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Budget Breakdown: They Spent Two Belgian Winters in a ’90s Bus While Building a Home for $274K

A roaming creative couple blended the language of their animation studio, an iconic chair, and the colors of southern Spain for their part time residence and rental.

Dorien Smeets and Jeroen Aendekerk have lived a nomad’s life. The couple spent six years traveling across Europe in their ’90s school bus conversion, even growing their animation business, Studio Fluxi, from its cabin. But even though they’d adapted to life on wheels, in 2023, the couple decided to return to Belgium, where they are both from, wanting a home to come back to after stints out on the road; it wasn’t time to give up completely on the nomadic lifestyle.

A birds view of the house — Dorien Smeets and Jeroen Aendekerk spent $247,000 designing and building a two-bed, two-and-a-half bath home in Belgium’s Bosland National Park.

Photo by Geert Van de Velde

"We never dreamed of a huge house," says Dorien. "We always knew if we built something, it would be small, but unique." She and Jeroen’s home is 650 square feet, forming a half circle.

Photo by Geert Van de Velde

In the same year the couple spent $115,000 on a site next to a pond in Belgium’s recently established Bosland Natural Park. "Everywhere we went with the bus, if there was water, it felt more like vacation," says Dorien. The park doesn’t allow full-time residential homes, but Dorien and Jeroen found a loophole that dovetailed nicely with wanting to live in a home part-time: by building one and listing it as a rental, it would qualify the structure as a recreational building, which is allowed by the park.

After some dedicatd searching, the couple found a company that could manufacture the corrugated metal siding for a fraction of the price; they spent around $2,400 on it. — The couple found a company to custom manufacture the corrugated metal siding for around $2,400.

Photo by Geert Van de Velde

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: They Spent Two Belgian Winters in a ’90s Bus While Building a Home for $274K
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D.C. Could Say Bye Bye, Brutalist Buildings—and Everything Else You Need to Know This Week

Trump attempts a federal takeover of L.A. wildfire recovery, U.S. homebuyers are getting especially cold feet, and more.

Architects associated with the Catholic University are leading a plan to demolish a huge cluster of neglected brutalist federal buildings in Washington, D.C., like the Forrestal Building, and replace them with a new neoclassical-style neighborhood of housing, parks, and grand buildings that would extend the National Mall. Here’s what’s being proposed for "Fedlandia," the new vision for Washington’s downtown. (Bloomberg)

California is now the first state to require real estate listings to provide an explicit disclaimer as to whether home photos have been altered—and provide the original images—aiming to curb misleading virtual staging and AI-generated upgrades that spruce up properties to make them look way better online than in real life. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Small towns across the U.S. are reviving main streets by turning homes and storefronts into shared "flex plexes," pods, and microcenters that help family childcare providers open affordable, licensed programs without the crushing start-up costs. Here’s how the business model is rethinking childcare in rural communities. (Daily Yonder)

Homebuyers are backing out of deals in record numbers as uncertainty slows the housing market.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A year after fires swept through Los Angeles, homebuilding efforts are underway in Pacific Palisades and Altadena—from grassroots coalitions to developer projects. Now, Trump has signed an executive order to seize control of wildfire recovery, telling the California Post he wants to "just give the people their permits they want to build." But in the aftermath of the fires, many survivors are saying insurance delays and other issues are slowing them down more than red tape. (Politico)
Homebuyers are walking away from deals at the fastest rate in nearly a decade, with over 40,000 purchase contracts canceled in December as sellers flood the market and buyers grow more cautious. Here’s what’s making buyers back out. (CNBC)

Top photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The ’50s Home of a Renowned Architecture Historian Seeks $550K in Connecticut

Yale professor Vincent Scully collaborated with Albert Reese to design the landmark, cupola-topped home, which still has its original fixtures and finishes.

Location: 68 Orchard Road, Woodbridge, Connecticut

Price: $550,000

Year Built: 1950

Designers: Vincent Scully and Albert Reese

Footprint: 1,872 square feet (3 bedrooms, 1 baths)

Lot Size: 3.22 Acres

From the Agent: "This is a one of a kind midcentury-modern house designed by Vincent Scully and Albert Reese. The house is an interpretation of a simple box form often employed by pioneering modernist architects of the period. Characteristic modern features include its simple rectilinear form, strong horizontal lines, expansive windows, exposed concrete, wood and steel structural elements, plain, unornamented surfaces, and an open floor plan. The cupola, accessed by ladder, measuring eight and a half feet square and seven feet high, was added atop the roof in 1953 for a guest room and study. The house, garage, and outbuildings are remarkably unchanged from the original design, and later modifications were made by Vincent Scully."

The home was designed in part by its owner, Vincent Scully, famed 20th century art and architecture historian. — The home was designed in part by its owner, Vincent Scully, a famed 20th-century art and architecture historian. He spent much of his career as a professor at Yale, which is nearby.

Photo by William Scott Media

The home was featured in the 2002 book, "First House: the grid, the figure, and the void — The home was featured in the 2002 book, *First House: The Grid, the Figure, and the Void* by Christian Bjone.

Photo by William Scott Media

See the full story on Dwell.com: The ’50s Home of a Renowned Architecture Historian Seeks $550K in Connecticut
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It’s Adults Only in the Yakisugi Half of This Australian Home

An entry with a green overhang joins two volumes: a white gabled one for the whole family, and a black one that’s off limits to the kids.

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: Ivanhoe East, Victoria, Australia

Architect: Albert Mo Architects / @treblamo

Footprint: 3,015 square feet

Builder: Block Constructions

Structural and Civil Engineer: R. Bliem & Associates

Landscape Design: Mud Office

Landscape Construction: Mode Landscape Construction

Furniture: Melissa Vukadin

Lighting Design: Ambience Lighting

From the Architect: "Boulevard House is a complete new build born from the need to reconnect a growing family with their environment. While the previous dwelling felt isolated from its sloping site, this design embraces the ‘borrowed landscape’ of an adjacent public golf course. By removing the traditional rear barrier, the vast greenery becomes a literal extension of the backyard, serving as both a daily playground for three children and an expansive setting for social gatherings.

"The home’s organization centers on two distinct pavilions: a double-story white ‘tree house’ and a single-story black volume. The white pavilion uses an archetypal gable form to evoke a child’s drawing and honor the site’s original roofline. Its defining feature is a handcrafted white brick screen, created by manually drilling 2,000 bricks to house post-tensioned rods. This screen acts as a light modulator, casting shifting shadows that transform the interior into a sanctuary of delightful phenomena and refuge.

"In contrast, the black volume is a seductive, modernist retreat for the adults. Utilizing yakisugi and slim black bricks, the dark materiality recedes to force the viewer’s gaze toward the vibrant landscape. Because the back faces south, the architecture employs stepped rooflines and a central fern courtyard to capture essential northern light. This biophilic move ensures that nature is felt deep within the master suite, linking the interior to the surrounding vegetation.

"The transition across the sloping site is handled with subtle internal steps, guiding the body through the circulation spine without feeling like an intentional device. This flow is mirrored by terraced landscaping that brings flora down to the natural level of a nearby golf course. Ultimately, the interplay of light on the charred walls and the axial views of matured gum trees blurs the boundary between architecture and nature."

See the full story on Dwell.com: It’s Adults Only in the Yakisugi Half of This Australian Home

Ozzy Osbourne, Phish, and Jeff Buckley All Visited This $1.5M Woodstock Compound

Once home to Bearsville Records, the property comes with a a pool, a plum orchard, a guesthouse, and a storied place in music history.

Once home to Bearsville Records, this property comes with a a pool, a plum orchard, a guesthouse, and a storied place in music history.

Location: 1 Wittenberg Road Woodstock, New York

Price: $1,495,000

Year Built: 1873

Renovation Date: Late 1960s

Footprint: 2,566 square feet (3 bedrooms, 3 baths)

Lot Size: 3.78 Acres

From the Agent: "Welcome to Bearsville Record House, a landmark property with a legacy in American music. Built in 1873 and once home to Bearsville Records, this storied compound includes two dwellings—the main farmhouse and a guest cottage—plus a studio building waiting to be finished to your specs. A pool, outdoor kitchen, and fenced-in orchard complete the grounds, all along 500 feet of private Saw Kill creek frontage. The main house retains its 19th-century character with a vaulted living room with wood stove and a chef’s kitchen with a dramatic woodburning hearth and radiant-heated bluestone floors. The guest cottage features a walk-in shower and kitchenette, and the studio adds creative flexibility. Steps from Cub Market and Bearsville Theater, and just two miles from Woodstock, this is a one-of-a-kind Catskills cultural retreat."

When home to Bearsville Records, the property saw the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Todd Rundgren, Meat Loaf, R.E.M., Jeff Buckley, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, and more.

See the full story on Dwell.com: Ozzy Osbourne, Phish, and Jeff Buckley All Visited This $1.5M Woodstock Compound
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Here Are the Homes Developers Are Building in Altadena

A year after the Eaton Fire, public permits—and at least one completed home asking $1.9 million—are bringing into view how corporations are reshaping the Los Angeles community.

The debris had barely stopped smoldering before the bidding began. After the Eaton Fire leveled more than 6,000 residential buildings in Altadena in January of 2025, home developers began making offers on burned lots, many of which had belonged to families for generations. As a significant shift of land ownership to corporations began taking place, one looming question was, what’s going to get built? Months later, the answer is no longer theoretical. It’s visible in public permit records and new construction.

A review of publicly available filings shows that 25 of the 59 corporate-purchased properties identified in Dwell’s original reporting on Altadena-area land sales in July are now actively moving through the rebuild process. (Between Altadena and Pacific Palisades, corporations have now purchased 44.6 percent of fire-damaged properties, about twice the national average of corporate homeowners. ) At least one newly constructed home has already hit the market. Together, these projects offer a perspective on how post-disaster housing is taking shape in a neighborhood once known for its historical architecture and deep-rooted families. More importantly, they hint at who may be able to return to Altadena once rebuilding is complete: will it be longtime residents—many still in rentals, navigating insurance claims and uncertainty—or an entirely new community?

Of the corporations that moved swiftly after the fires to buy lots, three currently dominate the permits: Ocean Development, an L.A.-based builder; NP Altadena I, LLC, operated by San Diego–based New Pointe Communities Inc.; and Black Lion Properties, LLC, a newer, more experimental player with ties to the neighborhood. Each is rebuilding differently with its own strategy for market-rate housing, regardless of who may be able to afford it.

Three builders, three strategies

Ocean Development holds among the largest share of active permits, and its apparent strategy to create "Like-for-Like" homes is the least surprising, given the City of L.A.’s expedited timeline for such projects that closely mirror what stood before.

Under the Eaton Fire rebuild framework, a "Like-for-Like" replacement can be approved without discretionary review by the city as long as the building footprint does not increase by more than 10 percent or 200 square feet, whichever is greater. In practical terms, that can shave months off a timeline. As a result, most of Ocean’s plans closely resemble what existed before the fire, at least on paper: single-family houses generally ranging from approximately 1,700 to 3,200 square feet, often with garages and modest patios.

539 Punahou Street is under construction by Ocean Development, an L.A.-based developer. — 539 Punahou Street is under construction by Ocean Development, an L.A.-based developer focusing on "Like-for-Like" rebuilds.

Photo: Yoonj Kim

But faster approvals don’t automatically translate to faster—or cheaper—construction. Permit data shows build estimates with an average cost of $469,750, with market value for homes at these sizes ranging from $1.375 million to $2.5 million. But it’s still too early to say what these homes will list at. A recent drive past their sites indicates that many have already broken ground, with a few appearing close to completion. Ocean Development has not responded to a request for comment.

NP Altadena’s approach also emphasizes speed, but does so by leveraging standardization. The developer created a standardized single-story plan to use across 15 lots, with minor site-specific adjustments such as front elevations in three distinct styles—craftsman, farmhouse, and Spanish/Santa Barbara. This strategy allows NP Altadena to build across several sites with a single review process.

See the full story on Dwell.com: Here Are the Homes Developers Are Building in Altadena
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Surrounded by Giant Boulders, an Architect’s Tennessee Cabin Seeks $1.6M

Don Wamp’s angular Rock House has been renovated from top to bottom—and it comes with forest views, a series of decks, and a seasonal creek.

Location: 314 Fairy Trail, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee

Price: $1,575,000

Year Built: 1978

Architect: Don Wamp

Footprint: 3,913 square feet (4 bedrooms, 4 baths)

Lot Size: 0.67 Acres

From the Agent: "Rock House is positioned amongst beautiful natural boulders on a private, wooded lot. This midcentury-modern home sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, just minutes from downtown Chattanooga. The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home was built by a renowned architect as his personal residence, and it has been meticulously updated while still remaining true to the architect’s vision. Recent improvements both inside and out include huge, custom Marvin windows that provide views to the boulders and lush setting from every room, a new roof, custom-milled cedar siding in many areas, a revitalized kitchen, and a new primary suite on the main level with two walk-in closets. Some additional special features include the steel pivot front door, multiple outdoor living areas, a seasonal backyard stream, and so much more."

Triangular windows follow the slope of living area’s angled ceiling.

Photo by William Griggs

See the full story on Dwell.com: Surrounded by Giant Boulders, an Architect’s Tennessee Cabin Seeks $1.6M
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