There is a kind of house that does not compete with its setting. It uses a few materials well, lets proportion carry the design and leaves room for light to do the rest.

Restraint as a decision

Restraint is often mistaken for minimalism as a style. In practice it is a series of choices: one stone instead of three, one long window instead of many small ones, a ceiling height chosen for how a room feels at dusk.

What endures

Houses designed this way tend to age gracefully. They depend less on fashion and more on how they sit in the landscape.