GRAPHĒ

Who Needs an Ocean View? Not This Introverted Australian Home

The owners wanted to be shielded by trees with an inward-looking floor plan centered around a courtyard.

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: Scarborough, Australia

Architect: Stephen Collier Architects / @scarchitects

Footprint: 1,722 square feet

Structural Engineer: PMI Engineers

Landscape Architect: Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture

Cabinetry: Hammercraft

Photographer: Tom Ferguson / @tfadtomferguson

From the Architect: "This is a house about both hiding and stepping out. While most houses in the area seek ocean views, this house looks inward and upward to the sky. It’s a house designed for two introverts, both men, who wanted their home to feel like a safe haven. The house is private but without ever feeling closed off to the nature around it: the escarpment, the trees, the stars. It’s in a suburban street and yet looking out of every window all one sees is trees and their canopies.

"The design responds to multiple challenges: a steep incline, a narrow triangular site located hard against a railway line, mature trees we wanted to preserve, the risk of landslide meaning little to no excavation, and as always on this land, the risk of bushfire. We also had a modest budget to contend with, meaning we had to keep things simple and choose wisely on what we might splurge on. The outside is therefore utilitarian; the walls sheeted with cheap fiber cement and painted in a muted tone to satisfy the local council. The interior, by way of contrast, is richer and more colorful.

"As an architect, I like it when something is both practical and beautiful, and when a design decision results in something that ticks more than one box. Simple practical solutions to keep gutters free of debris and to be able clean gutters safely can also produce a great internal space. In gave us 13-foot-high ceilings uniformly around the outside edge of the house. Here, all roofs slope down into interior and all the gutters can be regularly cleaned (by us) on a small ladder. If there is a serious bushfire, we can easily block the downpipes and (with a nearby hose) get a curtain of water falling over the large glass doors of the courtyard.

"The site is triangular and it had nine mature trees in and around it, including a magnificent Moreton Bay fig. To fit the house on the site and keep all the trees, we had to back up to the rear boundary. The structure is a steel frame supported on only four columns piered down to rock. It is rhomboidal in plan to fit the site. The wall, floor, and roof elements were all prefabricated off-site and craned in. The shell was erected in less than a week. Consideration was also given to low-carbon, sustainable materials (locally sourced where possible) including no VOC mineral-silicate paints.

"The house stays comfortable in summer thanks to the tiled floors, cross-ventilation, and a surrounding tree canopy. There are ceiling fans but no air-conditioning. In winter, solar-powered under-floor heating and double glazing keep the house toasty. Local tradespeople and materials were used as much as possible. All the windows and doors use timber recycled from trees originally felled from and used in the Illawarra."

See the full story on Dwell.com: Who Needs an Ocean View? Not This Introverted Australian Home

For €495K, You Can Co-Own a New Vipp Villa in Mallorca

The Danish design brand’s second property offering is available through a co-ownership model with 12 shares available.

The grounds feature a saltwater pool, multiple landscaped gardens, and various private terraces.

Location: Mallorca, Spain

Price: €495,000 (approximately $577,598 USD)

Architect: AP3+

Footprint: 6,361 Square Feet (5 Beds, 6 Baths)

Lot Size: 3.5 Acres

From the Listing: "From a pedal bin to architectural vacation homes, Danish design brand Vipp continues expanding its universe with the launch of Finca Selva, Mallorca—the second property in the Vipp Residences portfolio. Located in the tranquil village of Selva at the foot of Mallorca’s UNESCO-protected Serra de Tramuntana mountains, Finca Selva combines traditional Balearic architecture with Vipp’s Scandinavian interior universe. Designed by local architectural studio AP3+, the 6,361-square-foot villa is crafted using traditional Mallorcan building techniques and local stone, balancing rustic warmth with contemporary simplicity. Bathed in light and surrounded by over three and a half acres of private land, the residence features five bedrooms, expansive terraces, landscaped gardens, a saltwater pool, and sweeping views stretching from the mountains to the Bay of Alcúdia. Inside, wood-beamed ceilings, tactile natural materials, and carefully curated interiors create a calm and immersive atmosphere rooted in both Mediterranean and Nordic traditions. The property is offered through a 1/12 ownership model, allowing owners to enjoy the experience of a fully serviced architectural retreat at a fraction of the cost and hassle associated with traditional second-home ownership. Owners of a Vipp Residence also gain privileged access to the wider Vipp ecosystem, including benefits and preferred access to Vipp Guesthouses across the globe—from Upstate New York and Lofoten to Mexico and Tasmania. Finca Selva launches May 12, with owner access beginning July 2026."

The thick masonry walls use stone sourced from a local quarry. — The thick masonry walls are made of stone sourced from a local quarry.
Photo courtesy of Vipp

See the full story on Dwell.com: For €495K, You Can Co-Own a New Vipp Villa in Mallorca
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For $1.2M, You Can Score a Landmark Craftsman Home in Los Angeles

The 1908 A.C. Tobias Residence has original millwork, an updated kitchen, and a lush site overflowing with citrus trees and succulents.

The current owners have carefully renovated the home to preserve its original character, while enhancing its systems for daily life.

Location: 2915 S Budlong Ave, Los Angeles, California

Price: $1,249,000

Footprint: 2,237 Square Feet (2 Beds, 2 Baths)

Architects: George J. Webster and Neal Dow Barker

Year Built: 1908

From the Agent: "The A.C. Tobias Residence is a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and a remarkable expression of early Arts and Crafts design. Designed in 1908 by George J. Webster and Neal Dow Barker as the personal residence of developer Archibald Clark Tobias, the home was built during Los Angeles’s transformation from a landscape of orange groves and farmland into a growing metropolis. Today, it stands as an enduring example of the craftsmanship, materials, and thoughtful design that defined the era. Richly stained woodwork, leaded glass windows, box-beam ceilings, built-in cabinetry, and period lighting create a sequence of spaces defined by warmth, scale, and craftsmanship. The kitchen was reimagined with custom millwork cabinetry, African mahogany counters, a copper sink, unlacquered brass fixtures, vintage lighting, and a restored vintage refrigerator. The laundry room was rebuilt with custom cabinetry, period-appropriate hardware, and the restoration of the home’s original 1908 utility sink. A charming guest bath retains its vintage character with restored wood detailing and classic proportions, while the primary suite introduces an en suite bath whose materials and craftsmanship pay homage to the home’s Arts and Crafts roots."

The deep front porch provides welcome shade on sunny days in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy of Character Homes

The formal living and dining rooms are anchored by thick wood columns. — The living and dining rooms are anchored by thick wood posts and beams.
Photo courtesy of Character Homes

See the full story on Dwell.com: For $1.2M, You Can Score a Landmark Craftsman Home in Los Angeles
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The Green Roof of This Australian Home Is Basically a Neighborhood Park

It stretches down to meet the sidewalk at the end of the cul-de-sac, creating a social space for the block.

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: Northcote, Australia

Architect: Prior Barraclough / @priorbarraclough

Footprint: 2,045 square foot

Builder: Camson Homes

Structural Engineer: Argall

Cabinetry: Limitless Joinery

Photographer: Ben Hosking / @benhoskingphotographer

From the Architect: "At the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Northcote, the Bank Street House reimagines the suburban home through its modest scale and generous engagement with both landscape and community. The project replaces a structurally compromised two-story dwelling that was both spatially inefficient and visually overbearing within a streetscape of modest, single-story houses. The clients, a couple with three young children, sought a larger garden, an environmentally responsive home, and a stronger connection to the cul-de-sac, which transforms each afternoon and weekend into a lively communal space animated by neighborhood children. In response, the new house is a compact, single-story dwelling with a large, habitable green roof that effectively doubles the site’s usable outdoor space. From above, the entire site now reads as a continuous, expansive garden.

"The front facade aligns with neighboring dwellings, folding gently to frame the court and stepping down to meet the footpath. This gesture transforms the roof into an extension of the public realm, blurring the threshold between public and private space and allowing the informal play of the court to extend up onto the house itself.

"To accommodate the functions of the former two-story dwelling within a smaller envelope, the plan is compact and efficient. Organized in a dumbbell configuration, four modest rooms sit between two living zones, one oriented toward the rear garden, the other addressing the street. The street-facing living space is multifunctional, operating as lounge, library, study, entry gallery, and occasional sleeping area for children’s sleepovers. Slightly sunken below ground, it achieves privacy without sacrificing light or outlook.

"The design deliberately resists several suburban conventions typically included in an architectural brief: there is no en suite for every bedroom, no walk-in pantry, no garage, and no front fence. Instead, the architecture privileges openness, restraint, and community connection over domestic excess. The house employs a modicum of window types. A large operable glazed wall opens to the rear garden; a fixed triangular window captures views to the street; and sliding timber-lined panels, seamlessly integrated into the east and west facades, provide nuanced control of light, ventilation, and privacy. These panels eliminate conventional window hardware, concealing operability and allowing the exterior to subtly transform throughout the day. In one position, they admit daylight and read as minimalist timber walls punctuated by fixed glass; in another, they ventilate the interior; in a third, they black out spaces for sleeping; and in a fourth, they shield interiors from sun and heat, significantly improving thermal performance.

"Materially, the house is unified by an almost singular palette of reclaimed timber, used for cladding, windows, doors, and joinery, imbuing the project with a tactile warmth and cohesion. Internally, the timber is milled in varied profiles to form integrated pulls, hooks, shelving, desks, benches, air-con grills, and a picture rail system. A rigorous grid, derived from the width of a timber board, organizes every architectural element, from facade cladding to interior joinery, aligning components in plan and section to create visual clarity and precision. As this grid intersects the angled front facade, it governs all inflection points, alignments, and junctions in three dimensions.

"The Bank Street House draws on the lineage of landform architecture, from Adalberto Libera’s Villa Malaparte to Barry Marshall’s Phillip Island House, yet without monumentality. Instead, it nestles quietly into its suburban context, prioritizing community, sustainability, and spatial richness over scale."

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Green Roof of This Australian Home Is Basically a Neighborhood Park

Nicknamed the Barcode House, This Steely Munich Home Rings Up for €10M

MVRDV combined nine visually distinct units to form a multifaceted home surrounded by gardens and apple orchard.

Location: Sohnckestraße 6A, 81479, Munich, Germany

Price: €10,000,000 (approximately $11,408,400 USD)

Architect: MVRDV

Year: 2005

Footprint: 11,840 square feet (6 Beds, 4 Baths)

From the Agent: "In the south of Munich, on the quiet Prinz-Ludwigs-Höhe in Solln, the Barcode House stands as an architectural statement that consistently defies convention. From the outside, the ensemble appears like an abstract code: nine vertical ‘strips’ that coalesce into a clear, almost graphic silhouette. Each of these structures has its own materiality—stainless steel, wood, polycarbonate, glass—and thus its own character. Sometimes cool and industrial, sometimes warm and artisanal. The architecture follows a programmatic logic: each ‘barcode line’ represents a function, made visible through its external appearance. The interiors are conceived as a sequence—a modern interpretation of the classic enfilade—and alternate between spacious, open areas and intimate retreats. Each section has its own distinct atmosphere: from the loft-like studio with its industrial clarity to cozy, almost villa-like zones. Materials, lighting, and proportions vary deliberately, creating a dynamic living experience. The property—spacious and park-like with mature trees—extends the architecture into the landscape. Garden spaces, an orchard meadow with apple trees, terraces, and outdoor areas are integral parts of the concept. At the same time, the connection to the city remains intact—a typical tension in Munich: urban accessibility, yet an almost rural atmosphere."

The residence is made up of nine individual units, each with its own distinct exterior identity. When viewed as a whole, they evoke the impression of a barcode, hence the home’s name.
Photo by Svetlana Mijic

The residence is made up of nine individual units, each with its own distinct identity at the exterior that, when viewed as a whole, lend the home its nickname of "Barcode House."
Photo by Svetlana Mijic

See the full story on Dwell.com: Nicknamed the Barcode House, This Steely Munich Home Rings Up for €10M
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Instead of Tearing Down Their ’70s Farmhouse, They Wrapped It in Black Cladding

The new envelope makes the home more energy-efficient while preserving its traditional form.

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: Zunderdorp, The Netherlands

Architect: Bastiaan Jongerius Architecten / @bastiaanjongeriusarchitecten

Footprint: 2,580 square feet

Photographer: Jansje Klazinga Fotograaf

From the Architect: "When the owners of a modest 1970s farmhouse in the village of Zunderdorp approached Bastiaan Jongerius Architecten, the assumption was that the existing house would come down to make way for something new. Instead, the studio proposed the opposite: keep the little house standing, and build a future around it. The result, Longhouse Farm, takes its cues from a regional building type found throughout the area, the long, low farmhouse with a single continuous roofline stretching over living and working space alike. Rather than erase what was there, the architects wrapped the existing cottage in a new envelope, bringing it up to energy-neutral, bio-based standards while letting its original timber roof structure remain visible and legible from inside. ‘Every decision followed from what was already there,’ says the studio. ‘The existing house set the terms, and its qualities shaped everything that came after.’

"Zunderdorp sits in classic Dutch polder country: flat meadows, mirror-still ditches, and the silhouettes of black barns punctuating the horizon. That landscape informed nearly every architectural move. Openings along the home’s long facades line up with one another, so a sightline from the yard can travel straight through the interior and out the other side. At the base of the facade, concrete benches face different directions to catch the sun at different times of day, quietly turning the yard into an extension of the living space.

"Rather than closing the renovation off from the original structure, the architects opened it up. New voids connect the floors visually, pulling views up toward the timber roof that now anchors the whole interior. Openings in the internal walls echo the alignment of the facade, creating long sight lines that run from one end of the house to the other, framing the village church in one direction and the open polder in the other through windows set into the gable ends.

"Wood was the obvious starting point, given the building’s roots in a timber farmhouse tradition, but the studio wanted a species that would age gracefully with minimal upkeep. That search led to blackened accoya, prized for its durability and pronounced grain, paired with black standing-seam metal panels. Down at ground level, where the soil stays damp, the plinth is concrete.

"Beyond the immediate context, the architects point to an unlikely reference: the barns of the Alps, with their clear, singular forms and openings that run clean through the structure, tying the building inseparably to the land around it. It’s a similar logic, translated to a Dutch polder.

"Perhaps the most telling decision in the whole project came at the very start. Demolishing the old house and starting fresh would have been the easier route. Choosing instead to hold onto it meant working within real constraints from day one, but it’s also what gives Longhouse Farm its character: a new home built not against its past, but around it."

See the full story on Dwell.com: Instead of Tearing Down Their ’70s Farmhouse, They Wrapped It in Black Cladding
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Why Buy One House When $1.4M Gets You Three Whidbey Island Cottages?

Just a few blocks from downtown Langley, Washington, the color-coded homes are designed to meet net-zero energy standards.

Just a few blocks from downtown Langley, Washington, these color-coded homes are designed to meet net-zero energy standards.

Location: 624 A, B, & C 2nd Street, Langley, Washington

Price: $1,430,000

Year built: 2024

Architect: Charlie Wenzlau, Wenzlau Architects

Footprint: 1,660 Square Feet (3 Beds, 3 Baths)

Unit A: 550 Square Feet (1 Bed, 1 Bath w/Shower Only)
Unit B: 550 Square Feet (1 Bed, 1 Bath w/Shower Only)
Unit C: 560 Square Feet (1 Bed, 1 Bath w/Shower Only)

Lot Size: 0.179 Acres

From the Agent: "Just two blocks from downtown in the waterfront village of Langley on Whidbey Island, this award-winning residential project is composed of three detached one-bedroom homes. Each has its own covered porch, private outdoor space, and dedicated parking, creating a flexible arrangement that allows for both independence and connection.

The three residences can be used as a personal retreat, multigenerational compound, creative studio, business space, artist residency, or rental property. The site is located within a neighborhood business zone, allowing it to accommodate a range of residential and commercial uses.

Each home was constructed to meet net-zero energy standards, with rooftop solar panels, structural insulated panels, triple-pane windows, and locally and regionally sourced wood. Inside, clean lines are balanced by natural materials and abundant daylight.

The property is a short walk from Langley’s shops, restaurants, galleries, waterfront, and walking trails. Together the three smaller homes offer a flexible approach to living and working on Whidbey Island."