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Stepped Greek Villa with an Arresting Zigzag Shape

From ISV architects comes this bold geometric house overlooking the Aegean Sea from its steep perch on an Athens hilltop.

The zigzag shape as seen from the street below is even more striking lit up at night.

Because of the stepped structure, every room and every patio supplies a limitless vista out across the ancient Greek sea.

The access from the street is at the site’s highest point. From here you’d descend to the lower living levels of the home.

Next to a gloriously serene infinity pool, thick blocky geometric shapes extend through the glass into the house.

Viewed from another angle, the living room actually appears to be just idly floating about on the pool.

At night, swimmers are treated to a unique view through the living room.

Spare and spartan, bathrooms have a brisk and clean-cut masculine flair.

Uncompromisingly contemporary design marks the spacious kitchen.

An unbroken view is achieved with floor to ceiling glazing that makes it possible to completely open the interior to the sweeping ocean view.

A huge fireplace provides the focal point after the sun goes down.

The design represents an original treatment of an almost impossibly steep site.

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Arizona Family Home under a Half-Dome Roof

AA Studio designed this bold dome-roofed three-bedroom family home in Sedona, Arizona.

The street side of the house is a symphony of curved adobe in varying rosy hues.

On the other side of the home the half and quarter circles are extended perpendicularly to the pool, while the color palette switches to brilliant blue.

The roof has the wonderful soft green patina of weathering copper.

Inside the house, the domed roof is panelled in wood, softening the soaring ceiling.

To the back of the house, the house is single storey, so the bedrooms get both a domed roof and their own small lawn outside.

A stepped landscape allows for intimate lawn views from the bedrooms.

The land is terraced on the private side outside the bedrooms, breaking up the hillside into a series of flat lawns.

On the other side, the land falls away naturally and the entrance, marked by a bright and generously proportioned red door, is from the top floor.

Stairs lead down outside to allow access directly to the pool in the front of the house.

So this would be one ‘welcome home’ view.

In Arizona, where temperatures can reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit, this is a welcome sight indeed!

A truly memorable and warmly nurturing home.

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Watery Views Marry a Zen Sensibility in Contemporary Seattle Home

There is a gentle charm to the easy zen aesthetic of Seattle’s Courtyard House by DeForest Architects.

Set right on a lakefront and overlooking Mount Rainier in Seattle, Washington, the house is fully open to its stunning maritime views.

Cheery sun-drenched bedrooms are so close to the lake that they seem like they are on a houseboat moored at its edge.

The house is quite narrow, sandwiched between the lake view in front and the street, and its floor-to-ceiling glazing can completely open both sides like a pavilion.

Opaque turquoise glass obscures the view into the house from the street side…

…while the view out is created to provide a private garden view with a zen sensibility.

This wall of opaque turquoise glass creates privacy and ample daylight for large showers in identical bathrooms, with spa-like wood panelled ceilings.

Their interiors have a much earthier vibe, with rammed earth walls and very contemporary cylindrical wash basins.

The bathrooms are along the street side, while their bedrooms face the lake.

Another zen touch is the seamless transition between indoors and out – note the wood floor to wood deck – along with the huge expanse of glazings that can be completely opened up.

Industrial strength steel stairs contrast with the soft blonde wood kitchen with its spacious islands to each side.

With its casual flavor of Japan in its use of wood ceilings and modular screens, the architects have created a gentle and charming lakeside home.