In the house’s front room Monkman relaxes on a stool from local retailer Andrew Richard Designs. A new window system draws in sunlight and views of the front courtyard designed by local landscape architect Terry McGlade, the building’s former owner.

Kartheiser's courtyard also includes a dry sauna with a ceiling made from 2,500 pieces of wood.

Nick Cave’s emblematic Soundsuits occupy an amorphous space between costuming, performance art, and dance. Soundsuit, 2009. Human hair. Image provided courtesy of the National Academy.

O’Sullivan designed the ceiling “to have a knitted or woven quality like that of wool or silk.” It dives down over the kitchen and dining area, eventually reaching a point at the entry that is low enough to touch. Here, resident Jes Wood leans against the onyx kitchen island while her daughter Ruby hangs out. Replica Jean Prouvé chairs surround the dining table; a vase by Bruce and Estelle Martin for Kamaka Pottery sits on top. The Reel table under the television is by Atelier Oï for B&B Italia.

Arbel’s projects—both products and architectural commissions—follow a chronological numbering system. The house itself is his 23rd design, while the one-of-a-kind glass pendants that accent nearly every room like a starscape are called “28.”

Architect Bruce Bolander made the most of a limited footprint in a house he designed in a Malibu canyon. With the small bedroom unable to accommodate any "normal" size desk, the architect designed a very thin custom steel desk where resident Heidi Wright works. The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors from Metal Window Corporation open the entire corner of the room up to the outdoors. “The mountains across the way are almost like another wall—they contain the space to the point that you feel like you’re in a much bigger space, that you’re part of the overall landscape,” says Bolander. Photo by J Bennett Fitts.

“We’re here for almost three months every summer—and it works so well that you never feel it’s a small space. The separation and steps between each perfect little box create a great flow.”—Nadja van Praag

At one end of the space, which is topped by a barrel ceiling, a hammock offers a tantalizingly cozy place to nap.

The renovated home maintains its original layout. To refresh the dated appearance of the space, Stonefox added cedar tongue-and-groove panels to the ceiling and refinished the floors. The living room rug is from Creative Matters, the WL Daybed is from Niedermaier, and the circular coffee table is a Tie and Die model from Holly Hunt.

Recessed ceiling lights, speakers, and the range hood ductwork are all concealed by the dropped ceiling. The stools are West Elm.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, complemented by a wood-burning stove from Jøtul, bring the outdoors in. “Movement throughout the house—down the hall, through a doorway, or across a room—is always toward a view of the outdoors, creating a connection between the inside and outside,” Hart says.

This is Unit 4, the only one with a redwood dividing wall between the kitchen and the living room (the rest have open concrete islands).

Floor-to-ceiling windows front each unit, with sections of container wall folded out and fixed in place as part of the shading strategy.

This children’s room and playroom caters to one family’s young kids with built-in cabinetry that allows the mess to be hidden away. Hufft designed this marker-board table, which was cut in the shape of Missouri. The ceiling features abstract details from Thomas Hart Benton paintings.

Concerned about the chemicals involved in laminate flooring, the couple chose to leave the concrete slab, the foundation of the home, exposed, almost eliminating flooring expenses. A local craftsman made the windows, using Texas pine for framing. The floor-to-ceiling windows, Pavonetti says, reduces the couple's need for lights.

White plaster walls and a curved ceiling play up natural lighting, while minimalist decor and furnishings (many of which they designed themselves) make the small space feel larger.

Ancient Cliff Caves Hundreds of caves like these are found in the region, built thousands of years ago. In this particular photograph, the caves are easily accessible, but many are halfway up high cliffs. I thought of the wandering yogis who made their home for years inside and wondered how they managed to get down the cliffs and into them. Just recently, researchers have gone in to excavate some of the high caves, and many well-preserved ancient artifacts have been found.

Architect Bill Ryall installed vertical circulation elements, opened an unobstructed 47-foot-long view from front to back, and kept the ceiling beams exposed to create a loft-like environment.

The combination of high ceilings and a cathedral-style design add character to the kitchen area. Photo by Mariko Reed.

A Bright Idea After build-out, the family realized they needed a light for their dining room. Tanya and Jackson took to their storage container, where they found fake flower branches they had bought at Ace Hardware, and paired them with a crumpled string of old Christmas lights. “We plugged it in and that was that,” says Tanya.

The connecting area between the four houses has an open joisted pine ceiling that offers a masterful transition between the coarse, weathered exterior and the polished rooms—all lined with smooth Sucupira wood and white plaster board. “We wanted to make a clear contrast between the interior surfaces of the house and the corresponding exterior surfaces,” de Carvalho says.

Corrugated steel ceilings are left exposed—a reminder that this is, after all, a container converted into a home. Spray foam insulation keeps the space from experiencing extreme temperature shifts.

In the open-plan living and dining room, a dramatically sloped roofline allows for generous clerestory windows.

A sloping ceiling allows light into one of the children’s bedrooms. The bed is from CedarWorks.

A dim Toronto Tudor gets an airy new look. The home’s second-story hallway, which serves as an open office and library, was suffering from a severe lack of light. Lifting up one side of the old pitched roof made room for a linear skylight, which faces south to allow in as many rays as possible, and the modification transformed the top floor into a loftlike double-height space. Inexpensive detailing then added texture and scale: Simple plywood panels attached to cold-rolled-steel frames serve as guards along the stairs.

The home’s built-in technology includes speakers by Current Audio installed in the ceiling in Valentine’s room.

The exposed ceiling beams and inserted steel framing system are visible in the lower level, where Lange and Dixon relax with their son Paul.

The cavernous living room takes advantage of its height with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

Connecting the kitchen and laundry area is the dining area, enclosed with floor-to-ceiling glass panels. “Chris built the whole thing,” says Tanya.

With a top-rated Energy Star ranking, their products' eco-friendly bona fides are equally impressive. Installing them can add points toward green certification in esteemed rating systems, like LEED.

In the kitchen, the showstopping ceiling’s herringbone pattern is echoed by the terra-cotta tiles on the floor. Architect Michael O’Sullivan, who designed the steel-and-glass kitchen cabinets, the table, and the pendant lights (made by Lava Glass), further amped up the richness of the room by specifying an onyx kitchen island. Interior designer Yvette Jay, a collaborator and classmate of O’Sullivan, kept her material palette “tight and limited. I had to restrict myself so that everything here ties in with the architecture.”

Along with smart tech capabilities, Haiku can also be kitted out to include functional LED lighting. Together, their elegant fans and lights add visual interest to frequently neglected overhead spaces.

The living room sports a panoply of wood: Douglas fir for the ceiling, hemlock for the walls, and stained oak for the floor. The sofa is the Neo model by Bensen and the rug is vintage.

Available in rich finishes, like bamboo and oiled-rubbed bronze, Big Ass Solutions ceiling fans have been recognized by more than 50 international design and technology awards.

Tall, sliding glass panels extend along the west side of the house, including into the living area, which has views across the terrace and 35-acre wooded property. Built-in bookshelves, part of Dynia's thick-wall strategy, keep with the orderly design. Photo by Ron Johnson.