good. Therein lies the beauty of these products: they truly require so little upkeep and maintenance.

The dish rack requires slightly more upkeep than the bath mat, but I still find it to be a better solution than drying mats made from other materials.

Courtesy of the brand

The bath mat, unsurprisingly, tends to get dirtier since it lives on the floor. I have a no shoes policy in my apartment, but occasionally I’ll have the random guest who forgets and leaves an annoying footprint on the mat with the sole of their shoes. I’ve also accidentally dropped beauty and skincare products on the mat before. Whenever a stubborn spot appears, whether from shoes or toiletries, I’ll take a piece of fine-grit sandpaper (which Dorai includes with every order) and sand the area until whatever dirt or stain scrubs off. Similar to the way I "clean" my dish rack stone, I’ll then give the mat a rinse under the running tub faucet and lean it on the wall so both sides can fully dry, within minutes, before I set it flat again atop a no-slip rubber pad.

Purely on a comfort level, what’s missing from the stone bath mat experience is the tender feeling of stepping onto a plush surface after a shower. But I had been so used to a hard bamboo mat prior to a stone mat that making the transition didn’t affect me at all. Plus, cloth bath mats all eventually flatten out and reach a point of no return—they hold onto so much moisture, dirt, dust, hair, and other schmutz that no number of cycles in the washing machine and dryer will bring back the once buoyant yarn loops.

Still, the one point I will give to the diatomaceous earth mat haters (other than its steep price point, at least at Dorai) is how incredibly vibeless it is. The colors are extremely limited and extremely boring. The current options, as of writing this, are light gray, medium gray, and dark gray. It’s a joyless tonal scheme, and recalls conversations around how muted the whole DTC aesthetic is. There are other brands making these stone products, of course (many of which are offered way cheaper too), but there’s hardly any variation in style. I look around at my designer friends, who release bath mats with eye-catching patterns or illustrations brimming with personality. My gray stone bath mat just blends into my gray bathroom tiles. That being said, my distaste for dampness certainly outweighs settling for cloth.

For now, until another diatomaceous earth-based home goods brand appears on the market offering a more playful lineup of products, I’m sticking to (and swearing my life on) my Dorai bath mats and dish rack. The brand’s products have given me hardly any headaches, so I find they’re worth the extra investment. Emerging from a shower and stepping onto a surface that captures my wet footprint for a mere second before it instantly vanishes is kind of magical, and it never gets old.

26 Products to Instantly Upgrade Your Bathroom for Less Than $100

The Roof Also Forms a Wall at This Soaring Colorado Cabin

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:56:25 -0700

An off-kilter pitch leans to the rear of the plan, with one eave connecting to the ground to enclose a storage area and pantry.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Allenspark, Colorado

Architect: Renée del Gaudio Architecture / @reneedelgaudioarchitecture

Footprint: 2,100 square feet

Builder: Coburn Partners

Structural Engineer: Correlate Structural Engineering

Civil Engineer: Van Horn Engineering

Cabinetry: Marc Hunter Woodworking

Photographer: David Lauer / @davidlauerphoto

From the Architect: "Built at the base of Mt. Meeker, this zero-carbon cabin brings together multiple generations of a family that has visited the valley for nearly a century. Rooted in both landscape and family history, Camp Meeker looks ahead, oﬀering a model for the next century of cabin design in the region. Inspired by the clarity of early miner cabins, the architecture is defined by a steep roof-wall and a palette of robust, honest materials. At the family’s request, there is no television, dishwasher, or microwave—an intentional return to quiet living. Yet behind this simplicity lies a sophisticated geothermal system that enables the cabin to operate with zero carbon.

"The cabin is organized into two distinct volumes: one for gathering and one for retreat. The primary volume is an open living space centered around a wood stove, with expansive views to Mt. Meeker, an aspen grove, and surrounding granite outcroppings. The rotated roof-wall shelters the space from western winds while creating space for a children’s sleeping loft above the kitchen. The second volume is a row of bedrooms with oversized sliding doors. Three bedrooms accommodate the adults, while a rooftop sleeping porch oﬀers the option of spending the night under the stars. From this perch, the family’s original 1950 log cabin can be seen across the pond, reinforcing the connection between generations.

"A restrained plan and palette of materials cultivate a calm, direct connection to nature. Outside, a fully fire-resistant envelope of concrete, steel framing, and ironwood siding is designed for resilience and longevity. Inside, floors, walls, and ceiling are lined in a singular, rustic-grade oak, creating a warm, unified interior.

"Camp Meeker is a place to slow down—to gather around a fire, wake with the sun, and fall asleep beneath the stars. Designed to endure, the cabin is built for the next generation of this family and the ones to follow."

Photo by David Lauer

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Roof Also Forms a Wall at This Soaring Colorado Cabin
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You Can Lease a Ray Kappe House in Los Angeles for $9K a Month

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:56:40 -0700

The 1957 Margaret O. Smith Residence blends into its lush Laurel Canyon lot with a green facade and an upper level perched in the treetops.

Location: 8322 Ridpath Drive, Los Angeles, California

Price: $9,000 per month

Architect: Ray Kappe

Year: 1957

Footprint: 802 square feet (2 beds, 2 baths)

From the Listing: "Tucked away in storied Laurel Canyon, this post-and-beam house showcases the architect’s early genius for blending structures into a tranquil natural setting. An open-concept plan seamlessly connects the kitchen, dining, and living areas. Floor-to-ceiling glass removes the boundary between indoors and out, allowing sunlight to filter softly inside, casting beautiful, slow-moving shadows throughout the day. A freestanding fireplace, a bathroom, and a primary bedroom overlooking a canopy of green trees complete this floor. The lower level features a laundry area, a guest bath, and a second bedroom with direct outdoor access. The exterior unfolds into a lushly landscaped yard, crowned by an upper platform. Minutes from the historic Canyon Country Store, this home offers a quiet escape while remaining close to everything Los Angeles has to offer."

The home is an early example of celebrated architect Ray Kappe’s work.

Photo by Pierre Galant

See the full story on Dwell.com: You Can Lease a Ray Kappe House in Los Angeles for $9K a Month
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In Slovenia, Two 1950s Terrace Homes Trade Tiny Rooms for Light-Filled Vertical Layouts

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:56:39 -0700

Small, stacked spaces are now more open to one another with a reworked central staircase and a series of skylights.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Architect: Dans Arhitekti

Footprint: 3,660 square feet

Photographer: Miran Kambič

From the Architect: "The terraced houses designed by Marko Šlajmer and his colleagues were built in 1957 as one of the first cooperative housing developments, reflecting the active initiative and optimism of a generation of young architects. The ensemble is characterized by rational construction, efficient use of space, and a high standard of living culture, while at the same time standing out for its innovative spatial concept. Compared to today’s open and bright living spaces, the original apartment layout is characterized by small rooms and limited natural light.

"The main challenge of the renovation was how to open up the existing spatial structure and visually enlarge the interiors, while carefully preserving the defining elements of the architecture: structurally fixed load-bearing walls and a clearly articulated central staircase. The original vertical layout was strong in idea but very rigid, with many small stacked rooms. Within this framework, the two terraced houses were reconfigured into two distinct residential units: a larger family dwelling spread across seven levels, and a smaller, more compact unit organized over five levels for a single resident. The vertical division was reinterpreted rather than expanded, allowing new spatial relationships to emerge within the existing structural envelope.

"Within the tightly defined spatial conditions, the project explores subtle interventions that fundamentally change the perception and use of space. The central staircase becomes the main spatial and visual connector, linking all levels of the house and acting as a vertical void through which light is distributed. New openings introduce daylight both from the roof and from the perimeter facades, creating diagonal and vertical visual connections between rooms. Interior boundaries are carefully perforated, allowing views to extend across levels and transforming the house into a continuous spatial system rather than a sequence of isolated rooms.

"Although the interventions are precise and relatively small in structural terms, they create a strong change in space and atmosphere. The sequence of rooms unfolds like a continuous story, where each space has its own material character, light, and sound. Instead of a uniform interior, the house becomes a series of different spatial moments connected by vertical continuity and visual links.

"Terraced houses are protected as architectural heritage. When renovating, we take into account the uniformity of the facades of all the houses in the settlement, facing the street and the garden. A large two-story window on the final facade of the set is the only intervention that expresses the renovation externally."

Photo by Miran Kambič

See the full story on Dwell.com: In Slovenia, Two 1950s Terrace Homes Trade Tiny Rooms for Light-Filled Vertical Layouts

The Double-Height Atrium Is Still the Best Part of This Revived ’70s Australian Home

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:56:12 -0700

WOWOWA Architecture turned an upstairs storage area into a study with a view of the signature feature.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Glen Iris, Australia

Architect: WOWOWA / @wowowaarch

Footprint: 3,229 square feet

Builder: The Carbonist

Structural and Civil Engineer: R.I Brown

Landscape Design: MJB Landscapes

Photographer: Sean Fennessy

From the Architect: "Published in Belle Magazine August 1978, WOWOWA x Borland Crossman House is a restoration, repair and adaptive heritage reimagining of a Kevin Borland modernist gem in Glen Iris, on Boon Wurrung/Bunurong and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country. Designing with the angel of Borland on our shoulder, WOWOWA carefully disassembled the moments of the house that no longer served a contemporary family and stitched them back together in a way that feels both fresh and deeply respectful.

"The home’s double-height, fern-filled internal garden atrium remains its most recognizable feature, filtered by an east-facing slatted shade structure. Beige curved brick walls funnel visitors from the street, through a lushly landscaped garden hosting plants protected and cared for throughout construction. The clients saw themselves as custodians rather than owners, with a commitment to circularity and craftsmanship so strong they were willing to pay more to reuse than replace.

"Spatial interventions were executed with precision. A faceted half-circle window suite was shifted to allow an eight-person dining table, while a new sunken lounge honors the removal of a non-compliant spiral staircase that once blocked light and severed the visual connection to the garden. By reducing overlooking, the house was transformed into a more private sanctuary. Noninvasive reorientation of the pantry, laundry, and powder room aligned with the home’s 45-degree-loving structural logic. This was so faithfully observed that even the lights pivot to 45 degrees.

"For WOWOWA, the study is the hero moment. Formerly a mechanical room turned storage, a section revealed an opportunity for new sight lines into the atrium. Timber lining was carefully removed and replaced with a matching facade curtain wall, allowing a crafted coved joinery desk to mitigate the low ceiling height and visually connect through the void to the revitalized internal garden.

"Existing timber linings were removed, sorted, repaired, and reinstalled alongside new boards color-matched through a replicated whitewash oil process—completed by the clients themselves. Brickwork was on-site cleaned and reused in the back deck and workshop. Joiner Mood relaminated the original kitchen benchtop into a new form, repaired doors, veneers and bedheads, while fixtures, handles, basins and lights were retained, repaired and reused.

"Wearing puffer jackets indoors through winter galvanized the clients’ sustainability efforts: Brick walls were fully relined and insulated, glazing upgraded to thermally broken double glazing matching Borland’s original fin profiles, and a destratification fan installed. Gas was removed, heat pumps installed, and rainwater fully harvested."

Photo by Sean Fennessey

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Double-Height Atrium Is Still the Best Part of This Revived ’70s Australian Home

This $550K Seattle Condo Is at the Top of Its Class

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:56:32 -0700

Set inside the historic 1896 West Queen Anne School, the Victorian-era classroom has graduated to become a lofty one-bedroom with an A+ kitchen.

Location: 1401 5th Ave W #305, Seattle, Washington

Price: $550,000

Year Built: 1896 (with additions through 1920)

Architects: Warren P. Skillings and James M. Corner

Renovation Date: 2024

Footprint: 714 square feet (1 bed, 1 bath)

From the Agent: "Originally an elementary school classroom in Seattle’s historic West Queen Anne School, this one-of-a-kind residence has been thoughtfully transformed through an extensive renovation that preserves the building’s architectural character while improving its functionality. The redesigned layout opened up the living space and completely reworked the kitchen and bathroom, creating a home that balances historic details with contemporary updates.

Original features, including soaring ceilings, expansive classroom windows, and other historic architectural details, remain central to the home. Carefully selected finishes, exposed brick, a custom rolling library ladder, and Victorian- and Edwardian-inspired elements reference the building’s history. The home also comes with secure garage parking and a dedicated storage unit within the building, and it sits on the school’s landscaped 1.76-acre grounds in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, minutes from parks, cafes, downtown, and transit."

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo occupies a former elementary school classroom inside the West Queen Anne School, built in 1896.

Photo by Noah Gabrielson/Image Marketing Studio

According to the seller, "The afternoon sun pours through the large, west-facing windows, filling the home with light all year round."

Photo by Noah Gabrielson/Image Marketing Studio

See the full story on Dwell.com: This $550K Seattle Condo Is at the Top of Its Class
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Can Traditional Tattoos Help Us Understand Architectural History?

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:56:26 -0700

Designer and professor Monique Lizardo discusses how Indigenous body markings—plus ceramics, weavings, and other art forms—can reveal a lot about how past societies looked and functioned.

In April 2023, Vogue premiered its oldest cover model: 106-year-old Apo Whang-Od, an Indigenous Kalinga tattoo artist who was preserving the ancient practice of traditional batok in the Philippines. The hand-tapped etchings of diamonds and woven patterns on Whang-Od’s body stood out to Monique Lizardo, a Filipino-Canadian architectural designer and professor, when she saw the magazine, but it wasn’t until she went back to the Philippines in December of that same year to get tattooed by Whang-Od that her research on the traditional tattoos as viable architectural and historical archives began to take form.

It turns out that the markings on Whang-Od’s body were the same patterns commonly found etched onto doors, furniture, and even traditional clothing in the northern Philippines. As Lizardo began learning more about the meanings of each pattern—certain ticks and dashes that symbolized headhunting success, beauty, or protection—she found that they helped tell a story about the lived experiences of people in ancient Kalinga societies. These symbols could be read as indicators of their bearers’ specific environmental and social conditions, rather than only artistic preferences. Perhaps, she thought, she could connect the dots between architecture and tattoos, treating the body as a map to help trace what was important to folks at that time and better understand their realities.

I spoke with Lizardo about her research, and how, yes, tattoos, but also ceramics, blankets, and other art mediums can be studied as living artifacts that can orient us to a specific time and place, and in some cases, give insight about what it might’ve felt like to be there.

Filipino-Canadian architectural designer and professor Monique Lizardo traveled to the mountain village of Buscalan in the Philippines to receive traditional Kalinga hand-tapped tattoos, or batok, from mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattoo artist) Apo Whang-Od.

Photos courtesy Monique Lizardo

Being trained in architecture gives you a specific perspective, but I love seeing your personal history and culture as an entry point to connect your interests. Can you describe the type of work you’re doing: the what and the why of it?

Monique Lizardo: I initially developed this methodology of looking at art history as a means of studying traditional architecture by looking at traditional tattoos. This led to looking at other case studies, such as ceramics near Chihuahua, Mexico, and African-Canadian quilts from the interwar years and what they resemble, to start to reconfigure what architecture might have looked like at that time period in that specific place. By looking at symbols in traditional craft, we can start to think about what these spaces looked like beyond colonial history.

Since you’ve started broadening the scope of what you look at, has there been a particular piece of art that has fundamentally changed the way that you’ve approached this work?

One of the tattoos that really stuck out was these sort of dash tick mark tattoos. These stand for headhunting and are typically found up north in the mountains in the Philippines. Back in the day, warriors would have these tick mark tattoos closer to their face: behind the ear or centered on the chest or on the face. Each tick mark meant that they were successful in killing one person. This tattoo was really important to my research, not just its existence or how crucial it was to the culture of that specific area, but because people don’t get that tattoo anymore. The reason why that’s so interesting is because it means that these tattoos have meanings and that if people aren’t killing for safety anymore, that reality isn’t necessary for 2026. If people are still tattooing a pattern for rice paddies or mountain peaks or python scales, that means that it’s still true to the values or the reality of today.

By looking at each of the tattoos of our many elders we can start to understand the architecture in broad terms, but also just how spaces felt…not just built architecture, but imagining a space in relation to what these tattoos meant. For example, a space where warriors who were really successful and had a lot of these tattoos probably meant your area was very safe, or if a lot of people had rice paddy tattoos, could signify that they were in abundance during that time.

I’m reminded of this SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) tattoo technique called deq, which literally translates to knocking, that resembles the technique you’re referring to here. It’s basically a type of stick and poke that also carries different, specific meanings. It’s interesting that this thread is found across several Indigenous cultures, while also being really specific to the landscape that you’re looking at in the Philippines. What else can this type of spatial or embodied information reveal to us that maybe conventional archives or mapping tend to leave out?

One case study that might show how far, or maybe another direction, we can push this, is an example that I’ve taken from this exhibit that David Woods curated called The Secret Codes: African Nova Scotian Quilts. This exhibit showcased different quilts that people would put outside of their door as if they’re hanging laundry, but what it would actually do is secretly code to other Black folks routes to safety or freedom. They’d have markings symbolizing things like, "You’ve arrived at a decision point, multiple routes to freedom, choose a path," or things like, "Travel in disguise, change identities, move between the clothing of a slave and the clothing of a free person." So looking at this exhibit, I’ve created some speculative landscapes or speculative landscape renderings of what an environment might look like if someone comes across each one of these 1930s quilt patterns.

What we’re delving into now is what it means to study architectural history beyond looking at dates and listening to individualized stories. By looking at Indigenous art, we can incorporate their voices and put ourselves in a first-person perspective to understand, or at least start to understand, what it might’ve felt like to be there.

Traditional tattoos in the Kalinga province in the Cordillera Mountains feature various symbols and patterns with specific meanings, like rice paddies, which according to Lizardo symbolize beauty for women, and python scales, worn by women to preserve youth.

From left: Photo by John Warburton-Lee/Alamy; photo by Christian J. Kober/Alamy

How do you think this research and its findings challenges the more traditional modes of what record keepers deem "relevant" or "accurate"?

I think the biggest thing that it challenges is what even counts as architecture; architecture isn’t just about buildings or even landscape. Architecture is space. If we’re looking at speculative landscapes for someone who may have had a headhunting tattoo, it could be a space that defines where they might have met or congregated with their group. Architecture is the way that we form natural ground. Architecture doesn’t just look at a singular building, but its impact at the urban scale, how accessible a certain site is, and how people arrive at it.

I’m really curious how you’ve brought your traditional training and way of thinking as an architect and designer to things like bodies, textiles, and objects. How do you think other architects/planners/designers could change their practices if they began treating cultural artifacts as more than aesthetic references, but as spatial archives?

Architects are super suited to read social implications and impacts when looking at images. So for instance, if an architect is looking at a floor plan, we would instinctually see that the living room, dining room, and kitchen should be next to each other and all the quiet "programs" are probably like a hallway away, things like libraries or bedrooms. Maybe if we look at an elevation drawing, an architect might see it as more than dimensions and directions, but a relationship of how the sun affects the pedestrian experience due to the height, size, or the shape of a building. Architects are trained to read these insights from images and now it’s just about translating that into looking at art.

Land acknowledgements are a start, but we can build upon them with information about what the space used to be called or was used for. I think in doing this exercise, buildings can become an immersive teacher about what spaces were like. We can use these insights to be more structural about how we acknowledge Indigenous voices. This research has helped me understand women and elders as knowledge bearers. It’s also helped me consider the planning of shared public spaces. Like, how can we design these third spaces to allow for people of different walks of life to enjoy spaces safely and together? Maybe it means having light at night so it feels safer. Maybe it means that there are no hidden corners so that women or children feel safer because they’re seen. This is something everyone can engage with simply by being curious and asking where things are from.

Lizardo’s research looks at other traditional arts and crafts as a way of studying history. The prehistoric archaeological site of Paquimé in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico, (right) had an extensive ceramic production full of recurring symbols and motifs related to their surroundings, according to the architectural designer.

From left: Photo from Getty; photo by David G. Houser/Alamy

See the full story on Dwell.com: Can Traditional Tattoos Help Us Understand Architectural History?
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The Fight Over the Kennedy Center Continues—and Everything Else You Need to Know About This Week

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:56:37 -0700

Governor Gavin Newsom sets safety standards for homes damaged by wildfire smoke, Airbnb launches a $250 million housing fund, and more.

The Kennedy Center’s board voted to close the struggling venue for urgent repairs after part of its ceiling collapse. The vote came after a federal judge blocked President Trump, yet again, from adding his name to the building, prompting him to threaten to pull support for its renovation via Truth Social and berate Representative Joyce Beatty during a heated board meeting. (The Atlantic)
U.S. existing home sales fell for the third straight month in August as mortgage rates neared seven percent, and prices hit a record high for the month. More homes are lingering on the market, giving buyers who can still afford to shop a wider selection and a little more leverage when negotiating. (The Los Angeles Times)
California has created the nation’s first science-based pair of laws for testing and cleaning wildfire smoke-damaged homes, now thought of as a "curse in disguise" by homeowners whose houses survived the flames but remained unsafe. Insurers must cover testing and living expenses until a home is deemed safe to live in. (The New York Times)

"We want to make sure that our investments are catalytic and are demonstrating proof of concept about new models that can work," Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky told WSJ regarding the company’s decision to finance affordable and mixed-income housing projects.

Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Airbnb

Airbnb is launching a $250 million fund to help finance affordable and mixed-income housing projects, starting with a development in Austin, Texas that will have around 200 units. Here’s what prompted the initiative. (Wall Street Journal)
A recent study by the National Association of Realtors found that data centers can have drastically different effects on housing in different areas, with impacts varying widely by market. In Abilene, Texas, workers building the $500 billion Stargate Project have packed nearby rentals and hotels, helping push the median home price from about $250,000 to $342,000 in six years. Here’s why the same facilities driving up housing demand in one city may barely move the market in another. (NPR)

Top photo by Mehmet Eser/Anadolu via Getty Images

Chip and Joanna Gaines’s Texas Castle Just Listed for $2.7M

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:56:24 -0700

Meticulously restored by the design duo, the 135-year-old Waco landmark brings Gothic drama to cowboy country—and every piece of furniture comes with it.

Location: 3300 Austin Avenue, Waco, Texas

Price: $2,699,000

Year Built: 1890

Renovation Designers: Chip and Joanna Gaines

Footprint: 6,176 square feet (4 beds, 3.5 baths)

Lot Size: 0.815 acres

From the Agent: "Renovation duo Chip and Joanna Gaines meticulously designed, renovated, and restored the 135-year-old Waco castle, with the goal of honoring its past while making it a home again. The interiors combine historic details, including gorgeous millwork, antique tile floors, and diamond-paned windows, with spaces designed for everyday living and entertaining. Along with a formal dining room, living room, and renovated kitchen, the home includes a moody card room, formal library, and distinctive conservatory. Elegant bedrooms are joined by fully renovated spa bathrooms that make for luxurious sanctuaries. Lush landscaping around the house completes the picture-perfect scene. All furnishings, accessories, and decor have been thoughtfully selected to complement the home’s design and are included with the sale, creating a truly turnkey opportunity."

In a note republished on their Magnolia blog, Joanna Gaines describes the castle as looking "as if, once upon a time, somebody in Europe packed up a fairy-tale fortress and shipped it off to begin a new life in the American West."

Photo by Lisa Petrole

The Gaineses purchased the castle in 2019 and completed its renovation in 2022.

Photo by Lisa Petrole

See the full story on Dwell.com: Chip and Joanna Gaines’s Texas Castle Just Listed for $2.7M
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This Filmmaker Loves Movie Homes So Much, He Built a Mini One in His NYC Condo

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:56:09 -0700

Lee Leshen produced a documentary about what it’s like to live in a famous on-screen property, so naturally he made his own place an homage to some of his favorites.

Welcome to Different Strokes, a look at unique home design choices that beg for further explanation.

Filmmaker Lee Leshen has more than a passing interest in famous on-screen houses that are just as iconic as the media they appeared in. He produced the 2024 documentary, The House From…, about what it’s like to live in a movie- or TV-famous house, like Home Alone’s Georgian Colonial, the Golden Girls Palm Beach Regency, or Walter White’s ranch-style home from Breaking Bad. So when he decided to buy his own piece of real estate in New York City after riding out the pandemic in a 250-square-foot West Village studio, he knew it was going to be a creative project, not just a regular renovation. "When I was thinking about my next apartment, I thought, What if you had a nice apartment in Toontown sprinkled with a bit of Pee-wee’s playhouse?" Lee says. "It was going to be more Acme-themed."

In the open living area of his West Village condo, filmmaker Lee Leshen devised a gallery wall with around 40 collectibles from throughout his life—a screen print of Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone done by Kilmer in 2021; a stunt cane used by the Riddler in Batman Forever; three of Don Draper’s business cards from Mad Men, and many more bits from the movies and series he loves. (He’s cataloged it all.)

Photos by Em Cullum Photography, courtesy Lee Leshen

Once he saw what’s now his 1,000-square-foot condo with 14-foot ceilings in the same neighborhood, a new idea clicked: he’d build a 312-square-foot house inspired by a beloved movie house within the unit. He closed in 2022, and moved in 2023. Although the condo renovation was supposed to take just six weeks, it ended up lasting more like six months.

The "house" inside his condo is complete with real shutters and windows. A red front door on the lower level opens to a small closet full of shoes, and a set of stairs (carpeted with turf) leads to his lofted sleeping area and bathroom. There’s a mini balcony on the "facade" overlooking the kitchen; Lee put fake tulips and a white picket fence around it and decorated it with toy houses from Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story and a Lego Christmas tree. There’s even a political lawn sign. It feels a bit like a movie set.

Lee sits on the turf-covered stairs of the mini "house" within his condo.

Photo by Em Cullum Photography, courtesy Lee Leshen

It’s not a conventional use of the space, but Lee loves it. "I’ve talked about maybe one day, depending on how long I live here, taking down the siding and putting up something that looks more like a beach house, and then making it a summer house," he says. "But right now, everything works."

We talked to Lee about how he made his West Village condo accommodate a mini home inside of a home. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The stairs lead to Lee’s lofted bedroom. The wood paneling is an homage to his original vision of putting a tree house inside of the condo.

Photo by Em Cullum Photography, courtesy Lee Leshen

See the full story on Dwell.com: This Filmmaker Loves Movie Homes So Much, He Built a Mini One in His NYC Condo

The Bay Area Home of a Famed Experimental Physicist Just Hit the Market for $1.4M

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:56:27 -0700

Architect Donald Olsen drew inspiration from the Bauhaus as he designed this clean-lined midcentury set on a wooded Berkeley hillside.

Location: 775 San Diego Rd, Berkeley, California

Price: $1,425,000

Architect: Donald Olsen

Year Built: 1952

Footprint: 1,904 square feet (3 beds, 2 baths)

Lot Size: 0.4 acres

From the Agent: "At 775 San Diego Road, directly across from John Hinkel Park, the Kip House is one of the remarkable early residential works of Berkeley modernist Donald Olsen. Designed in 1952 for UC Berkeley physicist Arthur Frederic Kip, the house belongs to a formative moment in Olsen’s career, when the principles of European modernism, particularly the Bauhaus, were finding a new expression in California. Olsen embraced the Bauhaus’s emphasis on clarity, functional planning, and the elimination of unnecessary ornament. Those ideas would remain fundamental to his work, but in Berkeley they took on a distinctly Californian character: more open to landscape, more informal in their organization, and deeply responsive to climate and site. More than seventy years later, it is striking how modern the Kip House feels. Its clean geometry, expanses of glass, and remarkably fluid plan still read as contemporary. Olsen used the slope of the site to create a sequence of subtly changing levels. The approach leads to an intermediate level containing the kitchen and dining spaces. The kitchen opens directly to the dining room and continues outward into a secluded English garden. From this central level, the plan rises to a raised living room and study, while two of the bedrooms occupy the lower portion of the house. The Kip House makes the ideas of the past feel relevant today: open living, connection to landscape, efficient use of space, privacy without enclosure, and architecture that responds closely to its site."

Architect Donald Olsen drew inspiration from the Bauhaus as he designed this clean-lined midcentury set on a wooded Berkeley hillside.

Photo by Open Homes Photography

A red balcony brings a pop of primary color to the home’s front facade.

Photo by Open Homes Photography

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Bay Area Home of a Famed Experimental Physicist Just Hit the Market for $1.4M
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A Santa Rosa Beach Retreat Offers Panoramic Gulf Views for $11.5M

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:56:35 -0700

Fully furnished across three elevator-accessible levels, the home’s crowning touch is its Scott Merrill-designed ceiling.

2130 East County Highway 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, is currently listed at $11,598,750 by Richard Jabbour and Gayle Adams at Scenic Sotheby’s International Realty.

Perched just steps from the sand in the heart of Seaside, Beluga is a timeless coastal retreat where classic architecture meets easy, elegant living. Step through the front door and into a small, welcoming den anchored by original shiplap and rich wood floors that continue throughout the home.

A private elevator, serving all three levels, sits just off the entry alongside a full laundry room. Down the hall, two spacious king suites offer private retreats of their own. Each features a king-size bed, shiplap walls, and a full en suite bath with a tiled shower-tub combination behind glass enclosures; the second suite adds built-in dresser drawers and a separate vanity area with polished chrome fixtures. Both come fully furnished and ready for guests.

Further down the hall, mirror-image bunk suites flank either side, each outfitted with two sets of twin-over-full built-in bunks and generous built-in storage. Every bunk suite has its own private bath, one finished in marble tile with a separate shower. Each opens conveniently to both the interior hallway and directly to the back door, making it easy to rinse off after a day at the beach.

An owner’s storage closet completes the first floor. Take the elevator or stairs to the second floor, where a light-filled landing opens onto a cozy den with built-in storage and plenty of seating. The rest of this level belongs entirely to the primary suite, a true retreat with two separate en suite baths.

One bath features a spa-style shower and penny-tile flooring, while the other is finished in marble with built-in storage, a dressing table, a full shower-tub combination, its own full-size washer and dryer, and floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with light. Step outside onto a private balcony furnished with a sleeping swing and lounge seating, perfect for morning coffee or evening sunsets.

The third floor is the heart of the home, crowned by a soaring, light-filled ceiling designed by Scott Merrill, the same architect behind the iconic Chapel at Seaside. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame panoramic gulf views, illuminating an open living room with gas fireplace and a dining area that comfortably seats eight with room to spare.

The kitchen is outfitted with Viking appliances including a six-burner gas range, marble countertops, a farmhouse sink, dishwasher, and generous counter space, with a pass-through window connecting it to the living area so the whole floor feels open and connected.

A powder bath sits just off the kitchen. North-facing windows look toward Seaside’s town center, and the elevator reaches all the way up here too, opening directly into the kitchen. Beyond the living area, step out onto Beluga’s showstopping entertaining porch. Finished with the same signature ceiling detail as the living space inside, this expansive outdoor room comfortably seats a crowd and includes space for outdoor dining, all beneath sweeping gulf views, the perfect stage for sunset gatherings and long, easy evenings by the water.

Fully furnished and thoughtfully laid out across three levels, Beluga sleeps up to eighteen guests across five bedrooms and five and a half baths in roughly 3,500 square feet, offering the rare combination of architectural character, everyday comfort, and true gulf-front living.

Listing Details

Bedrooms: 5

Baths: 5 full, 1 partial

Year Built: 2004

Square feet: 3,500

Courtesy of Scenic Sotheby's International Realty

See the full story on Dwell.com: A Santa Rosa Beach Retreat Offers Panoramic Gulf Views for $11.5M
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Budget Breakdown: In Nova Scotia, a Master Metalworker Builds a Steely ADU for $292K

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 07:56:24 -0700

"If you do wood, you have to maintain it. Galvanized steel rusts. Cor-Ten, though, lasts for a lifetime—I don’t have to touch it," says homeowner Marc Schaedler. "It’s the only material I really think will last in this climate."

Metalworker Marc Schaedler spends his days fabricating steel railings, planters, and range hoods for other people’s architectural visions. For his own backyard suite in the West End neighborhood of Halifax, Nova Scotia, he wanted something bigger: proof that steel could carry an entire project, not just accent one.

"I work with top architects on bits and pieces," says Marc, who founded the firm Urban Handcraft. "This was my opportunity to do a full project."

The 735-square-foot ADU, tucked behind Marc’s existing home on historic Chebucto Road, began not with a wish for more space, but as an experiment to push the boundaries of his craftsmanship. "Should I do a normal wood-framed house? More metal fabrication? Something totally different?" Marc recalls asking himself. "It was kind of scary, but I started to sketch something super simple—a garage."

In Halifax, Canada, Urban Handcraft founder Marc Schaedler teamed up with David Bourque Architecture to design and build a 735-square-foot ADU behind Marc’s home. It’s wrapped in Cor-Ten steel, and the corrugated material elevates what would otherwise be a simple shed form.

Photo by Julian Parkinson

The exterior will continue developing a rusted patina over time, requiring no maintenance.

Photo by Julian Parkinson

Architect David Bourque, principal of David Bourque Architecture and a frequent collaborator with Marc, saw larger potential. "It’s a project to show the versatility of the material he works with every day," Bourque says. "Not just a railing or planter or range hood. You can do an entire project with metal, and it was a nice opportunity to demonstrate that."

A wood credenza leans against the blackened steel feature wall.

Photo by Julian Parkinson

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: In Nova Scotia, a Master Metalworker Builds a Steely ADU for $293K
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Summer Never Ends at This Sun-Soaked Menorca Villa Asking €2.45M

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 04:56:19 -0700

Decked out with colorful original tile, the updated 1960s home opens to a lush garden and a sparkling pool.

Location: Llucmaçanes, Menorca, Spain

Price: €2,450,000 (approximately $2,827,815 USD)

Year Built: 1960

Renovation Year: 2025

Renovation Designer: Vera S. Guasch

Footprint: 2,928 square feet (5 beds, 5 baths)

Lot Size: 0.2 acres

From the Agent: "In the heart of Llucmaçanes, S’Hora Baixa reinterprets the Menorcan village house. It features terra-cotta tile laid in a herringbone pattern, limewashed walls with niches, and wood and natural fiber in just the right measure. The five bedrooms are laid out without feeling forced upon the original floor plan. The period hydraulic tiles have been kept with their floral pattern intact, alongside new floors in microcement and marés stone. The bathrooms have handmade emerald-green tile, matte black fittings, and basins set on masonry counters. The kitchen, open to the dining room with an island and breakfast bar, is fitted with Miele appliances. The living area opens entirely onto the courtyard: the glazing disappears, and the dining room and garden become one and the same. The terraced garden features dry-stone walls, olive trees, a fig tree, a path of flagstones over gravel, and a long pool turned toward the last light of the day."

Located on the eastern coast of Menorca, the home is 10 minutes from Maó, which is the island’s capital.

Photo by Maria Missaglia

Wood and natural fibers accent the interior.

Photo by Maria Missaglia

See the full story on Dwell.com: Summer Never Ends at This Sun-Soaked Menorca Villa Asking €2.45M
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Forget Gatekeeping, Annie Meyers-Shyer’s "This Oak House" Shares Every Single Source for Her Home

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:56:41 -0700

The social media personality took an unbelievably meticulous approach to her home renovation. Readers can use it as a cheat sheet—or an escape from the real life stresses of making over your space.

When I was working as a personal assistant, one of the first tasks I was assigned was assisting my boss with the completion of her home renovation. Running around Tribeca for paint samples, supervising contractors as they installed custom storage solutions, and managing lighting deliveries, I often became overwhelmed by the various microdetails that would complicate what seemed like straightforward decisions. As a less-than-amateur when it came to design and home renovation, it taught me a lot that I knew would be useful for my own future (hopefully!) as a homeowner, mostly that I should avoid a major renovation at all costs.

Maybe I would have been less surprised by the millions of small details if I’d had Annie Meyers-Shyer’s new book, This Oak House, back then. Part personal narrative and part how-to guide, This Oak House provides exhaustive detail about her experience renovating her family home, a "country colonial-style five-bedroom" house inherited from her mother-in-law. When Meyers-Shyer was looking for a new home for herself, her husband, and their two sons, it was not in her plans to take on a deep renovation of an old home. But she saw major potential in the home and approached its renovation with zeal.

In the book, readers can see architect Brian Covington’s drawing specifying the spacing for the front door hardware placement, read Meyers-Shyer’s list of auction search terms that help her find antiques and artwork, and find out how she calculates the appropriate distance between lights in a hallway.

Image courtesy of Chronicle Books

In the book, Meyers-Shyer describes the home as "a dream," and it’s a dream that hundreds of thousands of people have lived vicariously through her Instagram, which shares a name with her recently published book.

What began as a "journal" for her friends and family back in NYC to follow her journey in Los Angeles became, within a few months, a renovation travelogue with 11,000 devotees following along. Sure, many of these people were undoubtedly first attracted by Meyers-Shyer’s lineage (her mother, filmmaker Nancy Meyers, is the unofficial godmother of the Coastal Grandma aesthetic). Still, that in itself wouldn’t be enough to keep everyone’s attention. What made the account so appealing was her particular kind of openness about home design. While it’s not uncommon for homeowners to share their home transformation process, it’s not often that they invite their audience to discuss all the nitty-gritty details: what to do with the space between eaves in her children's bedrooms, if wood flooring made sense for a bathroom, whether a particular room should be painted light or dark. Many of her followers enthusiastically engaged with Meyers-Shyer in the comments, and she commented back, as she often still does. Even more appealing was her receptiveness to taking feedback and suggestions from them, a decision that made the experience feel like "a collaboration with her followers," as Nancy Meyers notes in her foreword to the book.

The dining room mood board (left) includes a stripe fabric by Rose Tarlow for the curtains and a jute rug from Lawrence of LaBrea. The garden mood board (right) includes a Great Plains fabric for the ottomans and limestone pavers from Eco Outdoor.

Image courtesy of Chronicle Books

She maintains this anti-gatekeeping offensive in the book as well. This Oak House is divided into two sections, aptly titled House and Home. "House" is technical and no nonsense, with Meyers-Shyer accounting for every possible decision, right down to determining the placement of outlets according to one’s furniture plan. "Home" is more intimate and personal, though no less detailed and instructive. Alongside mood boards of fabric swatches and design sketches, she includes family recipes for hot fudge and menus for hosting lunch and dinner parties.

But Meyers-Shyer goes beyond easy inspiration and advice—she teaches her readers how to communicate their design ideas, too. Not only does she explain terms like "RCP" (reflected ceiling plan) and "paint schedule," she also shares each of hers, walking readers through all of the minutiae. Consider her description of her lighting choices early in the book: "[M]y favorite type of over-head nondecorative ceiling light is a monopoint—a single light fixture using a track-style head, mounted to a ceiling without a track system. I would opt for monopoints over any type of can light (a recessed light installed in the ceiling). Monopoints all day, every day!" As you can tell, she doesn’t dumb anything down for her readers—instead she helps them speak the same language as the design professionals they may encounter during a renovation.

Meyers-Shyer’s advice extends beyond aesthetics and into practical details, like custom drawer organizers and outlet placement.

Image courtesy of Chronicle Books

See the full story on Dwell.com: Forget Gatekeeping, Annie Meyers-Shyer’s "This Oak House" Shares Every Single Source for Her Home
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Once Condemned, This 1888 San Diego Victorian Is on the Market for $4.5M

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:56:28 -0700

After a monumental overhaul, the Broderick Kenny House has a hidden speakeasy, more than 30 chandeliers and sconces, and pillars from the "Titanic" film set.

Location: 2133 2nd Ave, San Diego, California

Price: $4,500,000

Footprint: 4,502 square feet (4 beds, 5 baths)

Lot Size: 0.10 acres

Year Built: 1888

From the Agent: "Steeped in history and overlooking the San Diego skyline, 2133 2nd Avenue is more than a residence—it is an architectural treasure. Built in 1888, this iconic Victorian in the heart of Banker’s Hill has been meticulously restored to honor its storied past while blending modern luxury. From the stately wrought iron gates to the intricate architectural details, every inch reflects timeless craftsmanship. A dramatic freestanding spiral staircase and reimagined vintage elevator create an unforgettable experience, while a hidden speakeasy and secluded backyard provide exceptional spaces for entertaining and relaxation. The home offers two elegant guest suites, an additional en suite bedroom, and an entire third-floor primary retreat with multiple decks capturing panoramic views of the harbor, downtown skyline, Coronado Bridge, and Pacific sunsets."

When the current owner purchased the home in the 1990s, it was condemned by the City of San Diego. An extensive renovation brought the property back from the brink.

Photo by Sam Chen

The home is illuminated by more than 30 chandeliers and custom sconces.

Photo by Sam Chen

During the renovation, the seller sourced columns from the set of the film Titanic that are replicas of ones from the real ship’s first-class dining room.

Photo by Sam Chen

See the full story on Dwell.com: Once Condemned, This 1888 San Diego Victorian Is on the Market for $4.5M
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All of the Partitions in This Art Collector’s Taiwan Apartment Are Translucent

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:56:23 -0700

Glass-brick walls enclose the bathrooms and a folding door with frosted panels separates the office.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Taoyuan, Taiwan

Architect: Habitat Architects

Footprint: 1,292 square feet

Photographer: Studio Millspace / @studio_millspace

From the Architect: "Raw & Warm is a 1,292-square-foot apartment in Taoyuan, Taiwan, designed for an art collector who lives alone. The goal was to create a flexible home in which art could become part of everyday life rather than be treated as a separate display. Existing partitions were removed to open up the main living area, allowing furniture to organize the space instead of fixed walls. The original ceiling and exposed building services were retained and paired with seamless flooring, pine plywood, stainless steel, and glass brick, creating a contrast between raw and warm materials. A change in floor finish marks the transition between the shared and private areas, forming a small gallery-like threshold while preserving a continuous sense of movement through the apartment."

Glass-brick walls enclose the bathrooms and a folding door with frosted panels separates the office.

Photo by Studio Millspace

See the full story on Dwell.com: All of the Partitions in This Art Collector’s Taiwan Apartment Are Translucent
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Rubble From 9/11 Was Sent to Just One Landfill. This Photographer Has Spent 9 Years Documenting It

noreply@blogger.com (GRAPHĒ) — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:56:33 -0700

Jade Doskow’s work from Freshkills Park is proof that even a former dump can become a poignant place of mourning.

After the 9/11 attacks in New York City, nearly 1.5 million tons of rubble were removed from the site and sent to Staten Island’s Fresh Kills landfill. Once the largest dump in the world, the 2,200-acre site had already been decommissioned, and a competition for park designers launched, when it was selected as the place where Ground Zero materials would be redirected. Finally, in 2003, the decades-long revitalization project that would turn the stinking landfill into a massive wildlife park—subtly renamed "Freshkills"—officially began. Led by landscape architect firm Field Operations, the project has been partially open to the public since 2021 and will be completed by 2037.

But photographer Jade Doskow has been well-acquainted with the goings-on in Staten Island. For the past nine years she has been photographing the park, now as the Photographer in Residence, documenting the curious landscape forms—four mounds: north, south, east, and west—with images that quietly showcase the rewilded paradise. The West Mound, where the waste from Ground Zero was sent, holds special significance for New Yorkers as it has become what she calls a "humble memorial" to that day. Doskow’s photographs are being exhibited at All Street Gallery this month as one of the many tributes to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. She spoke with Dwell about her work, and how her documentation speaks to the complexities of creating a natural parkland out of the past’s discards, and the ruins of tragedy.

Summer Storm, Observation Point, 2024

Photo by Jade Doskow, courtesy All Street

Tell me about yourself and your photography practice—what informs your work?

Jade Doskow: The core of my inspiration, I would say, is the transformations within the urban built environment, and also the unexpected relationships and juxtapositions within that environment. In my previous project, Lost Utopias, I was looking at outdated World’s Fair architecture and landscaping globally, and now I’ve been working for eight years at Freshkills, which was New York City’s largest garbage dump, but is now being rewilded into this really amazing, fairly indescribable engineered wilderness.

What draws you to these subjects?

I grew up in a 1700s farmhouse in Pennsylvania, but I would often visit my grandmother in the Bronx, and she lived at the end of the train line overlooking these graffiti-covered subways, which was so fantastic. Part of living in this old house was that often these elements from the past would come up in the dirt, literally; pieces of ceramic or old tools would become unearthed. So I’ve always had this awareness that the past is always present, and certainly photography is the medium for that. It’s the one medium where we can really explore the past, present, and future almost as a time machine.

How did your residency come about?

I was winding down the Lost Utopias work after 12 years, and I suppose I was open to something new coming my way. I was teaching a School of Visual Arts class on liminal green spaces in the cities; we were going to community gardens and rooftop farms, and the typical parklands. Through my research, I came across Freshkills, and I arranged a visit. As soon as me and my students set foot onto the Freshkills hilltop, I was just blown away. I’ve just never experienced anything like it. It’s these kind of infinite meadowlands punctuated by methane pipes, and then surrounded by the New York City skyline to the north and to the west, the New Jersey industrial cityscape. I was immediately drawn in and asked how I could become the main photographer here. I ended up submitting a multipage proposal to Sanitation and Parks, and a few months later they approved my initial proposal, which was to photograph for 10 years all around the site. It’s such a complex place. I just keep learning more and more, and being more and more inspired.

White Snakeroot, Mugwort, Honey Locust, and some others..... (Overgrowth, Freshkills), 2021

Photo by Jade Doskow, courtesy All Street

Walk us through the landscape—what are some of the natural and unnatural layers that you were uncovering?

Fresh Kills stopped taking materials in 1996, and the only time the site was reopened was in 2001, following the Twin Towers tragedy. Because of that, the West Mound, which is where those materials were brought, has taken the longest time to rewild, engineer, and transform into its future self as a park or wilderness. Each of the mounds is a pyramid: Underneath are household waste and trash from the last 53 years, and then there’s multiple layers of engineering and barriers to essentially separate the new meadows and trees and so on from what’s beneath. It’s kind of like a mummification process. There’s leachate, which is what we would commonly call garbage juice—the liquid that you might find at the bottom of your compost or something like that. That has to be treated; there’s several laboratories on site at the leachate treatment plant that use a lengthy process of organic and inorganic steps to clean that water and return it safely to the waterways. Methane is also produced by garbage and Fresh Kills was actually one of the first sustainable sites in this country in that, starting in the 1980s, they were piping that methane into the usable gas grid of Staten Island. So within these pyramids, there’s methane wells and flare stations to burn the gas off. But above all that is the thick, impermeable plastic layer, on top of which soil is brought in from around the country. Then finally, that’s where the plantings happen, where they plant native plant grassland species to create the park of the future.

Sundown, Autumn, View 4, 2025

Photo by Jade Doskow, courtesy All Street

See the full story on Dwell.com: Rubble From 9/11 Was Sent to Just One Landfill. This Photographer Has Spent 9 Years Documenting It