J. Michael Welton is architecture critic for the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. His work has appeared in national and international publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Metropolis, Interior Design, Architectural Record, and Ocean Home. He is the author of "Drawing from Practice: Architecture and the Meaning of Freehand." He is also editor and publisher at www.architectsandartisans.com.

Budget Breakdown: A Design Duo Celebrate Black Durham in a Craftsman Revived for $837K
“In many ways it educates and offers diversity to what is still a predominantly all-white neighborhood,” says designer and...
Meet the Emerging Designer and Developer Who’s Making Durham, North Carolina, Modern
Alicia Hylton-Daniel went back to school for interior design and is on a quest to enhance neighborhoods rather than to maximize...
This Charred-Cypress Cabin Is Ideal for Drinking in a Stunning Ozarks View
Marlon Blackwell Architects’ U-shaped Tanglewood Cabin in Arkansas perfectly frames vistas through the treetops.
A Designer Couple in Washington Overhaul Their Midcentury Kitchen for $35K
Saul and Kristen Becker of Mutuus Studio build a jewel-like kitchen that now acts as a calling card for their firm.
This Brooklyn Fashion Designer’s Cozy Loft Was Renovated on a Budget
A fashion label founder refuses to hide the rough side of her Brooklyn apartment, exposing pipes, columns, vents, and more.
A Rustic-Modern Cabin Inspired by Japanese Bungalows and Shou Sugi Ban
This mountain retreat’s design is Appalachian by way of Japan.
A Louis Kahn–Inspired Barn That’s Lined With Floor-to-Ceiling Shutters
Giant shutters open and close a rural Pennsylvania residence, tempering light and heat.
An Architect and His Preteen Daughter Built This Tiny Backyard Retreat Together
On Bainbridge Island, Jim and Hannah Cutler create a cabin for reading and working.
Shelter From the Storm
After three years of legal wrangling, a Raleigh couple find peace in their modern dream home.
These Cabinets Slide, Unfold, and Open to Conquer Kitchen Clutter
In Chapel Hill, a renovated kitchen takes painterly cues from Piet Mondrian.
Streamlined Modern Living in the North Carolina Forest
A couple builds a home that makes the most of its woodsy site.
Minimal North Carolina Home Built for a Tech-Forward West Coast Couple
Two West Coast transplants, priced out of San Francisco, build their North Carolina dream home.
Man of Steel
The Seattle prince of architectural gizmos is branching out into a new line of hardware fashioned from bars and pipes.
This Lake House Is a Living Piece of Architecture History
A retired couple retreats to the modern masterpiece by Richard Meier.
A Minimal Writer’s Retreat in the Pacific Northwest
Lowering the shutters on this small writer’s retreat completely exposes the interior to the site’s impressive island views.
Everything About This Vacation Home in Israel is a Little Crazy
Everything about this vacation home is little crazy. For starters, there’s the location. It’s in Israel. In northern Galilee.
Handmade Wine Chillers
Ceramic artist Michael Wisner learned much of his craft from Juan Quezada, the self-invented Mexican master who rediscovered...
How Adler & Sullivan’s Buildings Paved the Way for Modern Skylines
A comprehensive book catalogs the oeuvre of Chicago architects Danker Adler and Louis Sullivan through the archives of a...
Blair Kamin, on Criticism
Blair Kamin is a Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic from a town blessed with some of the best buildings in the world.
An Atypical Tree House
When a 40-year-old pine tree fell over at the rear of a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles a few years back, its owner, an art lover...
Net Zero x Twenty = Solar Decathlon
It’s the site where wars are protested, dreams declared, and millions still march, but on October 9 the National Mall in...
Farmhouse Redux
Two years ago architect Chad Everhart came across an old farmhouse near Boone, North Carolina.