Budget Breakdown

The friends scoured Facebook Marketplace and local salvage centers—locating such treasures as decades-old Douglas fir flooring from a decommissioned munitions plant—to remake the...

Wayne Turett of The Turett Collaborative designs his own energy-efficient holiday home in Greenport, New York, as an exercise in experimentation.

Caleb Brackney transforms a 1995 Thomas International bus into his full-time residence in Knoxville, Tennessee, using recycled and found items to repurpose as furnishings.

Shin Shin Architecture brings playful porosity and a fresh ADU to a 1923 single-family home.

Local designer and artist Briana Babani creates a luminous dream home from a once neglected and dreary interior.

Drawing on a simple material palette of plywood and corrugated metal, architect Rafe Maclean designs a certified Passive House on a steep, challenging lot in Dunedin.

Combining creative nous with careful planning, architect Mark Lawton creates a net-zero home inspired by the typology of a fisherman’s shack.

Perched on a cliff above the North Saskatchewan River, this 240-square-foot family retreat soaks up jaw-dropping views.

A humble composition of two-by-fours, plywood, and polycarbonate, the Uphill Utilitarian is a flexible storage space and studio.

In the tiny community of Cape Meares, a DIY couple turn an unassuming shingled house into a maritime-inspired getaway.

The founders of Austin-based Hunt Architecture create an elegant workspace and guest room without breaking the bank.

Moving home to Torrance, California, to take care of her dad, Monica Chang makes clever use of 170 square feet.

Emma Pereira drew inspiration from Japanese micro homes to build Atelier Lumi, a tiny studio and guesthouse.

Aimée O’Carroll of goCstudio uses color blocking to fantastic effect in her 60-square-foot kitchen.

San Francisco–based couple Tom McElroy and Scott Turco breathe new life into a dated retreat in the forests of Arnold.

On challenging terrain overlooking a wetland, Minarik Architecture creates a resilient, dual-volume residence.

A modern addition to an old London home offers ample space for a growing family, as well as a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf situated under a skylight.

Leonora Mahle gives her midcentury kitchen a fresh new look with a pool-inspired color palette.

The eco-friendly escape is powered by solar panels and a wind turbine—and it even includes a full bath.

Shaving down time and cost, two scrappy Canadians gave themselves a crash course in construction.

Alli Devlin, her husband, and her architect cousin spruce up a riverside home outside Seattle.

Ninety minutes outside New York City, a young couple’s first house riffs on agricultural vernacular with a green twist.

A creative couple combine their talents to give a camper a retro-inspired revamp.

This woodsy retreat’s island site in British Columbia meant working with mostly local builders and materials.

A close-knit team seismically retrofits and reimagines a 1905 residence that had suffered through years of shoddy work.

A classic Big Easy house with a fanciful facade gets a $427K renovation that balances authenticity and imagination.

Undeterred by the pandemic—and with their one-year-old daughter in tow—Danielle and Ely Franko spend seven months overhauling a former hay barn.

Addison Schierbeek Architects modeled the new layout around the homeowner’s favorite element of the property, a Chinese flame tree.

Designer Brit Arnesen and her husband, Derek, imbue the space with feminine, Art Deco–inspired touches.

After getting a taste of #vanlife, Gianna and Jake Bachowski spend the pandemic converting a school bus—finishing just in time for the arrival of their baby daughter.