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Amara Holstein

A former editor at Dwell, Amara recently left the glamorous life of a magazine staffer to pursue her freelance writing dream. She has written for Sunset, Wallpaper*, the Architect’s Newspaper, VIA, and Apartment Therapy.

Written by Amara

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This Modern Cabin Is the Ideal HQ For a Family in Alaska

In the shadow of Mount McKinley, amid Alaska’s meadows and icy streams, a former teacher and a four-time Iditarod winner built a modernist cabin as expansive as the Last Frontier.
June 15, 2016
residential urban wooden box harpoon house

It's Hip to Be Square

This pair of handy Portlanders doesn’t crave any more of Oregon’s territory than what’s taken up by their 704-square-foot home, hard-working garden, and smartly designed outdoor…
June 13, 2016
sea change gray basalt tile floor white oak plank ceiling kitchen dining tom dixon pendant lamps

This Glass House Conquers the Coast

Seeking a respite from the city, a Portland couple create a beachfront getaway on Oregon’s rugged coast.
May 14, 2016
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Fall in Love with This Dreamy Studio

An artist and an architect collaborate on a residence dedicated to art on a quiet island.
May 11, 2016
A concrete courtyard surrounds the family in this midcentury modern renovation.

Wood Paneling Loses its Dated Reputation with This Renovation of a 1959 Portland Gem

On a whim, a growing family uproots to Oregon where they find—and remake—the home of their dreams
February 14, 2016
woodwork portland renovation dining room

Salvaged Wood Renovation in Portland

Custom woodwork and an open interior define a 520-square-foot backyard retreat for a busy family.
October 17, 2013
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Portland's Cape Cod Remodel

With its slim profile and sleek gray exterior, Lola Oyibo and Eric Boardman’s home in Portland, Oregon bears little resemblance to the house it used to be.
January 24, 2011
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Z for Two

In Portland, Oregon, two adjoining six-story homes on a formerly run-down urban lot add to the neighborhood’s density and its green cred.
July 30, 2010
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Kids' Room Renovation

A baby's arrival is cause for celebration—and for many, it's also a time to confront limited living space.
December 30, 2009
IJsselstein housing project exterior landscape

Run by the Sun

In Holland, being green is not a choice, it's a governmentally enforced obligation. Architects Han van Zweiten and Gregory Kiss's project makes a case for obeying the law.  
November 9, 2009
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Brand-New Secondhand

Fifteen minutes from downtown Seattle, architects Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo transformed the neighborhood dump—a lot that had been vacant for 30 years—into their dream home.
November 4, 2009
anju rope installation loom

Anju: Portland, Oregon

A new restaurant named Anju recently opened in Portland, Oregon.
October 28, 2009
bog house dining room make it yours

Gaffney House Dining Room

For their weekend home in Sharon, Connecticut, architect Lynn Gaffney and her husband, Bill Backus, filled their natural wood "shack" with eBay finds and classic modern design pieces.
October 9, 2009
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Elevator by Darrin Umboh

Tired of gliding between floors in bland metal boxes, Dutch artist Darrin Umboh designed an elevator interior for Antwerp-based advertising company DuboisMeetsFugger that's anything but boring.
September 27, 2009
siegel residence

Hay Is for Horses, Straw Is for Houses

In the Napa Valley, one sustainable residence elegantly demonstrates straw bale technology.
September 10, 2009
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The U*Shelf System

Shelving often acts as a boring backdrop to the various vases, books, and knickknacks on display. Luckily, the U*Shelf's quirky tessellated forms are interesting enough to stand on their own.
September 10, 2009
Two housing models perch lightly in a field, both featuring gently curved, rainwater-catching butterfly roofloines.

Venezuela's Eco Cabanas

An architectural idealist, Kristofer Nonn answered an online job posting for an ecological builder in Venezuela. The result of his short tenure in the country is two elegantly simple housing shelters.
August 18, 2009
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Dwell Evaluates 5 Home Espresso Machines

Bitter black brew got you down? Lackluster crema floating in your cup?
May 4, 2009
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Pool Houses: From Laps to Naps

For those seeking refuge from an interminable game of Marco Polo, these four pool houses provide an artful escape.
April 30, 2009
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The Siple Life

A devastating accident could have made Murray Siple a bitter man. Instead, he decided to renovate a house.
April 27, 2009
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The Color of Palo Alto

Sam Yates will paint the town Palo Alto, once he figures out what color that is.
April 27, 2009
vigil lemae house front entry

Roadside Attraction

A Colorado couple handles their freeway-facing lot with flair, and incorporates a long list of sustainable features to boot.
March 16, 2009
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Investing in the Market

With its community market initiative, PPS reinvents the public square on the international scale.
March 14, 2009
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A Mid-Century Modern Home in Southwest Portland

Living in a state that’s saturated with rain for 
much of the year, Oregonians rightly have an obsession with sunshine.
March 4, 2009
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Eric Corey Freed Reviews 6 Sustainable Flooring Options

There’s trouble underfoot if you’re building a green home without considering your flooring. Take stock of these sustainable wood options that let you tread lightly on the land.
March 3, 2009
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Vancouver Maneuvers

Vancouver, British Columbia, offers a dramatic natural setting, but as Omer Arbel shows us, there’s more to the city of glass than an immaculate reflection.
February 26, 2009
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101 Color

Dwell explores the variegated use of color in our world, from industry to emotion.
February 25, 2009
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101 High-Tech Materials

Remember how the Predator had skin that made him invisible? That was cool. But these high-tech materials might be even cooler.
February 24, 2009
carver and schicketanz house in landscape side view

Going Coastal

It’s impossible to ignore nature in Big Sur.
February 1, 2009
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Canadian Beacon

When most people think of locations for a holiday home, they have visions of beaches, golf courses, spas, and chalets.
February 1, 2009
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Structural Panels

Bees have always been admired for their industrious nature and intricate honeycomb architecture; Charles Darwin called the honeycomb “absolutely perfect” as a feat of engineering, symmetry, and…
January 31, 2009
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Lotusan Paint

Product design that takes cues from nature, known as biomimicry, has produced a num-
ber of ingenious and popular products we use every day.
January 31, 2009
high tech materials architect series dimmers international fashion machines

Architect Series Dimmers

The right lighting can bring warmth and atmosphere to any room.
January 31, 2009
high tech materials aguardian sommer plastic products

AgUARDIAN

Silver has been used for centuries as an antimicrobial agent.
January 31, 2009
high tech materials pec mat greenstreak

PEC-MAT

As more and more Americans are quickly discovering, the land beneath our feet is not quite as solid as we thought.
January 31, 2009
high tech materials power plastic konarka

Power Plastic

Every hour, enough sunlight hits the earth to power the entire planet for a year.
January 31, 2009
high tech materials material connexion office

Living in a Material World

Americans have always held a soft spot in their hearts for futuristic materials, from the amazing light-weight properties of titanium to the chance to conquer Superman with kryptonite.
January 31, 2009
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Indoor Garden Kits

Dear Dwell, I'd like to grow edible herbs and plants, but since I live in a tiny apartment with no outdoor space, I'm looking for a garden I can grow on my kitchen counter. Can you help?
January 26, 2009
bog house exterior detail

Leave it to Beavers

It’s not unusual for New Yorkers to have problems with their neighbors; after all, many a co-op brawl has started over a little late-night noise.
January 25, 2009
shade house exterior

Houston, We've Solved a Problem

A bird flying over Houston, Texas, sees only a sprawling canopy of trees. It seems the perfect nesting place for creatures both avian and human alike; unfortunately, the green ends at the tree line.
January 25, 2009
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Magic Mountain

Architect Ko Wibowo designed a house of prodigious proportions beneath the hulking rise of Mount Ranier.
January 22, 2009
walmart exterior

Retail Therapy

In the great American quest for more stuff, big-box stores are nirvana, laden with cheaply priced items by the ton, from diamond earrings to toilet paper.
January 21, 2009
brachers house exterior front

Suburban Flight

It’s become an all-too-familiar scenario all across America: A city’s downtown, once a thriving place to live and work, has slowly withered and become decrepit.
January 16, 2009
lucky diaz house exterior family portrait

Lucky's Break

With a very limited budget and no construction experience, Lucky and Kim Diaz overhauled a wreck of a house into a sweet, 1,100-square-foot Los Angeles home with just $55,000 and a whole lot of…
January 14, 2009
bogli residence exterior yard

Totally Tubular

On the roof, amidst an array of native wild grasses and shrubs, six banks holding 180 small thermal solar 
collection tubes provide hot water year-round.
January 2, 2009
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