Today I thought I'd look back at some of the most gorgeous modern houses we've ever featured here on the Met. What each of the designers or architects did so well was plan for an intelligent use of space. Not only do these homes look equally comfortable as they do gorgeous, they provide the homeowner with an amazing experience. They've created an inside/outside element that makes you feel as if you're vacationing right inside your home.
A Remodeled 1950s House in Santa Monica, CAThis house was recently chosen as one of Sunset's 11 Winning Home Designs. It's a two-story rear addition to a 1950s house that includes a master suite over a printing studio. Just like a modern dollhouse, we love how you can look into each bright and colorful room. My favorite part? The 18-foot-long wall of sliding glass doors that opens the entire studio to the pool patio. Can't you just imagine weekend after weekend of pool parties here?
The Perforated House in Melbourne, AustraliaForget everything you ever thought about how the outside of a house should look like and then check out the Perforated House, designed by Kavellaris Urban Design. Completed in 2008, this modern house sits in artsy Melbourne, Australia. My favorite part? The panels in the front and back that open up to reveal a living room that probably always feels cool.
A SF StudioJay Shapiro, a skateboarder and musician, and Claire Bigbie, an interior designer, turned a Victorian house in San Francisco into a dream house. Check out the ground-floor studio which has a rolling garage door that opens to a garden. Click the link for more amazing pictures!
A Modern Mecca in SingaporeDesigned by architects Ong & Ong Pte, this modern house in Singapore is meant to give you "a spatial experience that excites the senses by promoting light." This air well divided the two sections of the house and became the perfect place for an indoor/outdoor swimming pool. The coolest part, of course, is that you can open up the glazed partitions of the house so that the first floor becomes one large living space. The ground floor, then, is not only a lounge and dinning area, it is an ideal place to relax and sit poolside, a place to sip margaritas and soak in the rays.
A Swimming Pool House, ReallyHave you ever seen a swimming pool house as gorgeous as this? New York based Hariri & Hariri Architecture designed this swimming pool house in suburban Connecticut. I just love the inside/outside feature - you can just imagine having all your friends and family over, BBQing and lounging around on a beautiful, sunny day. The right side even has an outdoor shower where you wash off after a swim. Brilliant!
Clive Wilkinson's LA HouseEvery once in a while, I'll stumble upon a beautiful house that I fall in love with. Modern design, clean lines, something livable and inspiring. Clive Wilkinson is a man who knows my heart! His 3,300 square foot 3-bedroom house near Melrose was built so that people could move around, interact with one another, and go in and out of the house with ease.
The Skyline Residence in the Hollywood HillsThere exists a house high atop the Hollywood Hills called the Skyline Residence. Beautifully modern, its angular surfaces make the house a piece of art in and of itself. Designed by Belzberg Architects, the Skyline encompasses everything you'd want in a house, clean and modern, with an eco-friendly heart. What draws me to this house, though, isn't just that it's modern. It's that outdoor patio. It's the way friends are lying on the concrete looking up at an old Hollywood movie and enjoying a perfect California night.
Vila Berkel, NetherlandsThis modern house, called the Villa Berkel, was designed by architect Paul de Ruiter. Located in Veenendaal, The Netherlands, it keeps to an inside/outside theme that I've come to love. By using natural light and playing with the idea of open space, the house creates a connection to the outdoors in a warm and comforting way, one that's not typical of a modern house.
