The interior of the micro cabin is finished with pine plywood walls, ceiling, and floors that lend pattern and an organic quality. Stainless steel cabinetry, counters, and appliances in the kitchen offer a more industrial quality that balances the materiality of the wood.

Floor Plan of Project01 by Instead

Instead of peering into the homes of neighbors, residents revel in nature.

The architects embraced the modernist form of the new structure instead of cladding the extension in expensive brick to match the original Victorian’s exterior.

The staircase is constructed of laminated 3/4" plywood sheets, and all of the components are interlocking using mortise and tenon joints instead of fasteners.

In the kitchen, the couple found barely used appliances instead of new ones to save money. The cabinetry and butcher block counters are from Ikea.

The organizational method, which focuses on neatly highlighting your belongings instead of discarding them, is rife with potential as an interior design philosophy.

Next to a wood-burning fireplace is a setup for the family’s record player and albums. Instead of a standard television set, they use a projector.

The boys’ bedrooms have loft beds that create play spaces below. As a result, their toys are stored and used in their bedrooms instead of shared living spaces.

Oiled birch veneer lines the entire interior. Instead of the staircase, a ladder leads up to the loft where a skylight brings more light into the home. Situated on either side of the bathroom entry, closets make up for the storage lost by removing the stair.

Originally intended as a play structure for the couple's daughter, the tea house instead became an office, stocked with Charles and Ray Eames-designed furniture in honor of the nearby Eames House.

“Instead of confining the house’s different uses into separated rooms, they have been connected with each other, aiming at producing the general feeling of spatial expansion,” said the firm.

One of the tenets of Treebones Resort is to build shelters that perch lightly on the land. The Autonomous Tent doesn't require a foundation, instead resting on a deck that is held to the ground with screws.

This big burger came very close to being be-Santa-hatted on these cards instead of the ice cream cone.

We'll overlook Tom Wolfe's scathing critique of modernism and focus on the cleverness of this blog's one-liners instead.

The renovation revealed a 30-foot-deep well beneath the bedroom, which the team half-jokingly considered turning into a fish tank. Instead, they opted for a simple bedroom with plenty of built-in storage.

Sherman’s friend Anna Chang prepares tea in the kitchen. The range is by Wolf. Walls are coated with parging, a type of concrete made with sand instead of gravel—-more typically used in an industrial context.

Rossi did not carry the dividing wall between the bedroom and living room all the way up to the ceiling, so as not to break up the treatment up there, instead designing the wall as a custom storage and display unit.

Instead of removing the old coal chute, Griffin printed the original deed to the property on a new concrete panel covering it.

During the renovation, the architect removed a cosmetic dormer, a mullioned picture window, and other superfluous openings, opting instead for a cleaner facade.

“Instead of using a typical frame system, we created frameless windows by burying aluminum channels into the floors and walls,” says Richard. “It kept our glazing budget much lower than normal.” The sofas feature custom upholstery by Inverse Project and HDM.

Views from the main living area focus on the surrounding vegetation. "Instead of placing the house on the spot with the best view, it is situated in a way that is tailored to the specific terrain, and gives prominence to the views from the outdoor room," write Lung Hagem Arkitekter.

"We originally proposed using concrete for the walls because we like the plain style and directness," the owners say. Instead of concrete, Smith suggested rammed earth, a material that combines some of the physical properties of concrete, but is less "psychologically cold." The 16-inch-thick walls' thermal mass helps to insulate the interior from heat in the summer and cold in the winter. "Rammed earth is complicated," says Smith, "so have the right expectations, do the research, and hire the right people." David Easton—who Smith calls "The Godfather of Rammed Earth"—headed the contracting team that built the walls.

When Matthew Trzebiatowski and his wife Lisa designed their own home in Arizona, they created a bathroom whose extreme aesthetic matched the area’s extreme climate. The Trzebiatowskis’ bathroom retains the spirit of Arizona heat with its shocking magenta ceilings, floors, and walls. The vanity is anything but—featuring art instead of a mounted mirror—and is made from sanded and sealed OSB, a waste material typically used in framing.

Due to the tight budget, the fixtures and furnishings had to be a mix of high and low. Instead of a Saarinen Tulip table for the dining room, they found a similar style with matching chairs from Ikea, then hung a George Nelson lamp overhead.

"Most of the carpentry built-ins were done out of plywood with birch veneer, chosen for its very raw finish and inexpensiveness," says Amanda. "For more structural items like the adaptable bed platform, we used Baltic birch instead for its superior structure and planarity."

The bathroom towards the front of the building had a greater width than the staircase: rather than having a notch, Bader curved the wall. “It gave it flow instead of an abrupt change of direction.” That theme is echoed on the main level, with a curved ceiling in the kitchen to disguise a pesky bulkhead.

Instead of walls, curtains are used for privacy.

The house’s interior walls are medium-density fiberboard, the sort of material that more typically is covered with drywall. Instead, the fiberboard was coated with a linseed oil to accent its natural, rich tan and finished with a catalyzed var-nish to make it water-resistant. The effect is an interior wall surface that complements the earth tones that dominate the house’s decor and never needs to be painted.

A view of the light-filled kitchen. Due to a tiny budget, the duo couldn’t afford to buy furniture and instead used midcentury furnishings they collected in Germany and found on Bergmann’s grandparents’ property. All of the furnishings were measured beforehand, and the modular frames were designed around them to ensure the perfect fit.

Original wood beams and the brick wall are the surviving hallmarks of the previous apartment. The space now contains three bedrooms instead of the original two. The brick wall is the spine of the apartment; all rooms radiate from it. New York, New York Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

Instead of creating a super modern house, the archways and materiality brought warmth and character.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

The window frames are made from aluminum instead of vinyl.

Casework incorporated wall sconces instead of table lamps to save space.