Homes with a Waterfront View

The deck off the front is also minimally furnished with elegant lines of beach rock and two Leaf chairs by Arper.

Ziger/Snead Architects constructed this ode to rowing in rural Virginia for a Baltimore couple who share a love of sculling. “Everywhere in the house you can see the moment where land meets water,” says Douglas Bothner, an associate at the firm.

Two-year-old Annika and five-year-old Soren make music on the "nap swing," a popular hangout spot for kids and adults alike.

Click here to read more about Linda Bergroth's prefabricated summer retreat in Finland.

With almost as much area dedicated to decks as to interiors, Peter Dwares’s house is truly made for outdoor enjoyment.

At the rear of the house, bleacher-style steps mitigate the steep grade down to the water; the boathouse tucks in on the right.

Kayak in hand, Tom and Will make a break for the beach.

The open-plan living-kitchen-dining area is a repository of design icons, both classic and contemporary. There’s a Louis Poulsen pendant lamp over the Eero Saarinen dining table; Mirror Ball pendants by Tom Dixon over the kitchen counter; and Tab F1 floor lamps from Flos behind the Edward Wormley–designed Dunbar sofa. In the living room, chairs modeled on Jens Risom’s swivel design enable people to face either the sofa or to spin 180 degrees toward the kitchen.

Having purchased the land from a friend who also has a house in the community, Schneider had a better sense of what she wanted—and what she didn't—her site. "From the experience at the neighbor's house," Foster says, "she knew she didn't want the house to have its back to the morning sun so we created a deck and somewhere to sit outside that faces east." Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

“I’ve been all around the world, and whenever I come back here, I realize that the Pacific Ocean seen from those cliffs is the most beautiful view on earth,” says the resident of this house built into a hillside in Big Sur, California.

Architect Craig Steely designed this house for himself, his wife Cathy Liu, a painter, and their son, Zane, that looks out to the Pacific Ocean from a lava flow on the big island of Hawaii.

Laid out in a 270-degree panorama in front of the house is the frosty expanse of Cook Inlet, cascading rocky mountains, and a white sun as big as a dinner plate.

The relatively simple construction incorporates clever sustainable design: a two-level wood roof structure keeps the sun’s heat away from the interior, and small windows at either end facilitate powerful cross-ventilation. It’s natural air-conditioning, and it works beautifully.

In Hobe Sound, Florida, this passively cooled residence overlooking a custom-built water-ski circuit is hardly par for the course. “The home is really driven by exposure to the landscape,” says architect Scott Hughes. Read the full story here.

View of the boathouse from the lake.

Nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, this 200-year-old home inspired one former copywriter to delve into architecture as a living. Inside, renovator and owner Tom Givone mixes vintage and industrial decor. Photo by Mark Mahaney.

Reclaimed and recycled cypress beams measure 16 inches tall, six inches wide and are 36 feet long. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.