Cottages on Chilean Remote Island
Architect Mathias Klotz designed a pair of cottages that incorporated elements of the past and present. Many Chileans in Santiago value a second home for a quieter escape. Klotz’s own family’s retreat kept its rough-hewn framework completely visible. Klotz told Interior Design that it was “the most beautiful part of a wood house”, so he “left it exposed”. He whitewashed the floor, wall, and cathedral ceiling boards, but the framework is still striking. Klotz used tall windows and sliding glass doors for views of the garden, with the white surfaces perfect for reflecting natural light.
Klotz’s projects include several glamorous, modern houses. The SSYL house is particularly stunning, with its wooden ceilings matching the flooring and bringing a sense of the outdoors into the home. The main room features a hanging fireplace and is emblematic of the design as a whole: futuristic while seeming down to earth.
Kona Coast Compound
Modern internal doors include glass doors, white oak panel doors, and premium glazed doors. For a vacation home on Hawaii’s Big Island, Walker Warner Architects and Philpotts Interiors chose floor to ceiling sliding-glass doors to maximise views of the ocean. The designers took three years on the home, but the final result included a gorgeous mix of modern art and furniture and a light wood cathedral ceiling.
Greg Warner describes the home as “the Village” as it uses four separate structures and a series of walkways and patios. Traditional Hawaiian villages inspired the architecture with bold angles, canted steel columns, and steep-pitched roofs. Warner told Interior Design, “The structures represent a contemporary interpretation of early hale shelters. They’re like modernist lean-tos.”
Walker Warner describes their ethos as “Enduring architecture for inspired living.” They “start by listening”, not only to the client but also the landscape, climate, history, and culture. Their projects have included several homes in Hawaii and California, all of which elegantly fit into their natural surroundings, with Alpine Retreat in California inspired by the beautiful forest and red pine trees, and the lines and angles of the Meadowood home designed to fit in with the landscape full of trees.
California Country Retreat
California’s Napa Valley region is known for its wineries, but also contains some outstanding modern architecture. Pfau Long Architecture worked on a home that “needed to be a relief from over-stimulation”, the company told Interior Design. The client worked in the hyperkinetic tech industry, and so the space was designed to be down to earth, using a mix of wood, dark grey metal, and concrete. Its interiors matched the architecture with similar hues, clean lines, and minimalist furniture. The main room’s cathedral ceiling was described by the publication as “essentially a long, two-story barn intersected by smaller, similarly shaped volumes.” The large windows spanning much of the room showcased the wonderful views of greenery and mountains in the distance.
Pfau Long says that designing a home is “an extremely rewarding and collaborative endeavour” and that they believe “your space should be an expression of who you are and what you love.”
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