Houses

Subterms

    Latest story

    113 Shares28 Views

    James Shaw’s light-filled London home is almost entirely underground

    by

    Lumpy recycled plastic furniture and circular skylights characterise this sunken London house, which designer James Shaw concealed on a 60-square-metre plot for himself and his family.

    Located in a conservation area in east London, the two-storey dwelling was constructed by Shaw and his friend, architect Nicholas Ashby.
    James Shaw built himself a sunken but light-filled homeThe neighbourhood’s planning restrictions required the pair to build all but 2.7 metres of the building out of sight from the street level, resulting in a sunken home with a large basement invisible from the outside.
    An open-plan kitchen, living and dining area feature in this underground space, which has exposed concrete walls interrupted by large, floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open onto a small terrace with a dinky plunge pool.
    The designer squeezed a bespoke sofa into one of the irregular cornersShaw and his writer-curator wife Lou Stoppard chose eclectic interiors for the home they share with their baby daughter – a collaboration that began with the duo’s 2022 London Design Festival installation of clashing furniture, created to poke fun at the tensions that arise when couples move in together for the first time.

    Made by Shaw, the pear-shaped walnut table from the installation features in the living area, surrounded by spindly stacking chairs first designed by furniture brand Blå Station founder Börge Lindau in 1986.
    Veneered MDF defines the kitchen cabinetsA custom aluminium bookshelf stretches across the wall opposite the table, built by Shaw to fit the unusual space. The designer also squeezed a bespoke burnt orange sofa into one of the irregular corners, illuminated by a large circular skylight.
    Known for his Plastic Baroque furniture made from recycled and extruded HDPE, Shaw placed a lumpy two-tone blue lounge chair next to the sofa – another piece that featured in his previous installation.
    The bathroom features Anni Albers-style mosaic flooringOpposite the living and dining area, the rectilinear kitchen cabinets were finished in veneered MDF, while the fridge was also fitted with a knobbly plastic handle.
    Stainless steel and pale blue HIMACS make up the worktops – one of which is on wheels to allow for flexibility when hosting.
    Squiggly pear-shaped sculptures top the bedpostsAcross the basement, a combination of oak finger parquet and raised-access metal tiles were used to create contrasting flooring. The silver-hued tiles can be lifted to reveal extra storage.
    Also underground, the bathroom was designed with a playfully patterned mosaic floor informed by the work of Bauhaus artist Anni Albers, including an abstract illustration of the couple’s cat, Rupert.
    The mirrored bathtub reflects and enhances the intricate flooring, while another rounded skylight adds natural light to the space.

    WillemsenU submerges house under the ground in the Netherlands

    An extruded blue plastic bannister snakes up the staircase to the bedroom – the only street-level room in the house.
    The Shaw-designed oak and brass bed features bedposts topped with squiggly pear-shaped sculptures, while the thin timber wardrobe was hand-painted with decorative panels by artist Marie Jacotey, who completed the project on-site.
    The bedroom is the only street-level roomStoppard’s vast art collection features throughout the sunken home, including delicate paintings by emerging artists Lydia Blakely and Mary Stephenson and antique artefacts from various travels.
    Elsewhere in London, Shaw’s trademark plastic furniture has also been used for retail projects. Footwear brand Camper’s Regent Street store includes bumpy yellow shelving by the designer, and a Traid charity clothes shop in Shepherd’s Bush has a wiggly bench upholstered in unsold clothes salvaged from the Traid warehouse.
    The photography is courtesy of James Shaw and Lou Stoppard. 

    Read more: More

    More stories

    • 150 Shares36 Views

      in Rooms

      DAB Studio adds contemporary touches to Dutch home from Amsterdam School period

      by

      An Ettore Sottsass gridded feature wall and a sculptural green ladder characterise this 1920s Dutch house, which interiors firm DAB Studio designed to reference the Amsterdam School.

      Called Collectors Home, the dwelling is defined by the intricate brickwork and stained glass windows typical of the Amsterdam School – a movement from 1910 to 1920 that paid equal attention to the architecture and interior design of a building.
      DAB Studio has renovated a Dutch home from the Amsterdam School periodLocal firm DAB Studio renovated the Amsterdam house’s interiors to reflect its roots while adding contemporary touches.
      “The building dates from around 1929 and was designed by Eduard Cuypers,” studio co-founder Lotte Bruns told Dezeen.
      Called Collectors Home, the dwelling also includes contemporary touches”His studio was considered the origin of the Amsterdam School because the ringleaders of this style, Michel de Klerk, Joan van der Mey and Piet Kramer, were all formed in his office,” she added.

      The team enlarged and rearranged the living room’s neutral-hued fireplace, which has smooth, subtle corners – “a recognisable reference to the Amsterdam School,” according to Bruns. 
      Dedesigned to be deliberately off-centre, the fireplace mouth was decorated with modernist black marble discs that echo the room’s rounded sconce lights, positioned on a marbled mahogany feature wall.
      A gridded feature wall characterises the living spaceAlthough the wall design was originally created by Memphis Group founder Sottsass for Alpi in the 1980s, the gridded arrangement of the wood recalls the “ladder windows” common to Amsterdam School architecture, explained Bruns.
      A recognisable Wassily Chair by Bauhaus designer Marcel Breuer sits opposite a sculptural, low-slung coffee table and a deep red Gubi chaise lounge, first created in 1951.
      DAB Studio sourced a range of furniture for the project”The clients’ love of both modernism and postmodernism was the starting point for our research,” said Bruns.
      DAB Studio made use of the home’s bay window by inserting a lumpy, vintage fruit-picking ladder into the space – a formerly utilitarian object from 1890, painted green and transformed into art for the project.
      A fruit-picking ladder functions as an art piece”The semi-circular window was a big challenge because it was too small to be functional and too big to leave empty,” considered Bruns.
      “The ladder’s colour complements the stained glass and the green background of the grass and trees in the garden,” she added.

      Studio Prototype completes Edge House in experimental Amsterdam neighbourhood

      Art features throughout the home, including in the timber-clad kitchen, where a red copper table lamp with a shaggy, gold-hued fringe illuminates the sleek worktop.
      Connected to the open-plan living room, the dining space was finished with a long, dark wood table, mustard-coloured silk curtains and bespoke glass ceiling panels.
      The timber-clad kitchen houses a contemporary red copper lamp”The interior has a free, creative spirit in which each element can stand on its own and be seen as art,” concluded Bruns.
      Founded in 2016 by Lotte and her partner Dennis Antonio Bruns, DAB Studio previously transformed the kitchen floors and ceilings of a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, with two types of wood.
      Also based in Amsterdam, Studio Modijefsky created a contemporary family home inside a local dijkhuis – a traditional Dutch dwelling set next to a dyke.
      The photography is by Alice Mesguich.

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares166 Views

      in Rooms

      Office La draws on “special magic” of New Orleans for colourful house

      by

      The colours of New Orleans’ iconic streetcars informed the decor palette chosen by local studio Office La for this bright pink house.

      Office La founder Lauren Hickman Ross is a long-time friend of the clients, who asked her to reimagine a building at the corner of Chartres and Desire streets in New Orleans.
      Original penny-hex tiles inside the home were retained and helped to inform the interior colour paletteOpposite Crescent Park on the banks of the Mississippi River, the single-storey structure was formerly a corner store and then a bar before becoming a home.
      “Tasked with outfitting a space that is seeping in and of New Orleans, Office La sought to capture a special magic only felt here through colour and light,” said Hickman Ross.
      The dining and kitchen area is raised slightly from the lounge and barFor the interiors, the designer looked to the city for influences — particularly the historic streetcars that criss-cross its

      The vehicles, also known as trolleys, are painted swampy green and deep red, and Hickman Ross introduced these hues throughout the house.
      Window trims are painted red, while millwork is green”These contrasting colours are immediate wins in the eye pleasure game,” Hickman Ross said.
      “Further, sunk in a bowl of its own creation, New Orleans also produces fantastic sunsets that colour the humid air with pinks and lavenders against the year round lush green subtropical landscape.”
      Designer Lauren Hickman Ross looked to the city’s tropical climate and historic streetcars for influencesIn the social space, the kitchen and dining area is raised a couple of steps up from the lounge and bar, which includes an oxblood-toned pool table.
      Original penny-hex floor tiles patterned in red, yellow and green-gray were retained in this lower area, further adding to the varied colour scheme.

      OJT creates compact “starter home” for skinny site in New Orleans

      Window trims – including a long pill-shaped aperture – are painted red, while partitions and millwork are green, complementing pale pink walls.
      The residence is filled with a mix of cosy, tactile soft furnishings and exposed wood elements, alongside vintage finds and local art.
      Artist RJ Raizk hand-drew murals in each of the bedrooms”On the walls is a mixed-media drawing by native Roy Ferdinand, as well as works by other artists including Sally Heller, Emilio Sanchez, and Max Seckel to name a few,” Hickman Ross said.
      In each bathroom and bedroom, artist RJ Raizk has hand-drawn a unique mural using patterns and colours lifted from the rest of the home.
      The bathroom tiles are green, red and pinkThe building’s exterior continues the streetcar red and green as accents, framing expanses of wooden boards painted bright pink.
      Equally maximalist interiors in New Orleans can be found at The Chloe Hotel, designed by Sara Ruffin Costello, and Hotel Peter and Paul in a converted 19th-century schoolhouse, convent and church.
      The photography is by Alison Gootee.

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares168 Views

      in Rooms

      Working Holiday Studio adds hacienda-style twist to midcentury LA house

      by

      The founders of LA-based Working Holiday Studio have renovated a midcentury home for themselves and their growing family, transforming the interiors to echo a Mexican hacienda.

      Designers Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown chose to move from their previous ranch-style home to a larger dwelling after having a second child, knowing they would need more space.
      Working Holiday Studio added arched openings and handmade brick floors to the midcentury homeThe couple found another midcentury home built in 1962 in the Granada Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, which they set about remodelling in “an eclectic hacienda style with Mexican and Scandinavian influences”.
      “We renovated the house because it hasn’t been updated since the first owners bought it and was in much need of a refresh,” the duo told Dezeen. “The layout didn’t make sense for modern living and the house felt dark, cold and outdated.”
      Details like iron railings with wavy balusters add a “hacienda vibe” to the interiorsThe biggest change involved opening up the wall between the dining room and kitchen, creating a large space for the family to gather and entertain under the dark-stained, mono-pitched ceiling.

      The kitchen was reimagined with swing-out French doors, dark green plaster across the walls, and warm millwork for cabinets and the central island.
      The kitchen was completely transformed with dark green plaster walls and warm millworkBricks across the floor in this space and the hallways were handmade in Tijuana, Mexico, and imported across the border.
      Together with arched openings that Working Holiday Studio added throughout the home, they add a “hacienda vibe” to the property.
      A formal living room features a variety of sculptural seats arranged around a marble coffee tableBeige plaster walls, iron railings with wavy balusters and various wooden furniture pieces also lend to the contemporary Mexican aesthetic, with hints of Scandinavian minimalism.
      “We always start with a palette of colours and materials,” said Naude and Brown. “We wanted [the interiors] to feel neutral, earthy, and warm with a few pop accents.”

      Los Angeles ranch house becomes Zen Den by Working Holiday Studio

      Also on the ground floor is a space for the family to watch TV together, which features a large cushioned sectional.
      A formal living room off the dining area has a whitewashed brick fireplace in the corner, and a variety of sculptural chairs arranged around a marble coffee table.
      Bedrooms are decorated with natural materials in neutral tones”We spend a lot of time in the family and TV room because it’s very cosy and comfortable, but love looking into the formal living room because each piece feels like an artwork or sculpture,” the couple said.
      Upstairs, the bedrooms are decorated with natural materials in neutral tones, while the bathrooms are playfully lined with checkerboard or thin straight-stack tiles.
      Playful touches in the bathrooms include checkerboard tilingAcross the exterior, the house was rendered in mid-grey stucco and black-framed windows and doors were added.
      A large covered veranda stretches almost the full length of the building and is used for outdoor lounging and dining in front of the backyard swimming pool.
      The house has a large veranda for outdoor lounging and dining in front of the backyard swimming poolOther properties designed and owned by the couple – the ZenDen in LA’s Woodland Hills and Casa Mami near Joshua Tree National Park – are available as vacation rentals for guests.
      The photography is by Carlos Naude.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      Electric Bowery renovates Big Sur house overlooking California’s coastline

      by

      The co-founder of California studio Electric Bowery has renovated a redwood-clad house in Big Sur for her family, preserving its iconic features and adding custom furniture.

      The house, originally designed by well-known local architect Mickey Muennig, is perched high up on a bluff overlooking the dramatic coastline – famous for the scenic Route 1 that runs along it.
      The house was built in 1993 by renowned local architect Mickey MuennigCommissioned in 1993, the building features a curved copper roof and redwood exterior cladding that Electric Bowery co-founder Cayley Lambur and director of interiors Stephanie Luk used as the foundation for the remodel.
      After speaking to her neighbour, the original owner, Lambur delved into Muennig’s legacy and the property’s history for clues to approach the project.
      Electric Bowery co-founder Cayley Lambur’s updates to the property included reconfiguring the compact kitchen”Inspired by this connection, Lambur began to breathe new life into the residence while honouring its organic architectural roots,” said the studio.

      The house benefits from large windows and expanses of glazing that capitalise on the views across the landscape to the ocean.
      Custom furniture in the living room includes a curved sofa designed to “hug views into the canyon”Keeping these vistas top of mind, the renovation involved reconfiguring the internal spaces, and respectfully upgrading some of the outdated decor and fixtures.
      An entirely new custom kitchen was added within the tight existing space, designed to maximise counter space and celebrate the views of the garden and ocean.
      Vintage leather chairs surround an impressive stone hearthThe redwood millwork was created in collaboration with American furniture company Henrybuilt to blend with the rest of the interiors, while raw steel, warm-stained concrete floors and leathered natural quartzite complete the contemporary look.
      Where the roof slopes to its lowest point, the living room is furnished with custom pieces such as a curved channel-tufted sofa that “hugs views into the canyon” and an oversized claro walnut coffee table by Dusk.
      Redwood panelling continues in the bedrooms, with are decorated with a warm and earthy paletteBehind, an impressive stone hearth is accompanied by vintage black-leather armchairs and a variety of textured rugs and pillows.
      The redwood panelling continues in the bedrooms and bathrooms, where it’s complemented by custom beds dressed in deep red and green textiles.

      Electric Bowery arranges steel and wood cabins for Hudson Valley hotel

      “The consistent use of redwood paneling throughout the home offers the experience of bringing the outside inwards, contrasted and complemented by the incorporation of colour through art, tile and textiles,” said Electric Bowery.
      “A warm and earthy palette is carried through the home, layering textures and natural materials, old and new.”
      One of the bathrooms is tiled entirely in thin, straight-stacked, teal-glazed tilesOne of the bathrooms is tiled entirely in thin, straight-stacked teal glazed tiles, while another features a shower lined with square tiles in tones of blue.
      Also as part of the scope, a trailer on the property was restored and renovated for use as additional guest accommodation and an office for remote work.
      The house overlooks the dramatic Northern California coastline from its lofty perchLambur founded Electric Bowery with fellow architect Lucia Bartholomew in 2013, and the studio is based between Venice, Big Sur and Santa Barbara in California, and New York City.
      Other projects by the studio include the Wildflower Farms resort in Upstate New York, where a series of wood or Corten steel-clad cabins are nestled among meadows and woodland, and a house in Venice Beach that features an askew pitched roof.
      The photography is by Chris Mottalini.

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      H3O creates “unpredictable” zigzagging interiors for lightning-struck home

      by

      Three jagged walls delineate the colourful spaces inside this converted barn in Sant Just Desvern, Spain, transformed by Barcelona studio H3O to reference a lightning bolt that struck the building generations ago.

      The one-storey Relámpago House is a former barn with a white-painted barrel-vaulted ceiling in the Spanish town of Sant Just Desvern on the outskirts of Barcelona.
      Relámpago House features a colour-block interiorFor the interior scheme, H3O took cues from an old family legend told by the homeowner, whose ancestors are said to have survived a lightning bolt that struck the barn and entered the building through the chimney, narrowly avoiding the family members sheltering under the dining table.
      “Transforming a story into architecture seemed to us a fascinating and fun challenge,” the studio told Dezeen.
      H3O delineated spaces with jagged walls informed by lightning boltsH3O inserted three intersecting walls shaped like lightning bolts into the plan, defining rooms within the otherwise open space.

      “This geometry choice is not random – it emulates the unpredictable trajectory and rapid dispersion of a lightning bolt’s energy,” added the studio.
      The all-pink bedroom is accessed via a colourful doorThe colourful intersecting walls enclose a private bedroom and bathroom, as well as forming the perimeter of the open-plan kitchen and living area.
      This communal space features zigzagged strip lighting suspended above a boxy metal kitchen island and walls clad in green glazed tiles.
      Strip lighting was suspended above a metal kitchen islandSugary pink walls delineate the bedroom, accessed via a contrasting door that is painted dark green on one side and deep blue on the other.
      “The interaction of these colours with the opening and closing doors creates an experience of spatial fluidity inspired by the pop art aesthetic of the 70s, reflecting a radical, fun and optimistic spirit,” explained H3O.
      The angular bathroom has a blue ceiling and wallsCharacterised by a mixture of green tiles and floor-to-ceiling dark blue paint, the bathroom is the smallest and most angular of the spaces, with a jagged, asymmetric mirror that wraps one corner of the room and tops a geometric sink.
      “The construction of the walls involved a meticulous design and execution process, ensuring that every angle and twist served an aesthetic function and optimised habitability and indoor living,” the studio said.
      Stones were collected to create “seemingly out-of-context” door handlesSmall stones were collected to create “seemingly out-of-context” door handles throughout the dwelling, adding organic accents to the otherwise colour-blocked interior.
      As a final nod to the home’s tumultuous history, a sculptural silver lightning bolt now protrudes from the chimney.

      Masquespacio founders create home and office where “everything revolves around play”

      “The idea of a lightning bolt redefining space, filling it with form and colour, pushed us to explore beyond conventional boundaries,” reflected H3O.
      “Relámpago House transforms a forgotten barn into a visual spectacle.”
      A silver lightning bolt protrudes from the building’s chimneyVarious other architectural projects have been defined by zigzagging motifs.
      London-based Outpost studio created a jagged zinc kitchen extension in Haggerston while German practice Wulf Architekten designed a sports centre for a school in Überlingen with a folding roof to reference the mountains of the surrounding Alps.
      The photography is by José Hevia. 

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Masquespacio founders create home and office where “everything revolves around play”

      by

      The founders of Spanish studio Masquespacio have transformed a traditional Valencian farmhouse into their self-designed home and studio, with maximalist interiors that nod to the Memphis movement.

      Creative and life partners Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse renovated the 1920s villa, which was once a farmhouse on the outskirts of Valencia, to create a hybrid home and studio that reflects their maximalist approach to interiors.
      Masquespacio has designed a live-work space in Valencia”Everything revolves around the concept of play,” explained Hernández Palacios, who co-founded Masquespacio with Penasse in 2010.
      “We’ve been influenced by many styles over the last decade, from New Memphis to art deco and futurism,” Penasse added. “We can say that our private home is a mix of it all.”
      The ground floor holds the studio’s workspacesThe duo maintained the building’s original timber front door and white facade decorated with light-blue window frames and ornate grilles.

      Inside, the ground floor was reserved for their studio, spread across several interconnected meeting rooms in the former farmstead, known locally as an alquería.
      Masquespacio restored the building’s original hydraulic floor tilesHere, Masquespacio restored the building’s decoratively patterned hydraulic floor tiles alongside its traditional doors and windows.
      Painted in bright hues, they help to colour-code the different office spaces, filled with the studio’s characteristic chunky, lumpy and latticed furniture.
      There is a double-height interior courtyard at the centre of the home”As always, the project includes a mix of colours, textures and forms – one of the main aspects of all our designs, no matter what aesthetic we’re working with,” Penasse told Dezeen.
      At the centre of the home is a double-height interior courtyard illuminated by skylights, with exposed-brick walls painted in lilac surrounded by wiggly flowerbeds with lush statement cheese plants.
      From the courtyard, visitors can see up to an interior balcony on the first floor, which is accessed via a purple concrete staircase and contains the living spaces.
      The couple’s bed is encased in a green dome next to a hot-pink seating booth.The balcony reveals two sculptural objects – a giant green dome that conceals the couple’s bed and a curved hot-pink screen that hides a seating booth.
      This immersive furniture – Penasse’s favourite part of the project – creates a focal point that connects both levels of the house but also provides more private quarters for the couple despite the open nature of the overall plan.
      A mosaic of yellow tiles defines the bathroom”There are no wall partitions to hide our home [from downstairs] but it’s kept private by the bed’s form and a semi-transparent green curtain that allows us to take advantage of the natural light almost everywhere on the upper floor,” explained Penasse.
      The sleeping area is connected to the main living space via a tunnel-like corridor, which includes an all-yellow bathroom with triangular cabinets and walls clad with a mosaic of handmade ceramic tiles.

      Ten self-designed studios by architects and designers

      Opposite the bathroom is a colourful open-air terrace featuring circular windows and similar built-in seating to Bun Turin – an Italian burger joint designed by Masquespacio with boxy blue-tiled tables created to look like swimming pools.
      “Geometry can be found all over our house,” explained Hernández Palacios. “Everything is a game of circles and triangles.”
      The terrace follows a similar geometry to the interiorsThe light blue kitchen includes large, triangular alcoves and cupboards finished in natural stone and aluminium, designed to conceal utilities.
      There is also an island made from veiny marble and petite glazed tiles. Bespoke Masquespacio bar stools were wrapped in matching pale blue fabric.
      Triangular cupboards feature in the kitchenNext to the open-plan kitchen, the living and dining spaces include more brightly coloured furniture from the studio’s Mas Creations collection, which features the same twisted and angular shapes and soft upholstery as the pieces downstairs.
      Floor-to-ceiling curtains form a backdrop for a snaking lime green sofa, while dark green dining chairs with pyramidal backrests were positioned around a jewel-like glass table.
      Striking pyramid-shaped dining chairs continue the maximalist theme”Ninety-five per cent of the furniture and objects in our house are part of our Mas Creations collection, locally designed and produced by our studio,” said Penasse.
      Similarly bold projects from Masquespacio include a restaurant in Milan, Italy, with interiors that take cues from futuristic spaceships and the first Mango Teen store in Barcelona featuring vivid graphic shapes.
      The photography is courtesy of Masquespacio. 

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Nine home interiors brightened with colourful window frames

      by

      Shades of green, red and yellow run throughout this lookbook, which collects nine home interiors enlivened by colourful window frames.

      Whether painted wood, plastic or metal, opting for colourful window frames is an easy way to brighten a residential interior.
      The examples in this lookbook demonstrate how they can be used to create a focal point in a pared-back space, draw attention to a view or simply help establish a colour theme.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring organic modern interiors, eclectic hotels and flooring that enhances the connection between indoors and outdoors.
      Photo by Fred HowarthCamberwell Cork House, UK, by Delve Architects

      A bright forest green paint lines the window frames at Camberwell Cork House, helping to draw focus to the lush planting outside.
      The paint juxtaposes the deliberately simple, white-walled interiors of the house extension, while outside it pops from against walls of tactile cork cladding.
      Find out more about Camberwell Cork House ›
      Photo by Mikael OlssonHouse 669, Sweden, by HelgessonGonzaga Arkitekter
      HelgessonGonzaga Arkitekter incorporated sunny yellow frames throughout House 669, a prefabricated home it created in Stockholm.
      The irregularly placed windows help enliven the otherwise neutral finishes to the home while adding a sense of “individuality” to its uniform structure, the studio said.
      Find out more about House 669 ›
      Photo by Megan TaylorCork House, UK, by Nimtim Architects
      Another studio to have married bright window frames with cork cladding is Nimtim Architects. At this extension in London, the studio punctured the cork-lined walls with Barbie pink timber frames, offering a contemporary counterpoint to the Victorian house to which it is attached.
      The windows are complemented by more subtle pops of pink inside, including the kitchen splashback and metal legs of the dining chairs.
      Find out more about Cork House ›
      Photo by José CamposBouça Family House, Portugal, by Fahr 021.3
      Turquoise accents feature throughout this family home by Fahr 021.3 in Porto, including its window frames and doors.
      The colour was intended to help liven up the interiors, which are finished with white walls, wooden floorboards and wall panelling, while also giving the home “an element of distinction”, the studio said.
      Find out more about Bouça Family House ›
      Photo by French & TyeValetta House, UK, by Office S&M
      Among the distinguishing features of the Valetta House loft extension in London are its yellow-framed arch windows, three of which feature in one of the bedrooms.
      Office S&M modelled these on the arched sash windows found in neighbouring Victorian residences but gave them a vivid yellow finish to appeal to the client’s children. The colour was based on a light fitting the client had picked for the kitchen.
      Find out more about Valetta House ›
      Photo by Séverin MalaudDailly, Belgium, by Mamout
      Slender sage-green frames trim the window openings in Dailly, a courtyard house nestled between two buildings in Belgium.
      It is among the pastel tones that its architect Mamout has used to bring character to the home, in addition to an array of reclaimed materials sourced from a warehouse that previously occupied the site.
      Find out more about Dailly ›

      Ugly House, UK, by Lipton Plant Architects
      Ugly House is a 1970s house in Berkshire that Lipton Plant Architects expanded with a contrasting two-storey extension.
      A bright orange finish was chosen for the windows, including the large garden-facing opening in the kitchen that juxtaposes pastel-blue cabinetry and wooden floorboards.
      Find out more about Ugly House ›
      Photo by Francisco AscensãoHouse in Ancede, Portugal, by Atelier Local
      Large rectangular and circular windows bring light inside House in Ancede, which Atelier Local completed on a sloped site in a nature reserve near Porto.
      The openings are outlined with bright red aluminium, brightening the cool-toned interiors that are defined by exposed blockwork and concrete to evoke brutalist architecture.
      Find out more about House in Ancede ›
      Photo by Megan TaylorYellow House, UK, by Nimtim Architects
      Another project on the list by Nimtim Architects is Yellow House, named after the spectrum of yellow-green hues that run throughout its interior.
      This includes the buttercup-coloured wooden frames of the rear picture window and three skylights in the living room, which stand out against a backdrop of white walls and neutral furnishings.
      Find out more about Yellow House ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring tactile organic modern interiors, eclectic hotels and flooring that enhances the connection between indoors and outdoors. 

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Reflect Architecture balances “contemporary art with family life” in Toronto house

      by

      Canadian studio Reflect Architecture has renovated a home in Toronto for a new generation of the same family, while incorporating an extensive art collection.

      North Drive House was the childhood home of one of the owners. After stints living abroad and in Downtown Toronto, the couple were lured back to the two-acre property for the space to raise their young family.
      The home’s hallways and living spaces were renovated to feel like a gallery for the couple’s art collectionHowever, the residence’s traditional interiors were not to their taste, so Reflect Architecture principal Trevor Wallace was called in to undertake an extensive renovation.
      His approach was to create a deliberate “tension” between the need to display an extensive contemporary art collection – which includes pieces by Robert Mapplethorpe and Erik Madigan Heck – and fulfilling the needs of a family home.
      A sculptural staircase features layered bannisters, stepped profiles and curved forms”The idea of living in a gallery was always important to the owners, but the critical distinction is that they didn’t want to live in a museum,” said Wallace.

      “This is a family home above all. The owners have always imagined that their kids would one day look back on living here and think it was pretty cool that they were playing soccer or running around inside what felt like an art gallery.”
      The living room includes contemporary furniture and a ribbon-like fireplace by Brooklyn designer Leyden LewisThe team retained the existing layout and circulation while updating the spaces with fresh materials, colours and forms.
      Most in line with the gallery-like aesthetic, the living spaces, hallways and corridors feature stark white walls and minimalist detailing such as flush doors and entryways.
      A different approach is taken in the dining room, where the walls are painted dark tealAt the centre of the home is a staircase designed as if a piece of sculpture itself, comprising layered bannisters, stepped profiles and curvaceous forms.
      A similarly playful tactic was applied in the living room, which features a rippling, ribbon-like fireplace designed by Brooklyn-based designer Leyden Lewis.
      Doors and entryways throughout the home are designed to be flush with the walls”We had a lot of fun exploring and playing with the staircase’s shapes and orientations,” Wallace said. “We wanted it to feel organic and fluid, and that required being playful. That was true for the entire house from start to finish, it was important that we didn’t take the whole thing too seriously.”
      The spareness of these spaces is swapped in the cooking and eating areas, which feature darker, richer colours like the teal dining room.

      Blue slide is centrepiece of Walker house renovation by Reflect Architecture

      A knotted light fixture by Lindsey Adelman hangs over the large stone dining table, accompanied by chairs with ochre velvet upholstery.
      In the kitchen, tone-on-tone travertine cabinetry and surfaces include a new 15-foot-long (4.5-metre) kitchen island.
      Tone-on-tone travertine cabinetry and surfaces were added in the kitchenAn existing gabled skylight overhead was maintained, but its beams were updated with a copper hue to “complement the travertine”.
      The room is oriented towards a glass wall facing a Japanese maple tree in the garden, under which sits a large dining table by local furniture designer Mary Ratcliffe.
      A 15-foot-long (4.5-metre) island was also added beneath an existing skylightWallace founded Reflect Architecture in 2016, and the studio’s previous work includes a Toronto home renovation with a blue slide as its centrepiece.
      Other recently completed residential overhauls in the city include a residence connected by asymmetric brass-lined portals and a house where built-in storage volumes were added.
      The photography is by Doublespace Photography.

      Read more: More