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Freestanding furniture with thin metal legs doesn't clutter the small space.

Tidy closet storage frames the entry to the apartment.

On the bathroom side of the sink, there's a vanity mirror.

The centrally located sink does double duty. On the kitchen side, a suspended chalkboard for notes hovers above it. Similar tile in the kitchen backsplash and shower creates continuity. Note the tiny cooktop with integrated, exposed venting above it, which syncs with the industrial concrete on the floor and ceiling.

The stair railing becomes a picture ledge.

A simple desk area merges with a built-in sofa, which includes storage beneath it. The wood components in the units are bamboo, chosen for its durability and warmth.

The den, located above the living room, connects to an at-grade fire pit terrace to the south, as well as an elevated deck with views of the lake to the north.

A Snowball pendant by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen hangs in the dining room; the J46 chairs are by Poul M. Volther. - Gothenburg, Sweden Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

Picture windows frame views on both ends of the kitchen of the kitchen counter.

A bathtub that looks out to views of the trees,

Gravasoni Gray 23 dining chairs and a Flos Smithfield black pendant in the dining area.

A kitchen with a Siemems integrated oven.

Horizontal larch cladding was used for the façade to give the house an interesting ribbed texture with deep grooves.

A wooden bench wraps along a dining corner, and extends along the walls towards the fireplace, where it serves as a bookshelf, then fireside bench.

In 2011, clients Brent Habig and Ana Ecclesthe surveyed the property with architect Jim Cutler, planting stakes at a number of sites. Cutler drew up a different house for each, recalling from his youth the region’s vernacular—especially the crisp white barns nestled into lush green landscapes. They would inspire the form of the couple’s new 2,800-square-foot home. It is designed to capture natural light, but also to cool interiors on hot summer days, using tall, sliding shutters that can cover the two-story home’s windows from floor to ceiling.

"The nearly 100 year-old Victorian farmhouse clearly had good bones, but over the years unfortunate facelifts and additions had left it somewhat listless as well as thermally challenged in both summer and winter," says Arkin Tilt Architects. The design team sought to preserve the Victorian's charm while renovating the kitchen and dining room addition to have an open, Zen-inspired vibe with a garden connection.

Where the New Buffalo Residence now stands on a wooded lot by the shores of Lake Michigan, there used to be a serpentine ranch house with perplexingly small windows, none of which pointed toward the water. The homeowners had used it as a vacation retreat for over 30 years before an expanding family—and guest list—led them to approach architecture firm Booth Hansen for a fresh design.

Tasked with creating a multi-use guest pavilion on a relatively small Northern California vineyard lot that could also host sit down dinners for up to 60 people, designers at Anderson Architects started by asking the key questions: “Where should it be within the property?” “How much floor area do we need for a 60 person dinner?” “How much volume do we need for a basketball court?” “We also always tell ourselves to look at the landscape first, let it dominate and lead it through. The building took the form of a large Napa Valley barn.