With a view of the ocean and a year-round temperate climate, the new M House by architecture firm Estudio Valdés lets the outdoors freely mingle with the indoors for maximum environmental enjoyment.

Built as a summer home in the Chilean coastal city of Puertecillo, the beach bungalow was organized to fit the spatial needs of the client’s five family members plus guests. A complementary design imperative was to create a place where the energizing sea air could flow freely on nice days.

The architects focused on locally sourced resources for the interior, lining the walls with planks of lenga beech wood. The light color provides brightness while the natural grain continues the pattern of “blurring the boundaries between inside and outside.” The exterior is covered in dark-stained pine boards, a tree also native to the region. The pine slates are interspersed with sections of more organically shaped eucalyptus branches, creating privacy screens around the bedrooms and exterior gathering areas. The combination of branches and planks helps the retreat blend effortlessly with the surrounding forest.

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