Contemporary house plans and designs rarely make the papers unless there is something sensational about them, be it a structural innovation of electric set of furnishings, accessories or decorations – and the word ‘nice’ (applied to architecture at least) can seem more like an insult than compliment – but it does not have to be bad.

Sometimes it is worthwhile to take a small step back and look at a elemental, elegant and excellently-executed modern home that sits on a simple, planned and regular grid and has a clear concept carried from rough plans to constructed completion.

This modern house by Chen + Suchart is composed of simple repetitive modules from the rectangular dimensional wood siding to the regular cubes of steel frames that repeat across the second story. Throughout the design, very basic building-block materials common to modern construction are used where they seem to fit best, from concrete block and metal decking to simple wood and white surfaces.

The main floor is essentially a perforated solid box construction while the upper floor is metal and glass frame-and-infill – a very simple division of building types by story that is legible on all sides. Masonry walls and floors that frame the backyard pool deck area and simple cubic concrete blocks set in gravel make for a appealing geometric pattern of stepping stones leading up to the front door.