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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

The pool of the Phoenix house feels as laterally finite as the house feels spacious—but the view goes up forever. Photo by Dean Kaufman.

In an effort to create an abundance of light and air flow throughout the space, the home follows an L-shaped floor plan that wraps around outdoor areas. “We designed several open spaces, each with a different feel: the garden and pool, the terrace, and the back patio,” says Cesarman. “The idea was to reduce the area to the most basic and essential [elements].”

In Palm Springs, Sander Architects created an energy-efficient hybrid prefab home that’s designed to stay naturally cool in the desert heat, which often climbs to triple digits in the summer.

Florida couple John Pirman and Steve Tetreault built a new house inspired by the Sarasota School. Today’s FEMA codes required a plinth to lift the house five-and-a-half feet above grade and a roof that can withstand hurricane wind loads, making it a challenge to re-create the lightness of midcentury design, Pirman says.

“Exposing the craft and detail of the materials was a key part of the design,” Flato notes. The texture of the house, he says, can be observed in the concrete retaining wall for the lap pool.

The final, layered look of the pool and its surroundings—which mitigates a 30-inch drop from house to guesthouse—was completed in 2008.

On an idyllic afternoon, members of the Oropeza and Castillo clans splash in the backyard pool framed by Trex decking and outfitted with furniture by Móbica.

Across the path is the resident's favorite spot from which to take in the aquatic tableau: a rock garden and sitting area created by landscape designer Tory Polone. Chairs rest near the a hidden grade-level gas fire pit—an on-demand campfire.

Cassidy used the pool as an anchor for an overarching backyard master plan that pulled the parts together.

The house is oriented toward the expansive backyard, where the family spends 80 percent of its time. Alfredo’s wife Lorena, son Lorenzo, nieces Camila and Valentina, and Castillo’s daughter, Regina, hang out by the pool—the focal point of Transepto’s restrained landscape design.

Wright Feldhusen Architects designed this house for a client that loves to swim. A lap pool connects the home to the ocean that lies beyond the property in Maroubra, Australia, a suburb of Sydney.

A level, trellised garapa-wood deck connects the main structure to the pool house. "The arbors near the pool knit everything together," says Mikiten. "The deck is constructed over a drainage pit so the wood surface can be completely flush with the interior floor and the surrounding yard, which is critical for a fluid experience by someone using a wheelchair."

@mon_palmer: A decision to change our sliding door to steel bifold windows opened up a completely new option as to how we could design our garden. The before and afters are dramatically different.

A 40 foot by 10 foot pool is designed to echo the house’s tower with an almost reflection-like alignment.

The spacious house features five bedrooms and six baths, plus a notable art collection and an in-home theatre.