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A Floating Tea House for Garden Meditation Retreats

Suspended above ground like a Japanese lantern is this charming Oriental garden folly by David Jameson Architect.

The bronze, red cedar and glass tea house/meditation space appears as if by magic in the garden of an otherwise pedestrian suburban home in Betheseda, Maryland.

The family will use the space not only to delight in its beauty, meditate and enjoy a tea ceremony, but to showcase performances of music recitals.

A giant steel moment frame above the edifice suspends it in space, so that someone practicing meditation is actually floating above the world.

The smooth refinement of its red cedarwood ceiling adds to the pure focused intensity of the simple structure.

Not only does this send a reddish glow at night from the suspended “lantern” but it also clarifies the musical notes during recitals.

By day the space blends unobtrusively into the suburban garden.

But by night, the exquisite, almost magical space calls to you, compelling the resumption of meditation.

“One is funneled into a curated procession space between strands of bamboo,” says the architect; “conceived to cleanse the mind and prepare one to enter the object.”

“The visitor occupies the structure as a performer with a sense of otherworldliness.”

The exquisite refinement of the structure and the mass-produced industrial steel truss that holds it up don’t seem at odds with each other.

Both worlds, the modern industrial steel, and the beautifully finished lantern room it suspends in space are best fit for their purpose.

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A Hip Country Home for a Young Military Family

There is a wonderful, serene, perfect peace to this setting: a glassed in great room that opens at its center out into a precious view of the few trees beyond.

The great room is the heart of a rustic retreat in drought-stricken Texas for a young military family.

Bare bones materials like polished concrete flooring throughout and just plywood on the walls and ceiling are paired with beautiful construction design for a distinctive retreat on a budget.

Their desire was for a getaway for family and friends to escape city life – without sacrificing a hip urban edge.

In addition to a fan, outside, a tall screen overhang keeps the great room cool and breezy.

The setting houses several rainwater harvesters to wring every last drop from the parched skies.

Originally the clients were going to position the house at the top of the hill, but instead chose to set it between the only trees on the property to give it context and community.

Like these vets, the surrounding trees are survivors in this arid landscape.

A deep earthy burgundy together with the stainless steel appliances in the kitchen complement the simple plywood walls and ceiling.

A city ordinance requiring housing for 2.5 cars resulted in this shaded pavilion that the couple wanted to be designed so it could actually be used for outdoor dining.

Brushytop House was designed for this young family of four by San Antonio-based studio John Grable Architects.

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Stunning Columbian Vacation Home Closes up When Not in Use

A dramatic U-shaped patio encloses a pool under a square box of the moody Columbian sky.

A series of pool patios and open-air living spaces culminate in a central pool on a very grand scale in this Columbian vacation home from Arquitectura en Estudio and Natalia Heredia.

Huge garage-door style wooden shutters can open as an awning — or close the house when not in use.

All around the pavilion-style residence, these wooden exterior shutters are designed to close by bi-folding, as in the bedrooms — or they can slide closed as giant movable walls.

This means that the vacation retreat can be fully closed up when the clients are away.

By contrast, when used as a vacation retreat, the house is barely enclosed; just a series of dramatic open pavilion spaces.

This openness suits the tropical hot and dry climate high above sea level in the Columbian mountains.

The dining is al fresco, as is all life in this secluded mountain idyll.

Only bathrooms are enclosed.

But even here, daylight floods down into the shower.

From inside this fully open pavilion-style bedroom, there are sweeping views out across the mountains.

Full height sliding walls open to a sudden framed view to the mountains when receiving guests —

— but render the house a mysterious fortress when closed.

The stately modular plan opens the house completely open on the front to the mountain view, while completely closing it off where it faces the approaching road to the back.

It is not just a beautiful layout though.

The striking textural palette comprises whitened concrete, semi-pervious cobblestone parking and a rich red cedar wood.