Ryan Anderson of RAD Furniture designed the stools as well as the table and benches on the pool deck.

Classic butterfly chairs from Universal Patio Furniture are stationed by the pool. The mural is by street artist Morley, a close friend.

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

Furniture designer Pat Carson created a plethora of custom fixtures for this guest room, including a riveted aluminum Murphy bed. The best Murphy beds raise and lower easily, often requiring only one hand. This unique wall bed employs a hand-cranked wheel-and-pulley system.

Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).

Composed of primarily steel, this prefab home has sufficient outdoor space. Photo by: Daniel Hennessy

New pine and spruce wood from the Pyrenees (both recyclable and PEFC certified) were selected for the façade of the 1,000-square-foot prefab. Smart blinds cover the windows, rigged to open and close depending on the weather forecast.

Hidden Storage The Murphy bed in the guest bedroom sits behind Montague’s desk, allowing the compact room to function comfortably for working and sleeping at different times. It’s made with customized millwork, Häfele bed hardware, and an Ikea mattress. When it’s open, it reveals hidden shelving. hafele.com ikea.com

Grid, designed by POOL for Petite Friture, is a modular seating system inspired by the Bauhaus that comes in a range of seating configurations (with the option of an integrated side table).

Michèle Monory’s Chinon farmhouse is an idyllic getaway from her home basein Paris. After she inherited the property and centuries-old structure from her father, she hired Matali Crasset, who runs a cutting-edge architecture and design firm, to update the living spaces.

Seen from the guesthouse, the new home touches every corner of the property without overwhelming its natural beauty.

The back of the home glows at night as the giant, two-story glass doors swing open to remove the barrier between inside and out. A polished concrete patio deck and pool, along with a simple block perimeter wall, make smart use of available materials. The pool acts as a passive conditioning tool, cooling air before it enters the house. The block wall is positioned 31 inches from the house, creating a gap or "air chimney" that allows air to circulate up and away from the home, while simultaneously letting light filter down.

The residents decided to convert a koi pond on the property into a petite pool. Next steps for the renovators are updating the kitchen and increasing its size by expanding it into the mudroom and laundry room.

The inner courtyard is the core of the home.

The master bedroom; the painting is by Radcliffe Bailey.

The open-plan area is lined with custom plywood cabinets.

This Victorian-era home in Melbourne, renovated by OOF! Architecture, maintains privacy from the street, but does so in an unusually "friendly" manner—with a giant brick wall that spells out "Hello," a collaboration with local artist Rose Nolan. The residents wanted their house to appeal to passersby, since it sits on a well-trafficked block near a café.

Masi also turned the miniscule guest quarters into a pool house.

To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.

Though the front of this 1880s home in Adelaide, Australia, maintains a traditional facade due to strict heritage laws, the rear is modern eye candy at its best. See more of the home.

Melanie Maher sunbathes beneath the lattice of a pool house, which is clad in Cor-Ten steel.

The pool feels as laterally finite as the house feels spacious—but the view goes up forever.

The swimming pool offers an alternative plunge to the nearby Bantam River.

A garage-style door separates the patio from the street.

The concrete wall echoes the curves of the pool’s portholes.

The snug attic in this former fisherman’s cottage in Copenhagen contains the homeowner’s platform bed, custom-designed by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen to maximize storage and fit the unusual space.

"We wanted to keep the exterior walls uncluttered, so you can focus on the views, the light, and the air," says Rosa Garneau, the owner of a 650-square-foot co-op in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. To achieve a clean look, everything gets tucked away, including the mattress and bedding. When looking for the best Murphy bed, look for one that can accommodate basic bedding without having to remove and store it daily.

The geometric pool also captures views of the lush landscape.

Lisette requested the central work island, which cantilevers over the pool.

The home's exterior, composed of concrete and glass, welcomes guests with a traditional water fountain in the entryway. Photo by: Bill Timmerman

If letting your bed linens drape onto the floor or the platform bed frame just isn’t your style, keep your bedroom feeling sharp and tidy by tucking your sheets under the mattress and removing any extra blankets or fluffy comforters. A slim, white bed frame such as this one feels skeletal enough to still convey airiness.

Their property features an abundance of local flora and fauna. “We have deer that come from Griffith Park through our garden,” Judith says.

The architects discreetly sunk a pool into the roof terrace of the old corral. In order to shade part of the terrace, the architects designed a freestanding sun shelter. So as not to damage the outer walls of the old building, a galvanized-steel frame is secured to the terrace floor. A bamboo-reed covering projects a soft, filtered light onto the outdoor living area below.

Upon his first visit to Tasmania, an island south of the Australian mainland, resident David Burns was immediately smitten with its varied, pristine landscape. Working with architecture firm Misho+Associates, he built a self-sustaining, 818-square-foot retreat that would allow him to completely unplug from urban life.

The Element House by MOS Architects stands on pylons, creating the illusion of it hovering over the desert floor. Nine thermal chimneys, one of which can be seen right, channel hot air out from the interior living areas.