Here’s One Way to Renovate the Home of a Famous Spanish Pirate

The great-great-grandson of Antoni Cuyàs modified the living area with a stainless-steel built-in that wraps the perimeter, forming a sofa, desk, cabinets, and shelving.

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: Mataró, Spain

Architect: Raul Sanchez Architects / @raulsanchezarchitects

Footprint: 1,076 square feet

Photographer: José Hevia

From the Architect: "In 1820, at just eighteen years old, Antoni Cuyàs, originally from Mataró, Spain, set off for Argentina with little more than basic knowledge of navigation. Not many years later, after a meteoric career, he had become the most feared corsair among Brazilian ships, which, according to chronicles of the time, rarely escaped Antoni’s cannon fire. Having amassed an enormous fortune while still very young, he abandoned life at sea and developed both personal and financial ties with the country’s ruling classes, becoming a frequent advisor to the presidents of the era. After a marriage that produced no descendants, and wishing to spend his final years in his native Mataró, he returned in 1865. There he purchased two houses on the Rambla, joined them together, and commissioned a group of Italian artists working in the area to design him a residence reminiscent of the palaces he had frequented in Argentina. Toward the end of his life, he met an orphaned boy who shared his surname and decided to adopt him, making him his sole heir. Over the years the house endured a turbulent fate, stripped of many of its most valuable elements, although the Cuyàs family retained ownership of it.

"By 2023, Manuel Cuyàs, the pirate’s great-great-grandson, and his wife, Nuria, (Argentinian, as fate would have it), a designer and cultural worker, were tired of living in spaces trapped in a distorted past that did not suit their working routine (both work from home). They decided to renovate three rooms that still retained original elements: the entrance hall, the dining room, and the pirate’s room, the latter listed by the heritage authorities. The requirements were simple: to be able to fully enjoy all the spaces, to use the room both as a living room and a workspace, to keep the dining room exclusively for dining, to give the entrance hall a meaningful role within the ensemble, and to restore some of the badly mistreated grandeur the house once possessed.

"A large plinth made of stainless steel anchors the entire perimeter of the room, accommodating workspaces, the sofa area, and storage, establishing a continuous element throughout the room that unifies the intervention. Above it, the original wallpapers are preserved, family paintings returned to their place, and the polychrome ceiling once again presides over the room, free from installations and cables. Below, the original terra-cotta floor has been recovered and treated to prevent its constant disintegration through a complex process of resin application and consolidation. The more common, non-original tiles along the perimeter were removed to facilitate the passage of all installations, which then rise concealed behind the steel plinth. This perimeter frame is finished with micro-mortar, highly flexible and capable of adapting to the movements of a very old structure. The cracks in ceilings and walls, the imperfections in the wallpaper and the floor, remain as they are to reflect the home’s age, and even the channels carved into the walls to bring electricity to the wall lights are left unfinished and untouched.

"The relationship between the painting of the pirate in his later years, proudly displaying his sword (which is preserved in the entrance hall), and the mirror facing it has been maintained."

"The room is now even climate-controlled, although it would be difficult to guess where the system is hidden. The considerable technical complexity of the intervention ultimately recedes, allowing the room to recover its former splendor—not as a museum piece anchored to an idealized past that most often never existed, but as a space that acknowledges its past and history while carrying them into the present."

Photo: José Hevia

Photo: José Hevia

Photo: José Hevia

See the full story on Dwell.com: Here’s One Way to Renovate the Home of a Famous Spanish Pirate
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Timber Totally Covers Every Wall in This $2.3M Idaho Getaway

The price includes 10 acres of property with a 3,276-square-foot home plus an insulated garage and a workshop.

Location: 202 Siskin Lane, Sandpoint, Idaho

Price: $2,395,000

Year Built: 2023

Architect: Waechter Architecture

Footprint: 3,276 square feet (5 bedrooms, 3 baths)

Lot Size: 10.02 acres

From the Agent: "Designed by Waechter Architecture and a European builder, this Scandinavian-inspired residence is one of North Idaho’s most extraordinary offerings. Pine tongue-and-groove walls run floor to ceiling, catching light in warm tones. Custom white oak millwork—cabinetry, built-ins, shelving—showcases joinery and finish. The living/dining room is warmed by an ultra-efficient woodstove that doubles as sculptural centerpiece. The primary suite occupies its own main-level wing, opening onto a private teak deck. From here, Schweitzer Mountain rises to the west, its ridgeline catching alpenglow at dusk. Slate-tiled bathrooms with heated floors complete the suite. Upstairs, a private guest suite offers its own bath and sense of retreat. Three additional bedrooms share a bathroom and a cozy family room with a built-in lounge and propane fireplace. The property is set over 10 acres of flat, buildable terrain with no roads or neighbors in direct sight. The grounds include pollinator gardens, a producing fruit orchard, a bocce court, an insulated shop, and an oversize carport. Four independent heat sources—woodstove, propane, heat pump, and forced-air—mean you’re never dependent on one system. Aluminum, wood-clad Pella windows and four-inch Rockwool exterior insulation keep the home quiet and efficient. A 2,700-gallon cistern, whole-house generator, 2025 tankless water heater, and whole-house filtration deliver resilience without sacrificing comfort."

The home’s exterior features reclaimed barn wood siding and a standing-seam metal roof. 

Photo by Keyframes Media

Photo by Keyframes Media

Photo by Keyframes Media

See the full story on Dwell.com: Timber Totally Covers Every Wall in This $2.3M Idaho Getaway
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An Awkward Lot Between Spec Homes Is No Problem for This 764-Square-Foot Residence in Japan

A carefully placed band of windows on the second floor maintains privacy and brings in light, which filters downstairs through gapped two-by-four flooring.

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: Anjo City, Japan

Architect: 1-1 Architects / @ichinoichi.inc

Footprint: 764 square feet

Builder: Hirata Construction Co.Ltd.

Structural Engineer: WORKSHOP Ltd.

Photographer: Takashi Uemura / @takashiuemura_photography

From the Architect: "This project is a house planned within a rural settlement located in an urbanization control area. The surrounding context is characterized by generous single-story farmhouse dwellings. However, due to the site’s favorable location, land subdivision has recently accelerated, and an increasing number of parcels are being sold as speculative housing developments or ready-built homes. These houses, driven by profitability and ease of sale, tend to maximize building coverage ratios and are subdivided internally into increasing numbers of homes. As a result, the neighborhood has become denser, with deteriorating daylighting and ventilation conditions, confining residents within overcrowded and inflexible interiors.

"The subject site follows this trend: it is the central parcel of a lot that was originally occupied by a large single-story farmhouse and later divided into three. The newly built houses on both sides extend close to the property boundaries. At the initial design stage, setting back the ground floor to create exterior space between neighboring houses was considered. However, poor daylight conditions at ground level posed a concern. Instead, the second floor was set back in a podium-like configuration and enclosed with continuous openings. This strategy creates a bright second floor and a generous external terrace that are less affected by the surrounding environment.

"The second-floor slab, which also forms the first-floor ceiling, is composed of 2-by-4 timber louvers, functioning both as a finish and as a structural diaphragm providing horizontal rigidity. Light and air entering the second floor gently filter down to the first floor through these louvers. The first floor, with its intentionally low ceiling height and a cool, glossy earthen floor extending across its entirety, contrasts with the bright and open second floor, which, through setback, maintains a moderate distance from the neighborhood while remaining largely open. Rather than occupying predetermined rooms, the residents move between these two distinct one-room environments, selecting their place according to changing conditions and living fluidly within the space.

"The void created at a height slightly above ground level introduces spatial permeability into both the townscape and daily life, fostering a flexible and choice-rich living environment. By reconsidering the latent potential of the site and realizing the project within a budget comparable to speculative housing, this work aims to demonstrate new possibilities within the conditions currently shaping suburban residential areas in Japan."

Photo by Takashi Uemura

Photo by Takashi Uemura

Photo by Takashi Uemura

See the full story on Dwell.com: An Awkward Lot Between Spec Homes Is No Problem for This 764-Square-Foot Residence in Japan

How They Pulled It Off: A Warm, Woody Foyer That Connects a Long Island Home With Its Garage

MCWRK resolved an illegal, half-built ADU above the parking structure by designing an entry that ties it in with the floor plan.

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

When a young family reached out to architect Michael Campbell and his New York firm, MCWRK, to turn their uninspiring Long Island house into a peaceful creative sanctuary, he jumped at the opportunity. "The clients are interesting people—they’re both artists—and they wanted to create a very calming retreat."

His clients and their young son, who live in Brooklyn, had been renting a getaway for the past 10 years in Orient, a quiet hamlet at the tip of North Fork. Then in 2023, they bought a single-story house set on two acres a stone’s throw from the beach. But that might be all that it had going for it. "It was built in 1988, with a really odd layout. You entered in a weird spot near the bedrooms, and the public areas were tucked away," says Campbell. "The interiors were kind of boring."

But Campbell’s biggest test lay outside. Twelve feet from the house was a garage with an unfinished, illegally built accessory dwelling unit on top. It lacked electrical, plumbing, or any finishes. "It looked as if they were stopped in the middle of building it," he says. "In that town, they don’t allow a second apartment or smaller house on the property."

Not only did the buildings need to be physically linked, but Campbell also needed to turn these three distinct spaces into one whole, coherent home. The solution, he says, was to build a multifunctional foyer between the house and the garage that could be a connective tissue, uniting these two separate buildings under one roof. He turned the ADU into a studio space and guest accommodation, and reconfigured the awkward layout of the main house, raising ceilings, opening up the kitchen and living area, and concealing the two bedrooms behind a central wall. The new foyer adds a powder room and lots of storage, too, "but it also gave my clients a better way of entering the home," says Campbell. Here’s how he turned two awkward buildings into one functional—and serene—family getaway.

How they pulled it off: A foyer that connects a home with its garage

• An entrance with its own identity: Campbell wanted the foyer to act as a calming, retreat-like threshold to the house. "In this space, the material is different from the rest of the home," he explains. "We put in Flemish charcoal-stained terra-cotta for the floor and Douglas fir plywood on the ceilings and the walls, so everything’s clad in this warm wood material. The terra-cotta has a matte texture, so you get that grounding, earthy feeling before stepping up into the main living space."

See the full story on Dwell.com: How They Pulled It Off: A Warm, Woody Foyer That Connects a Long Island Home With Its Garage

Given Carte Blanche, Two Designers Added a Massive Teal Cube to This 125-Year-Old Ontario Home

"From day one, it was ‘no notes,’" says Studio Alter cofounder Xenia Rose about working with the perfect clients on one of her firm’s first projects.

Hamish Robertson and Mary Fitzgerald didn’t want to move, but it looked inevitable. As much as the couple, who work as a software engineer and a server respectively, loved their neighborhood in Almonte, Ontario, their circa-1890 Victorian home was bursting at the seams as their two small, busy kids grew. But then, it occurred to them that their lot was large, and the footprint of the house took up just a fraction of the property; the conditions were ideal for an expansion. Maybe they could have it all—a larger home, the same address.

They’d need some help to make the plan a reality. Mary had purchased some of artist Kate Dubois’s prints years ago, and had been following her career from a distance. When she learned that Dubois had started a design studio (with cofounder Xenia Rose) in Ottawa, Ontario, she reached out: Would Studio Alter take them on as one of their first clients?

"We went to them to make the house something we could actually live in," says Hamish. Dubois and Rose were happy to oblige. They started sketching a plan to restore the 900-square-foot ground floor of the two-story house, rejig the layout for maximum functionality, and introduce a second full bathroom and an additional 480 square feet. (A renovation for the upper level is on the docket in the future.)

Though many new designers might be tempted to play it safe as they build their portfolios, Dubois and Rose took the opposite approach. "These clients were an opportunity to do something bold," says Rose. They weren’t looking for anything traditional, and didn’t feel beholden by the heritage of their 125-year-old house. "This was the time to push," she recalls. 

See the full story on Dwell.com: Given Carte Blanche, Two Designers Added a Massive Teal Cube to This 125-Year-Old Ontario Home
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Tree House Vibes Fill This $1.1M Forest Home in Costa Rica

The residence is located in La Ecovilla, a private development with organic gardens, outdoor wellness spaces, and its own school.

Location:  Casa Brisa, La Ecovilla, San Mateo, Costa Rica 

Price: $1,095,000

Footprint: 3,391 square feet (4 beds, 4 baths)

Lot Size: 0.62 acres

From the Agent: "Set within the private gated community of La Ecovilla, a thoughtfully designed regenerative development spanning approximately 42 acres of preserved  landscape, this property offers a rare opportunity to experience a lifestyle rooted in nature, wellness, and connection. Positioned at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, the residence enjoys exceptional privacy and a peaceful setting. The home is constructed from rare tropical hardwoods, sustainably sourced from naturally fallen trees, and showcases traditional bahareque (wattle and daub) construction. Natural materials are integrated throughout, with stone and rock elements thoughtfully incorporated into the architecture, including custom stair features that anchor the space. Lush gardens are woven with walking paths and a variety of fruit trees, while a creek runs along the back of the property. A large pond further enhances the setting. A fully independent one-bedroom, one-bathroom casita provides additional flexibility for hosting guests or generating rental income.

La Ecovilla offers a thoughtfully designed collection of shared amenities centered around connection, wellness, and nature. Residents enjoy a central community rancho that serves as a gathering space for events and shared experiences, along with organic gardens and edible landscaping that reflect the community’s focus on sustainable living. Open-air wellness areas provide space for yoga, movement, and workshops, while walking paths and nature trails weave throughout the community. The community is also home to the Real World School, offering an innovative, nature-based educational experience that further enhances the appeal for families."

The property is located less than an hour from the capital of San José, and within easy reach of the Pacific coast.  

Photo by CineMar Media for Engel & Völkers

Photo by CineMar Media for Engel & Völkers

Large patios with landscape views are integrated throughout the residence. 

Photo by CineMar Media for Engel & Völkers

See the full story on Dwell.com: Tree House Vibes Fill This $1.1M Forest Home in Costa Rica
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This Tiny Red Cabin Has a Lockbox for Your Phone

There’s no Wi-Fi at this 215-square-foot getaway in Ireland, but it does come with a cassette player, camera, and paper map.

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: County Westmeath, Ireland

Architect: Studio Bucky

Footprint: 215 square feet

Photographer: Jasmine Hughes / @_jasminehughes_

From the Architect: "When Irish architect Alexander Buckeridge met Rosanna Irwin in New York in 2023, the conversation kept returning to the same gap: almost no small retreats existed that were both genuinely design-led and genuinely restful. Irwin had founded Samsú the year before, building a platform for nature-based stays in rural Ireland. Buckeridge runs Studio Bucky, a Brooklyn practice focused on atmosphere and material experience at an intimate scale. The brief was simple: a small cabin where guests could genuinely switch off, designed with enough care that the architecture did the work. The result is CUCU—a 215-square-foot off-grid cabin set within 350 acres of Irish countryside in County Westmeath, about an hour outside Dublin. Its exterior is clad in red-stained timber shingles, a color drawn directly from the corrugated metal roofs and painted agricultural outbuildings scattered across this landscape. From a distance it reads as a deliberate presence rather than an interruption—a structure that belongs to where it sits.

"The plan is tight and the section is tall, a logic drawn from Ireland’s tower houses: the medieval stone structures that punctuate the rural midlands, compact in footprint and organized around verticality. The compression makes the height feel earned. The tightness of the footprint pushes life upward—a ladder leads to a mezzanine sleeping level, where a circular window frames the surrounding canopy. Each level opens a different relationship with the land outside. Inside, the bold exterior gives way to something more considered. Plywood linings, terra-cotta tiles, warm timber, and copper detailing build a layered interior where the same red that colors the shingles outside reappears in the window frames and floor tiling, threading the exterior logic through the whole. On the ground floor, a custom roll-top copper bath sits at the center of the plan—the anchor of a daily ritual rather than an amenity to be photographed. A private sauna occupies the far end.

"On arrival, guests receive an analogue kit: film camera, cassette player, phone lockbox, a hand-drawn map of the land. The cabin has already set the terms. The kit simply confirms them."

Photo by Jasmine Hughes

Photo by Jasmine Hughes

Photo by Jasmine Hughes

See the full story on Dwell.com: This Tiny Red Cabin Has a Lockbox for Your Phone