Fed up with flashy, environmentally insensitive beach homes, architect Gerald Parsonson and his wife, Kate, designed a humble hideaway nestled behind sand dunes along the New Zealand coastline. Crafted in the image of a modest Kiwi bach, their 1,670-square-foot retreat consists of a group of small buildings clad in black-stained pine weatherboards and fiber-cement sheets.

“Segovia is a very central region, but an underdeveloped one,” de la Quadra-Salcedo says. “Traditionally devoted to agriculture and mainly livestock, it flourished in the sixteenth century but now that the older generations are disappearing, there is a problem of abandoned villages and fields.” The structure highlights the rural surroundings.

Located in Springfield, Missouri, this modern farmhouse designed by Kansas-City based firm Hufft Projects exudes the traditional vernacular of Kansas with an updated take on the conventional form. The rolling hills and expansive land resemble the tone of quaint Marquette.

The couple's house, designed by architect L. Jane Hastings in the early 1970s, is located on a steeply sloped site that backs up to a state park.

Harper sits on the porch just off the entrance. James notes that the children spend their time “swimming in the dam, feeding the chickens, and riding their ponies or bikes. It’s really just the simple stuff that we had when we grew up in the late ’70s and ’80s."

A covered porch on the south side provides comfortably shaded outdoor space, and its roof keeps the high-angle summer sun out of the house.

The bedroom is enclosed with a glass wall. A blackout curtain can be drawn closed for privacy. An IKEA cabinet and white lacquered shelves help to provide plenty of closet space.

A relaxing couch from Thrive sits before a mahogany-encased fireplace. Just beyond it, a hidden sliding door opens to a screened-in porch, furnished with a patio set from Knoll. "This further connects the house to the landscape and blurs the distinction between interior and exterior, making it feel much like a treehouse," Hammer says.

MODERN TAKE ON A TRADITIONAL FARMHOUSE IN MISSOURI Thanks to Matthew Hufft, their envelope-pushing architect and longtime friend, Hannah and Paul Catlett have a new home in southwestern Missouri that’s a fresh, unconventional take on the traditional farmhouse. The homeowners call the house Porch House after it's majestic wraparound porch. photos by: Joe Pugliese

Doors and triple-glazed casement windows from Loewen work hard to form a tight thermal envelope.

Sally Julien and Peter Loforte sit on the porch of the Aqua Lair, their restored 1960s house on Lake Sammamish, near Seattle. The Bertoia chairs and clay lion are from Pacific Galleries.

For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design.

Behind an unassuming 19th-century facade in Singapore's Joo Chiat neighborhood, Ching Ian and Yang Yeo's renovation of a typical shophouse venerates tradition while looking squarely to the future. Photo by Richard Powers

"The most challenging part of the design was fusing the old part of the house with the new addition," says principal architect Alex Terry. The character and architectural integrity of the single-level 1950s ranch house was thoughtfully reconsidered during the addition and remodel. The home’s front porch, typical of the period, was refreshed with Ipe decking and railing.

Although the initial cost of concrete is typically higher than wood, the life cycle costs are lower.

The home is clad in galvalume, a low-maintenance, zinc-coated metal, to make upkeep easier. Prefabricated, 10- to 12-inch-thick panels in the roof provide insulation, and the low walls are packed with limestone.

In this glass-enclosed master bedroom, a LC4 armchair faces the master bed. The moveable frame adjusts along the base, allowing the sitter to switch from upright to full recline, or lounge at a number of other sitting angles.

The screen porch serves as an auxiliary dining area and extends past the house to capture views and cross breezes.

The large wraparound porch links the two main houses and two guest cabins, and is the site of many impromptu shared meals.

Thanks to Matthew Hufft, their envelope-pushing architect and longtime friend, Hannah and Paul Catlett have a new home in southwestern Missouri that’s a fresh, unconventional take on the traditional farmhouse.

Upstairs, what Santos calls a “very, very raw” screen porch stood off the master bedroom; the couple enclosed it to accommodate a seating area overlooking an interior courtyard.

Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

A screened-in porch was a must-have for the residents (they love to sit outside but hate mosquitoes) and influenced the building's asymmetrical shape. "The question became how can we integrate this into the design of a modern house," says architect Staffan Svenson. "Can it be a screen porch without looking like one?" He devised a plan to hang a horizontal louver system from the structure to give the illusion that the powder-coated steel fins hover in place. He used the same material for the guard rail on the second story.

In 1962, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect Arthur Witthoefft won the AIA's highest honor for a home he built in the lush woods of Westchester County. Having fended off a developer's wrecking ball, Todd Goddard and Andrew Mandolene went above and beyond to make this manse mint again.

Rocks that were unearthed while digging the foundation make up the hardscape in the rear, beyond the open porch. “It’s one of my favorite parts of the house,” says resident Laura Sohn. Sanders Pace Architecture finished the exterior in western red cedar treated with Sikkens Cetol.

“Consistent with the lakefront cabin charm, the owners liked the idea of accessing much of the house from outdoor porches and walkways,” says architect Ted Flato. Supplies from Dynamic Architectural Windows and Doors bring light in to the home’s covered spaces.

Covered terraces take advantage of the temperate Northern California climate and respect the local vernacular. A rear sleeping porch is the perfect place to enjoy warm summer and fall nights.

Angled beams are a fixture of the structure, both inside and out. The beams “are an expression of the design, so they’re reinforcing view lines,” Winkelman says, “but they’re also weaving together the different axes of the site."

The addition, which includes a bedroom and a bathroom, also boasts an enclosed deck, a feature recommended for those with Alzheimer’s. “Ken used to do the landscaping here,” says Wibowo. “He also put many of the shingles on the original house.”

A spacious three-sided screened porch, conveniently located adjacent to the living/dining/kitchen area, is nestled on the edge of a dune overlooking the refreshing waters of Cape Cod Bay.

In the DoghousePaul and Shoko's dog, Mei, has lucked into a small prefab home of her own. Making use of a water jet cutter at his office, and using Adobe Illustrator as his design tool, Paul fashioned a series of panels that slot together without any nails or screws.

Cubicco, a pre-engineered housing company based in Miami and the Netherlands, creates homes that are designed to meet winds of up to 180 miles per hour, per the hurricane zone code of Miami Dade County.

Link Catlett and Butters, the dog, stroll alongside their home’s namesake wraparound porch, made of Brazilian ipe. Rolling slatted doors screen the living room windows, providing shade on sunny days.

A double-sided, free-standing vanity and a shower wrapped in a glass lozenge create an indoor/outdoor experience at a San Francisco residence designed by Fougeron Architecture.

One of the bathrooms is conceived as a modern glass box.

Just because your kitchen is on the smaller side doesn’t mean you can’t make it as efficient and effective as possible.