Eight eclectic self-designed homes by architects and designers
Our latest lookbook collects eight dwellings that were self-designed by architects and designers including Mexico-based Ludwig Godefroy and London studio Holloway Li.
From a modernist-style house in South Africa to an American family residence characterised by a large interior crane, there are a range of materials and floor plans offered by each of these homes.
The properties demonstrate the myriad ways architects and designers apply their knowledge to their own living spaces and push the boundaries of what is possible outside of client constraints.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wooden kitchens, statement bathtubs and paper lamps.
Atwater House, USA, by Rebecca Rudolph and Colin Thompson
Co-founder of Design, Bitches Rebecca Rudolph and her husband Colin Thompson of Gensler designed their own home in Atwater Village, Los Angeles.
In the kitchen, the pair combined a polished marble splashback with a central stone island clad in bespoke concrete panels made by Thompson.
Find out more about Atwater House ›
Mossel Bay house, South Africa, by Yvette van Zyl
Modernist and nautical influences come together at this three-bedroom home in Mossel Bay, South Africa, designed and owned by local architect Yvette van Zyl.
Porthole-style windows illuminate the interior, which features a mixture of concrete ceilings and floors and walls of exposed or painted brick.
Find out more about this Mossel Bay house ›
Peckham House, UK, by Surman Weston
Peckham House is a self-designed and self-build project by architecture studio Surman Weston, where co-director Percy Weston currently lives with his family.
Hit-and-miss brickwork clads the home's striking facade, while lime plaster lines the walls inside. End-grain woodblocks, salvaged from offcuts of the ceiling's wooden structure, were also used to create chunky flooring.
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London apartment, UK, by Holloway Li
Local design studio Holloway Li sought to honour the utilitarian kitchens of London's many fast food outlets when creating a "unique" circle-brushed steel kitchen for this Highbury apartment.
Inhabited by studio co-founder Alex Holloway, the apartment features pops of colour in its resin dining table and chubby orange armchair. A bathtub was also placed in the open-plan living space, adding to the home's unusual design.
Find out more about this London apartment ›
Casa SanJe, Mexico, by Ludwig Godefroy
Known for his brutalist-style buildings, architect Ludwig Godefroy and his partner renovated this house and home studio in Mexico for himself and his family.
Integrated with an adjacent garden, Casa SanJe is characterised by a cast-concrete interior with a mixture of warm wood panels and a wall covered in reddish volcanic stone.
Find out more about Casa SanJe ›
Brighton house, UK, by Studiotwentysix
Isabella and Dan Gray of architecture office Studiotwentysix created a birch plywood-lined loft extension for their family house in Brighton, England.
Containing 55 square metres of additional living spaces, the loft includes an exposed red-oxide steel structure and is punctuated by geometric skylights.
Find out more about this Brighton house ›
JArzm House, USA, by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects
The founders of John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects inserted a giant yellow construction crane into the kitchen of their Los Angeles family home in the city's Silver Lake neighbourhood.
"Designing our own house was great because we didn't have to ask permission," John Friedman told Dezeen, explaining the unusual move. "We could do whatever we want."
Find out more about JArzm House ›
Oasis is the home of architecture studio Unknown Works' co-founder Theo Games Petrohilos, who wanted to renovate a terraced London house by adding a side and rear extension to create a flexible interior and maximise natural light.
The studio placed a petite internal courtyard at the centre of the plan, which was informed by traditional Japanese stone gardens that provide cross ventilation throughout homes.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wooden kitchens, statement bathtubs and paper lamps.