Trendsideas

With a refined material palette of stone, timber, concrete, and natural tiles the outdoor spaces blend seamlessly with this modern home

The brief for an upmarket pool and landscaping was standard enough but the teetering clifftop location and scale of the pool made it exceptional

This home digs into the sloping site to unearth additional square meterage – a CNC-milled wood partition lines the atrium and reflects geometric patterns 

Extractor turns eye-catching feature in this kitchen – handcrafted brass inserts inject energy and drama into the rangehood and create a talking point 

Board-formed concrete walls with their tell-tale patterning meet oak stair treads and floorboards in this canyon home – the rugged materials a match for the setting

For this 5th Avenue apartment turned modern home, the use of sliding glass panels maintains the sense of the interior's greater dimensions 

Western red cedar covers the floors and ceiling of this gabled home's interior – in part a celebration of the owner's business in the timber trade

There's plenty to look at in this pool project including a ball sculpture/diving board, a tinkling waterfall and a rather lazy onlooker clinging to the fence

A modern tabletop basin is teamed with traditionally toned copper tapware – an apt pairing in a modern bathroom that complements its 1920s cottage 

This shower complete with uniform finger tiles leads the eye up to the sky, the illusion encouraged by a curvaceous skylight overhead

The raised part of this island is in Signorino natural stone in colour Cote D'Azur – the busy veining connects with the distressed brick wall behind

White is nice while black is best – and so it goes with these dark-toned homes where their moody cladding and sometimes roofing all contributes to drama or, conversely, quiet harmony in their own way