Kaleidoscope House

Built for a colorful empty-nester couple who had always longed to build a house of their own, this project is like a kaleidoscope — a metal tube closed on its sides to very near neighbors and open on each end through colorful window walls to the tremendous length of its wooded site. Inside, layers of colored walls modulate the largely open interior, where, at the center, a wide-open kitchen acts as a sort of cockpit for the owners to entertain in every direction. A tight budget dictated a simple form and straightforward material palette, but color is free, and the light and views of the woods are there for the taking.