Resident Brian Whitlock saved some serious cash by taking on much of the construction and electrical work himself.

Their tenants include veterinary student Leslie Carter and intern architect Brad Raines.

Playing off the work of artist James Turrell, as well as the front porch scheme prevalent in the South, an outside living room of the Lewin House by Dencity is half covered and half open to the leaf canopy overhead. A pair of teak armchairs are clustered around a Laguna fire table from Restoration Hardware.

More than just a clever cover, the ipe wood shell of Mark Erman's spa, thanks to its 40-foot tracks, niftily navigates the rocky straights between spa shelter, dapper deck, and bespoke buffet table.

Architect Ben Waechter wrapped the upper floor of Nick Oakley’s house in inexpensive black corrugated steel. By rounding the corners, Waechter avoided unsightly trim at the edges.

In the master bedroom, a Mandal bed from Ikea is draped with a Tuuli duvet cover by Marimekko.

At $167 per square foot, this high-design, low-cost barn in rural Wisconsin is an American idyll.

A cantilevered second floor addition wrapped in black corrugated steel gives Nick Oakley's home in the Alberta district of Portland an industrial feel from the outside, one that is countered by the welcoming, wood-dominated interior.

Floor-to-ceiling windows from Sierra Pacific offer views across a cedar deck to the backyard. Oakley says he and Waechter asked themselves, “How would we build something that’s functional and warm and utilitarian, and have some vestige of familiar architectural reference?”

The master bathroom is clad in inexpensive tile from Daltile. The wall-hung toilet is by Duravit.

The house that Kem Studio designed for Sarah Magill on a narrow lot in Kansas City has a steel facade with reclaimed cypress cladding near the entrance. The entire structure sits atop a steel foundation set on concrete piers that were driven into solid stone.

The kitchen is outfitted with Akurum cabinets from Ikea. The island is also an Ikea cabinet, customized with maple panels to match the flooring.

Cubicco’s prefab houses, like the Cabana Beach model, are built with laminated veneer lumber, an engineered material that uses up to 90 percent of a tree—compared to typical wood timbers that use only 60 to 70 percent. Modules can be disassembled if the owners relocate.

The living area features a Petrie sofa from Crate & Barrel and a Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer from Knoll. A vintage walnut coffee table by Lane Furniture sits atop a rug that the couple purchased at Weisshouse, a Pittsburgh home-furnishings store.

The exterior of the Popadich residence is modeled after boat storage sheds, while the interior is outfitted with industrial concrete and ply.

Carpenter poses outside his house, which is shoehorned into a tiny nonconforming lot among a block’s worth of older row houses and a derelict public park.

Tuned into its sylvan setting, this affordable green home in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a modern take on the surrounding centuries-old structures. The bright green paint on its facade contrasts with the Cor-Ten steel cladding.

Oakley House Floor Plan A Storage B Living Room C Kitchen D Dining Room E Master Bedroom F Master Bathroom G Closet H Laundry I Guest Bedroom J Child’s Bedroom K Bathroom

In Hillsborough, North Carolina, local firm Tonic completed a modern home at a modest $155 per square foot. Its in-house team of skilled builders constructed the house and crafted the custom touches without subcontracing—a costly and common undertaking. They also reined in expenses by using readily available materials, like oak and steel. Though the home is nearly 800 square feet larger than their previous residence, the residents’ energy bills average 30 percent cheaper thanks to spray foam insulation, tightly sealed ducts to reduce drafts, low-e glazed windows, and Energy Star appliances. Photo by Richard Leo Johnson.

Lola House Floor Plan A Living-Dining Room B Entrance C Half Bathroom D Kitchen E Office F Mud Room G Garage H Master Bedroom I Master Bathroom J Master Closet K Bathroom L Laundry Room M Bedroom

“The use of corrugated metal “was a very cost-effective cladding solution that pays homage to the metal-clad warehouse buildings in Lawrenceville,” Moss says, “but it does so in a manner that matches the scale of most of the lap-siding homes in the area.” The windows are mostly standard sizes from Pella.

Oyster House Floor Plan A Entry B Living Room C Kitchen and Dining Room D Bathroom E Bedroom F Deck G Permeable Paving Patio

Lehrer Architects developed three affordable housing prototypes for challenging infill lots in South Los Angeles. The project was completed in conjunction with Restore Neighborhoods L.A.

The 700-square-foot Oyster House prototype achieves more with less: less energy, less building material, and less building area. Photo by Timothy Bell.

Tuned into its sylvan setting, this affordable green home in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a modern take on the surrounding centuries-old structures. The house’s skewed cubic form is clad in plank-like Cor-Ten steel panels and shielded by a rain screen. Over the years, the Cor-Ten will develop a rich patina that will liken the home to the weathered and rusted farm buildings in the area.

"Color simply and cost-effectively enriched and made the architectural idea palpable and pleasurable," Lehrer says about the prismatic theme. "It was used to explicitly articulate and dramatically enhance the circulation and spatial concepts. It helps make modest, but wonderful, spaces a little magical."

Magill Residence Floor Plan A Bathroom B Closet C Loft D Bedroom E Laundry Room F Storage G Living Room H Kitchen I Entry

The house’s basic shape—a faceted circle with five sides—is a repeatable unit that can be deployed as a single structure or in clusters. Rendering by CXMXD.

"We believe luxury begins with massive natural light, fresh air, seamless indoor-outdoor living and viewing, and maximizing the longest intrasite viewshed," Lehrer says. "In other words, a view from one end of (even a small) a property to the other."

Exterior courtyards and patios allow the residents to enjoy outdoor living.

The houses, like the 53rd Street Prototype, feature lean and gracious walkways to the front door. "Though these prototypes are set in economically challenged neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, their design provides for integrated defensible space while maintaining openness and connection to the outdoors," states the project description.

The cypresses beyond the ipe fence afford the family privacy.

Sarah Magill and Copa, her golden retriever, relax in the kitchen of her home in Kansas City, where an eco-quartz-topped island can be used as a dining table—one of the home’s many adaptable features. The Akurum cabinets and handles are from Ikea, as are the Franklin folding bar stools, and the appliances are compact models from Summit.

Andy and Regina Rihn lean on their other blue-clad affordable design, a 1958 AMC Rambler Super station wagon, in front of their house in Austin, Texas.

By using salvaged materials—such as a steel staircase—and doing much of the work themselves, Andrew Moss and Michelle Yanefski built their house in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood for $135 per square foot.