Joe Fletcher Atop a ridge in the Santa Lucia mountains of Carmel, California, an oak tree stands elevated above the fog and wrapped at its base in this ranch retreat. The weekend home’s design grew around the 100-year-old Valley Oak to form a horseshoe-shaped house that gathers ridgeline views of Oak, Madrone, and Redwood groves at its exterior and nestles around the tree at its center. The home’s orientation offers both the shade of the oak canopy in the courtyard and the sun flowing into the great room at the house’s rear façades. This modern take on a traditional ranch home offers contemporary materials and landscaping to a classic typology. From the main entry in the courtyard, one enters the home’s great room and immediately experiences the dramatic westward views across the 70 foot pool at the house’s rear. In this expansive public area, programmatic needs flow and connect - from the kitchen, whose windows face the courtyard, to the dining room, whose doors slide seamlessly into walls to create an outdoor dining pavilion. The primary circulation axes flank the internal courtyard, anchoring the house to its site and heightening the sense of scale by extending views outward at each of the corridor’s ends. Guest suites, complete with private kitchen and living room, and the garage are housed in auxiliary wings connected to the main house by covered walkways. Building materials including pre-weathered corrugated steel cladding, buff limestone walls, and large aluminum apertures, and the interior palette of cedar-clad ceilings, oil-rubbed steel, and exposed concrete floors soften the modern aesthetics into a refined but rugged ranch home.

Modern glass house set in the landscape evokes a midcentury vibe. A modern gas fireplace divides the living area with a polished concrete floor from the greenhouse with a gravel floor. The frame is painted steel with aluminum sliding glass door. The front features a green roof with native grasses and the rear is covered with a glass roof. Photo by: Gregg Shupe Photography

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional blue tile cement tile floor, blue floor and single-sink open shower remodel in Austin with blue cabinets, a two-piece toilet, white walls, a wall-mount sink, concrete countertops, blue countertops and a floating vanity

What our clients needed: • Create a garden folly that doubles as a well-built shed for crafts and storage. • Size the structure large enough for comfortable storage without dominating the garden. • Discreetly locate the shed in the far corner of the rear yard while maintaining existing trees. • Ensure that the structure is protected from the weather and carefully detailed to deter access of wildlife and rodents. FUNCTION • Construct the shed slab close to grade to permit easy access for bicycle storage, while building shed walls above grade to ensure against termites and dryrot. • Install a French door and operable casement windows to admit plenty of daylight and provide views to the garden. • Include rugged built-in work bench, shelves, bike racks and tool storage for a rustic well-organized and efficient space. • Incorporate GFIC electrical service for safe access to power at this distant corner of the yard. • Position energy-efficient interior lighting to ensure space can be used year-round. • Switch control of exterior light from house and from shed for ease of command. AESTHETICS • Design and detail the shed to coordinate with the Arts and Crafts style house. • Include an arbor for future flowering vines, further softening the shed’s garden presence. • Simple and rustic interior surfaces ensure that the space is easy to clean. • Create an aged and softly weathered appearance, and protect the exterior siding by finishing the cedar with a custom-colored semi-transparent stain. INNOVATIVE MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION • Factory-built components were pre-assembled to allow for a speedy assembly and for a shorter on-site construction schedule. • Each component was easily transported through the yard without disturbing garden features. • Decorative exterior trim frames the door and windows, while a simpler trim is used inside the unadorned shed. OBSTACLE OVERCOME • The structure is located in the corner of the yard to avoid disturbance of a curly willow tree. • The low-profile structure is positioned close to property lines while staying beneath the allowable daylight plane for structures. • To comply with daylight plane close to fence, the roof form combines hip and gable forms, with door located at gable end. • The height of the modest interior is maximized, without exceeding the allowable building height. CRAFTSMANSHIP • The concrete slab was precisely formed and finished for ease of shed assembly before the factory-built components were delivered to site. • Precision planning meant the pre-framed door fit exactly between raised concrete curb.

Martha O’Hara Interiors, Interior Design and Photo Styling | City Homes, Builder | Troy Thies, Photography | Please Note: All “related,” “similar,” and “sponsored” products tagged or listed by Houzz are not actual products pictured. They have not been approved by Martha O’Hara Interiors nor any of the professionals credited. For info about our work: design@oharainteriors.com

Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Custom Millwork Design, Furniture Design, Art Curation, & Landscape Architecture by Chango & Co. Photography by Ball & Albanese

Large transitional u-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor kitchen photo in Minneapolis with gray cabinets, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, raised-panel cabinets, a farmhouse sink, solid surface countertops, white countertops and ceramic backsplash

1960s formal and open concept living room photo in San Francisco with gray walls

Richard Leo Johnson
Inspiration for a coastal bedroom remodel in Atlanta with green walls

Kevin Meechan Photography
Bathroom - small rustic 3/4 medium tone wood floor, brown floor and single-sink bathroom idea with concrete countertops, yellow walls, an integrated sink, gray cabinets, gray countertops and a freestanding vanity

Adding a bit of an industrial flavor to the dining room with limestone/concrete wall treatment. Done by a local Portland artisan. Most of the pieces in the dining room are reclaimed, re purposed, architectural salvage or vintage.

Barbara Elliott and Jennifer Ward Woods
Example of a transitional girl carpeted kids' room design in Atlanta with pink walls

Modern Home Interiors and Exteriors, featuring clean lines, textures, colors and simple design with floor to ceiling windows. Hardwood, slate, and porcelain floors, all natural materials that give a sense of warmth throughout the spaces. Some homes have steel exposed beams and monolith concrete and galvanized steel walls to give a sense of weight and coolness in these very hot, sunny Southern California locations. Kitchens feature built in appliances, and glass backsplashes. Living rooms have contemporary style fireplaces and custom upholstery for the most comfort. Bedroom headboards are upholstered, with most master bedrooms having modern wall fireplaces surounded by large porcelain tiles. Project Locations: Ojai, Santa Barbara, Westlake, California. Projects designed by Maraya Interior Design. From their beautiful resort town of Ojai, they serve clients in Montecito, Hope Ranch, Malibu, Westlake and Calabasas, across the tri-county areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles, south to Hidden Hills- north through Solvang and more. Modern Ojai home designed by Maraya and Tim Droney Patrick Price Photography.

This home features concrete interior and exterior walls, giving it a chic modern look. The Interior concrete walls were given a wood texture giving it a one of a kind look. We are responsible for all concrete work seen. This includes the entire concrete structure of the home, including the interior walls, stairs and fire places. We are also responsible for the structural concrete and the installation of custom concrete caissons into bed rock to ensure a solid foundation as this home sits over the water. All interior furnishing was done by a professional after we completed the construction of the home.

Designed by KBK Interior Design KBKInteriorDesign.com Photo by Peter Rymwid
Example of a classic alcove shower design in New York with brown walls

Kimi Max
Alcove shower - coastal multicolored tile alcove shower idea in New York with a vessel sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets and white walls

Cast in place concrete walls and custom waterjet metal with integrated lighting complement the architectural materiality, while providing physical and visual separation between this private modern home and the wooded public passage of the Burke Gilman Trail. Cantilevered steps float above a cascade of soft grasses and rushes. Looking out over Lake Washington from the hot tub, a combination of wood and concrete walls softened by plants contain the experience of outdoor relaxation at its finest. A crushed granite path gently curves along handcrafted stone walls containing a burst of lush planting to connect wood decking at the house with a fire pit area close to the water. Photography: Louie Jeon Photography

Martha O'Hara Interiors, Interior Design & Photo Styling | Troy Thies, Photography Please Note: All “related,” “similar,” and “sponsored” products tagged or listed by Houzz are not actual products pictured. They have not been approved by Martha O’Hara Interiors nor any of the professionals credited. For information about our work, please contact design@oharainteriors.com.

Photos by Jeff Fountain
Inspiration for a rustic concrete floor hallway remodel in Seattle with brown walls