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00:01houses are more than shelter the second we walked through the threshold of the
00:09door we both looked up looked at each other this is it yeah this is the space
00:15we wanted to live in the light and we wanted to live in the landscape for us
00:23it was a way to sort of connect my roots and expose our children and continue
00:28that legacy from our parents we sort of fell in love with the place and each
00:36other at the same time this building it's a real landmark around here it's an
00:43unconventional house but it's pretty fun the fact is that houses are dreams they're
00:51an expression of who we are and what we believe in
01:03being close to the loch is very special for us the loch is a place of freedom and escape
01:15if you go for a swimming loch it completely clears your head
01:18it has a really special effect it just resets
01:26we've discovered that if ever there's kids in a bad mood the one cure of it is get them in
01:32the water
01:32and all the problems disappear it's that easy we wanted to design a building that felt as if it
01:39belonged to the location we're very privileged to be able to live here it's a really special place
01:46my name is neil steven i'm an architect and i'm laura steven also an architect and this is our home
01:53on lyle of sky in scotland
01:55we live here with our three children morag who's 13
01:59lackey who's six and anna who's 18 months
02:06and our flip it two sausage dogs nine heberdean sheep and a cat
02:17isla sky is an island in the northwest of scotland
02:23in 2014 we came here and we were able to acquire the land there was nothing here
02:28on the site but we had a vision of how we could build our own home
02:33our house sits on the shores of loch naglinja
02:36we wanted to live near the loch we could make the most of living on an island
02:44welcome this is our home as you can see we've built it in a wild and windy place but that's
02:50what makes it special
02:51it's called tycria which means the house of clay
02:55so even though it's covered in larch it's actually constructed with clay blocks
03:00which gives it its gallic name so it's a very solid building
03:04here by the loch we get lots of storms but that's what makes it magical it's the variety of weather
03:09the weather's a huge part of living here you know you have to hunker down in the winter
03:13and you emerge in the spring it's like you take a deep breath
03:19this is a typical winter day but this is the height of summer
03:22yeah yesterday was the longest day yesterday was the summer solstice
03:28so here leads to the rest of the house
03:35here you get the first glimpse of the view on the loch beyond
03:42the weather's terrible here quite often so we designed this space with these built-in shutters
03:48so we can close down and make the space a bit more intimate and cozy
03:52we have these really thick walls the clay block walls are covered in clay plaster which is a natural material
03:59so natural that we find that the dogs like to eat it and our
04:04and the baby actually
04:05our toddler likes to lick it i think she gets minerals from it so that's okay
04:08mineral lick
04:09yeah we don't mind
04:10we've gone for a limited number of materials we've got
04:14oak and we've got a terrazzo floor which the stone has come from a local quarry
04:18we've tried to use as many natural materials as possible so it feels like it's part of the landscape
04:25grew up in glasgow but myself my twin would spend most of our holidays in sky at my grandparents house
04:30just on the beach or bird watching so we we love sky and we always felt connected to it
04:38i moved to sky when i was just straight from uni we first met when we worked on a project
04:44together
04:44i suppose you're my boss
04:48yeah
04:48sometimes it doesn't feel like it
04:52but yeah that's how we met
04:55i didn't move here till we got married so it was a big change at the time for me moving
05:00from glasgow to here
05:09it's only when you come up these steps that you get the full view and that you see the expanse
05:18of loch
05:25i think everyone's sort of drawn to this special picture window and that connection
05:31for whatever reason even the cats has gone to this space
05:34you come see girls
05:35you see eggs
05:36yeah
05:37no
05:42so we're passing through the hallway
05:46big thick walls
05:48this was always going to be a kind of mixed-use space like a flexible space
05:54tv area place for the kids to do art toys and you also circulate off the space into the
06:04bedrooms
06:04these are the kids bedrooms they're both exactly the same size and we've done something quite
06:09deliberate with these rooms which is to to use a different color of clay plaster so we've gone for
06:14a sort of deep olive green and it makes it feel a bit quieter a bit more intimate which i
06:18think is
06:18important within a bedroom the kids get the view out to the loch
06:25so over this side the space of the circulation we go to our bedroom which is the main bedroom of
06:31the house
06:31which is exactly double the size of the kids bedrooms and it was deliberate for us that we didn't get
06:39the view of the loch
06:39we look back into the landscape so this is a very quiet space for us
06:47so actually we get a better night's sleep than the kids
06:49yeah it's very quiet in here
06:51yeah it's very quiet in here
07:20that's canna around the corner there's rum muck and egg they're known as the small isles
07:25here comes tov
07:30you do feel a sense of freedom and a connection to nature which is a privilege
07:37and so yeah we're we're very very happy
07:55this particular beach almost feels like you're on a deserted island sometimes
08:02it's nice to have a place to go where you feel like you're alone
08:09this is our beach house in arch cape oregon we call our shelter house
08:13we built it as a respite a getaway from from our busy lives business kids everything in portland
08:24honestly i never could have imagined ever having a house like this i grew up southeast portland
08:27you know my parents are hard-working people and this is a very special dream that came true
08:39the house is about 2500 square feet three bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms dual purpose loft area
08:50and then the great room kitchen dining living all in one space
08:58we live in portland oregon we have our own patent advisory business my husband and i michael
09:04we have two kids and a dog named bernie
09:09in 2013 i booked a home for the family for christmas down the beach and we absolutely fell in love
09:18with arch cape
09:23then this beautiful blank piece of property became available but i honestly could not envision
09:31what could be built here so i called one of my favorite people our interior designer from in portland
09:38and her husband's architect and i said okay you need to come out to the property and david needs to
09:44tell me
09:45if he can build something here i'm david horning my role in this project was head of design for both
09:54the architecture
09:55and the interior design components this lot was on the market and available because it was so difficult to build
10:02on
10:02and i think it scared a lot of people away there were so many restrictions on building on this site
10:07we have a floodplain issue
10:08because you're on the oregon coast you do get big wave surges so we designed the house elevated up
10:14and it's on concrete piers so the water is intended to flow underneath the house
10:18the floor has to be five feet up above the base flood level and we had a max height of
10:23about 14 feet
10:24so we were kind of forced into using a flat or a low sloped roof
10:28and that really lends itself towards a modern style of architecture
10:35the house is very different from anything else on this stretch of beach
10:40it's kind of a box out front and you don't really know what's behind it
10:45and it does sort of block out everything
10:50as you open up the front door you see the pacific ocean
10:53that was a must for me it's pretty magnificent if you ask me
11:00i love to be able to open the door and just see it right away
11:04all the way through the house you can see it
11:12right off the foyer we've got two guest rooms
11:16each bedroom has its own ensuite bathroom
11:20i think it just makes visiting here really comfortable
11:25so when i first saw the floor plans for the house
11:29i was a little taken aback by the fact that there was a bathtub in the middle of the bedroom
11:34but the architect convinced me that it was actually a really good thing
11:39that it allowed us to have more in this space
11:44now we're in the main part of the house
11:47the great room
11:49the open kitchen and dining and living area
11:54all in one all looking out to the pacific ocean
12:00love the openness of the kitchen
12:02love the huge island
12:04everybody can work around it sit around it
12:07again built-ins same wood running throughout the entire house
12:10it's the hewn oak and it's just really beautiful and durable
12:17right off the dining area is the living area
12:21all about the view
12:25we don't have any televisions in the house
12:27but we do like to project a movie now and then
12:30sometimes a sporting event onto the wall here
12:33so these big white walls work perfectly for that
12:41in the winter time we get the waves come all the way up to the lower deck
12:45but it was built for that
12:47it was built to be durable
12:49and we feel safe here
12:51very safe
12:54the building process was super fun
12:57so it was just this blank flat piece of property
13:00we're always looking for aspects of the site
13:04that can help kind of give us some design direction
13:06and in this case
13:08there's a mountain behind the house
13:09and there's this one over here in the economy
13:11that kind of slopes up and down like that
13:13and so that was really how we use the roof form
13:16we use that shape
13:18so that when you enter the home
13:20you're kind of compressed down
13:22to a low point
13:23and then it opens up again
13:25and leads out towards the view
13:26but we use that challenge to our advantage
13:29to make the house special
13:30and if it wasn't for those restrictions
13:32we wouldn't have this same design
13:37right next to the living area
13:39is the primary bedroom
13:43it is very open
13:45but for privacy
13:47we have this custom
13:48it's really a piece of art
13:50a door
13:51that separates the great room
13:53from the primary bedroom
13:55and it's very heavy
14:03it's a pretty fantastic view
14:05there's a picture of Michael standing right here
14:08when it was just framed
14:09it's actually a really cool photo
14:12trying to envision what the bedroom was going to be like
14:14was insane
14:17the cedar goes all the way
14:20from the floor
14:21and the boards match
14:23go up out and out onto the deck
14:25and it's just a beautiful feature
14:28and something that you notice
14:52people love to come here
14:55it's a wonderful gathering place
15:05the ocean is a beautiful thing
15:07it's magical
15:13no more booking hotel rooms with the
15:15does it have an ocean view
15:17it has a peekaboo ocean view
15:19nah, we got the ocean view
15:21so
15:22it's more than I could have imagined
15:25it's more than I could have dreamed of
15:28it's just a perfect place to be
15:47to look out and to know that you're on the edge
15:50and that there's nothing but water
15:52for thousands of miles
15:55it's pretty incredible
15:58you know, never in my wildest dreams
16:00would I have imagined
16:01that from my kitchen sink
16:02I could see whale spouts
16:03like, it's just such a dream come true
16:10whenever we spend time up here
16:12you really realize how little you need
16:15to live a happy life
16:19you know, it's a thousand square foot home
16:21in a village of a couple thousand people
16:26it really kind of changes your mentality
16:28about how the world could work
16:35I'm Dr. Max Dean Goldstein
16:37I'm J.S. Reneson
16:39this is baby Esther
16:41and we're here at our home in Mendocino, California
16:44God bless you!
16:49Welcome to our home
16:51it's a two bedroom, two bath cabin
16:53with an incredible west facing ocean view
16:57and we're on about two acres of land
17:01Esther, you ready for some farm work?
17:04yes, she said yes
17:06my mom was a farmer
17:08and so kind of raised us
17:09with the connection to land
17:10and taking care of animals
17:13hi!
17:16I was really intent on this idea
17:19of a land project near the coast
17:20because I love the ocean so incredibly much
17:23but I also love gardening
17:24we were looking all up and down the California coast
17:27just for that property that really spoke to us
17:30and what we could also afford
17:31and ended up in Mendocino
17:34mostly because the property really called to our spirit
17:37it was beautiful
17:40Mendocino, it's very unique
17:43it's kind of juts out into the Pacific Ocean
17:48you're pretty much surrounded by water on three sides
17:53the home dates back its original structure
17:56to the late 1800s
17:58a little small 400 square foot redwood cottage
18:01the home was then added on in the 20s
18:03and lived in until about 1980
18:06and then abandoned as of 1980
18:08so this home as we see it right now
18:10is the same footprint from the 20s
18:13when we first bought the house
18:15yeah it was a tumble down shack
18:18with no structural integrity to it
18:24I work in construction
18:26so for me it wasn't really daunting
18:28and I think I was able to reassure Max quite a bit
18:33the home looks like it's been around for a very long time
18:35although it was essentially rebuilt in 2021
18:38by both of us
18:39the only original window from the home
18:42is this one right here
18:44all the other windows are architecturally salvaged
18:48something that was really central to the idea of the home
18:51is to kind of work with what we found
18:54and as Max mentioned
18:56we didn't change the footprint of the cabin
18:59but we did open up some walls and windows
19:02in order to draw attention and focus towards the view
19:15so when you walk inside the home
19:18you kind of walk immediately into our farm kitchen
19:20it's really an area where we want everybody to be greeted with
19:23food and drink and beverage
19:25you know there's always a seat at the table for them
19:27and so we have this 14 foot long kitchen table
19:31that seats up to 14 maybe 16 people for squeezed in there pretty tightly
19:35it's really a place of abundance
19:37you know of warmth and joy
19:39and welcoming for all of our friends and our family
19:41there's also a breakfast nook here
19:46this is where we have morning coffee
19:48and we also do some afternoon writing here
19:53the only original window we have is this one right here in the breakfast nook
19:57and it was almost like we had to build the whole house around this one window
20:00which is incredible because it really does frame the ocean
20:06when we first bought the house
20:08I have no idea how the roof was still standing
20:11so we needed to create some extra support
20:15yeah these are the five inch diameter tree trunks that we were asking for
20:21and they're probably closer to 12 or 14
20:23we love it because it feels like a tree house
20:26and it feels like there's trees growing through the home
20:29we built this loft as kind of like a storage loft
20:32so when people come they can kind of throw their luggage up there
20:35we also threw a couple cushions down
20:37so if like somebody wanted to go up there and take a little nap they could
20:40it's a very fun vantage point of the home
20:44so this is our sunken living room
20:48with an ocean view
20:50this is the perfect place for afternoon naps
20:53bye bye
20:56a reason why we sunk the living room was because we came across these beautiful 16 pane windows
21:02that would be too large to install with the floor level and the rest of the house
21:10so you pass through this corridor over here
21:13into the east side of the home which is bedroom and bathing areas
21:19when you're in this room it's more about being quiet
21:22it's not necessarily about a broad expanse of view
21:26she was born almost three months ago
21:29and this is her first trip up to the cabin actually
21:32and she loves it
21:39really central to the design of the home is working with what you've got
21:44and we had the access to these discounted tiles
21:49many of the pieces cut by hand by myself and two friends over 72 hours of a tiling frenzy
21:57so this is our primary bathroom that's like a changing room tub toilet area that's connected to the primary bed
22:06the tile in this bathroom is specifically put with this color palette in mind thinking of the ocean view that
22:13we have in front of us
22:14it really kind of ground you in that this is a home by the sea
22:23so this is our primary bedroom
22:29my best friend from college is an incredible craftsman
22:32uh... paneled this entire room and he wanted to do it diagonal
22:37so you kind of see how perfect it is going from one piece to another through those corners
22:42he also inlaid a beautiful abalone shell that i found while free diving around here
22:48uh... into the wall itself as our headboard
23:00i think you know when you feel grateful in life and you have moments that remind you of that gratitude
23:06every single day it really changes you you know you really feel joy and i feel like it also allows
23:12us to be kind and generous to others
23:19and that's really what we were both looking for is a life project a lifelong land project something we could
23:25plant and develop and cultivate for our family and for our friends
23:32all of those stresses
23:33all of those stresses from city life kind of just disappear and you start thinking about
23:38really beautiful things like building a family or
23:42taking up a new passion or
23:46i want people to dream
23:47you know
23:49you know
23:50you
23:51you
23:52you
23:57you
23:58you
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