Displaying posts labeled "Stone"

Have you heard? Monday has been cancelled. No need for the weekend to end. No need to get the kids off to school or head in to work. Instead we can all spend the day by the water at this Palm Beach Pool House north of Sydney. Well maybe not all of us. It’s the perfect get away for two. Where else would I find such a gem? At Contemporary Hotels of course.

The building in the old quarter of the port city of Jaffa, Israel is hundreds of years old but the living spaces are modern and minimalist. Much of the character had been removed by previous owners so architect Pitsou Kedem striped the walls and ceilings back to the beautiful, ancient stone before combining old with new. All with the spartan aesthetic common to the simple stone dwelling and the now minimalist modern interiors.

Photography: Amit Geron

Georgian facade vs modernist interior. That’s how the real estate agent describes this Woollahra, Sydney home. “An Iain Halliday creation, this house has a dramatic mix of timber and glass behind its heritage facade. Floating above a moat in a walled courtyard, it’s your ‘castle’ of modernist design.” Yada, yada, yada. Let’s just say “yum”. Link here while it lasts.

As serene as the blue, blue ocean that is framed by its windows. As stylish as its fashion industry owners. The perfect summer retreat in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum, the Y House by Istanbul-based architectural firm Ofist.

A big thanks to Klopf Architecture for sending over photos of this beautiful home they recently completed. Mid-century AND to-die-for landscaping has me totally smitten. The owners, inspired by mid-century modern architecture (YES!!!!), hired Klopf Architecture to design an Eichler-inspired 21st-Century, energy efficient new home that would replace a dilapidated 1940s home for a family of three.The home follows the gentle slope of the hillside while the overarching post-and-beam roof provides an unchanging datum line. The changing moods of nature animate the house because of views through large glass walls at nearly every vantage point. Every square foot of the house remains close to the ground creating and adding to the sense of connection with nature. Enter through simple planes of stacked stone and white stucco below street level to reveal the roomy, open spaces that are progressively revealed as one flows through the Modern Atrium House. Progress through the spaces, stepping down with the sloping hillside until you arrive in the indoor/outdoor living room. The large, green, landscaped yard and Japanese garden-inspired atrium are visible through two large walls of glass. But with the house being on a large, wooded lot and down below the street, the owners are connected to nature all around but still afforded privacy from all sides. They are also protected from the elements: the super-insulated house with overhangs and heat-mirror glass requires no air-conditioning and exceeded California’s strict energy codes by almost 40%.