"Beauty," Olafur Eliasson, 1993. In this work, a spotlight shines through a layer of mist to create a rainbow that's only visible from certain angles.

Nestled within a forest clearing near the Argentinian city of Córdoba, this 2,153-square-foot house named "La Negrita" is designed to exist in harmony with nature. Designed by Córdoba–based Morini Arquitectos, the house first reveals itself as a black corrugated wall in the middle of the woodlands. "The house is totally introverted [and] mysterious towards the street and extroverted towards the interior," says Morini.

A Woodchuck-made loft bed anchors Sam's room. The dark green playmat is by Alex Playmats.

The home's wood deck is a neutral base that compliments the home's back and white features.

Composed of overlapping cubes of different sizes, the Gjøvik house by Danish firm Norm Architects gracefully embraces its hillside terrain—naturally blending in with its stunning surroundings near Mjøsa Lake an hour north of Oslo.

A view into the sleeping nook.

Instead of purchasing Memorial Day party or cookout supplies, consider donating those funds to a veterans charity. Charity Navigator lists some highly rated military and veteran organizations to help make sure your contribution goes to a trustworthy program.

Balearic Beauty in Boxes (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) Situated in a more relaxed part of Spain, this converted container hotel offers a condensed rooftop escape, a quiet private pool and crisp, unobtrusive design. The flat includes a pair of cycles to simplify your stay. Listing at Container home, a unique house!

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The owners are car collectors, especially of “vintage American Mustangs,” Simpson says, so a nearly 23-foot-wide garage door opening was created at the rear of the building to access a space made for six prized rides.

The "Tippy Cup Rain Chain" teaches the children about water conservation.

The kitchen's layout fosters socializing throughout the cooking and eating process. By placing the island facing the dining table, Serra ensures that someone washing dishes or preparing food can still talk to other people in the room. "The space should encourage those in it to cook up a storm if they choose, several people cooking at once if necessary, and it should provide visual beauty, culture, and a comfortable environment," Serra says.

Visitors scale a series of outdoor staircases that wind their way up the structure. Volume and Studio Terpeluk turned the risers into a teaching moment about energy use and the impact of every day activities.

Mithun designed the tree house so that it would tread lightly on the land. The firm originally considered prefabricating the entire structure offsite but, in the research process, concluded that craning large modules into place would potentially harm the canopy. A combination of a bolted-together prefab structure and site-built wood housing yielded the least intrusive construction option. The Summit Bechtel Reserve is located in West Virginia's coal mining country. The architects looked to the local structures—bridges, mining apparatus, and other industrial buildings—to inform the tree house's design. A 166-ton Cor-Ten steel megastructure supports the 125-foot-tall building. The use of regionally appropriate materials, like steel and black locust wood, was important to the architects.

Mithun wanted to engage the scouts with all elements of the forest: the floor, the canopy, and a perspective above the tree tops. In one of the viewing rooms, visitors get the feeling of being fully surrounded by leaves.

The structure's mission is to teach visitors about the environment and sustainability. San Francisco–based studio Volume designed the exhibition program, which offers interactive displays about water conservation, energy use, recycling, and more.

1993, Pierluigi Cerri.

Beauty parlor, Osu, Accra.

50th Anniversary: Gold Beauty Mirror by Michael Anastassiades, $2,656

The North American SCADpad includes about 300 repurposed vintage rulers. Photo courtesy of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The glass-walled master suite opens to the surrounding forest and gardens and feels totally separate from the children’s and guest bedrooms upstairs.

Minimalist sliding doors separate the rooms.

An existing bedroom was sacrificed to make room for a first-floor bathroom, which is fitted with a large skylight. The herringbone wall tiles are from Topps Tiles.

An old sugarcane dock was turned into a swimming pool, which offers views of the Karst mountains and Li River from a distance.

The home’s sunny vestibule features a vibrant yellow door and a photo by William Bailey.

Norm 12 comes in two finishes, pure white and simple matt white, the extra large light is intended for hallways or larger rooms, while the small light is meant to be hung over a table or in a nook.

This Sydney home was designed to be an emblem for climate-conscious design. Aspiring to create a self-sustaining mini ecosystem, the architect-owner embraced clean and renewable energy with a facade of photovoltaic panels, a garden rooftop, and myriad green details.

The 4,478-square-foot Yellow Door House features two parallel concrete prefab buildings that are offset from each other. Between the structures, a semi-enclosed area features a bar, outdoor shower, and storage racks for surfboards.

Pockets of greenery add a warmth to the interior courtyards.