Garden/Yarden

The firepit is made from an old water tank taken from a friend’s property and is surrounded by woven-resin chairs from CO9 Design.

The landscaped yard with multiple “living areas” provides outdoor relief, made possible by the Napa Valley climate.

Speaking to his original design, architect Saul Zaik says, “We were really just building boxes with a bunch of windows but experimenting with how you integrated indoor and outdoor spaces.” The house has seven different openings to the exterior, allowing different courtyard or patio settings for a range of outdoor activities, including seating for a gathering on the street-facing side. The Milfords hired Lilyvilla Gardens for the landscaping around the house, including variegated bluestone steps with thyme joints.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, with project manager and lead designer Emily Kudsen Leland at the helm, remade a Portland abode with a crisp paint palette: Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron for the cladding and Venetian Gold for the front door. The home was originally designed by Saul Zaik in Southwest Portland, complete with a wood-clad exterior, in 1956. As part of the renovation, landscape design was completed by Lilyvilla Gardens.

Christine pushed the design team to integrate a planter into the concrete foundation. "We searched a long time for an unconventional plant that would bring the green to the inside," she says. "We chose the Sparmannia africana, which has big, plush, velvety green leaves that let the light shine through and give a very calming feel and soft light to the room."

Homeowners Toni and Graeme sit on the patio with their dog Bokkie. An exterior conversation pit is the most popular spot in the house. A gas grill and pizza oven are built into the back brick wall. The countertop to the left of the wood storage nook is made with leathered Zimbabwean Granite.

The roof garden adds another area for gathering to the home, allowing the residents to enjoy views of Johannesburg while appreciating the nature around them. One of the clients, Toni, sits on the roof every afternoon with a cup of tea.

An Ipe boardwalk lines the kitchen and continues into the backyard. Not only does that tie the inside and outside together, “that way I could have a soft surface that you could stand on while you're cooking,” says Kaplan. “Also, it leads your eyes straight out the back.”

Custom design and hand painted geometric mural on refurbished carport turned dining area, with recessed lighting, and a light wood outdoor dining table and chairs.

"The covered patio and carport are shielded by a full cinder block facade with the exterior wall doubling as an interior wall and incorporating a decorative block element where it passes through to the patio atrium."

From the street, large trees provide shade to the private courtyard in the summer. A unique remote-controlled gate has been added to the house’s original carport. A new address monument matches the angle of the house’s roof.

"The home's spacious decks blue the lines between indoors and outdoors,

The courtyard deck is also made of tallowwood, a native eucalyptus. White mahogany—a dense timber that is termite resistant—clads the exterior. The sustainably sourced timbers are also fire resistant, a crucial feature in Australia in light of frequent drought and resulting forest fires.

The house's gabled roof peeks over a screen of acacia trees in the front yard. "Although we love being in a walkable, 'semi-urban' neighborhood, we wanted to create a haven for our family,

At the front of the main house, architect Danny Lim framed one of the original windows with new trim to give it a more modern feel and installed limestone on the porch and steps.