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In an effort to keep costs within budget without sacrificing looks, the fully gutted and renovated kitchen features IKEA cabinetry framework with shaker-style fronts by Semihandmade. The cabinets were painted Farrow & Ball Pigeon.

Influenced by both Benedictine monasteries and Japanese residences, award-winning British architect John Pawson created The Life House – a minimalist holiday rental home in Wales with a pure and uncluttered ambience that encourages a state of quietude and contemplation.

To maximize space in this tiny 323-square-foot studio Budapest apartment, local design studio POSITION Collective used an elevated, plywood sleeping unit inspired by Japanese “tansu” mobile cabinetry, with secrete storage modules on the side of the steps leading up to the futon bed.

Fashion designer Josie and her husband Ken Natori are big fans of traditional Japanese architecture, so when Brooklyn-based practice Tsao & McKown Architects designed their home in Pound Ridge, New York, they used a heavy, exposed-timber structure, and included Japanese-style gardens and landscaping.

For this 780-square-foot apartment Hong Kong apartment, local practice MNB Design Studio used plywood, smart storage solutions, and tapped into the principles of origami to create a highly structured, minimalist home.

"Landscaping was strategically planned to cope the home seamlessly into the rock, with access paths from the house to the lake barely visible in some places," adds the firm.

Walls of glass, horizontal roof planes, and a natural material palette enable this expansive home to feel like an extension of a dramatic boulder-strewn landscape in Idaho.

Surrounded by rugged beauty, the home was designed with a faceted exterior optimized for wraparound views unique in each room.

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

This kitchen is an exercise in light and dark, which echoes the home’s dark exterior and light interior. The white quartz countertops gleam against the black sink and fixtures, and the cabinets and backsplashes were constructed from Baltic birch.

A view of the dining area and living space from the kitchen. The floors are polished concrete while the walls are lined in baltic birch. The lighting is by Hamster.

A magnificent corner sliding door unit opens up to expand the home to an outdoor deck. “When you walk in and look at the mountains, the beauty is overwhelming,” adds Pam.

The master bedroom is a texturally rich space and offers views of Lone Peak.

For outdoor enthusiasts Bob and Pam Norton, the town of Big Sky, Montana, was a natural choice for the location of their second home. Having purchased a remote lot with views of Lone Peak, Pioneer Mountain, and Cedar Mountain, they envisioned a private, year-round retreat that integrated with the terrain. “We wanted to live in the view,” says Pam. “We wanted the outdoors to come in.”

In a family home in Mill Valley, California, Lauren Goldman of l’oro designs kept her clients’ goals of “modern yet accessible” in mind while also looking for opportunities to add functionality. This proved successful when she discovered that the empty space under the steel-and-glass stair landing was the perfect scale for children to sit and read under. The team was inspired to create a kid-sized library, turning a useless space into a perfectly cozy reading nook.

Sam Shah and Anne Suttles asked architect Kevin Alter to renovate their 1920s bungalow in Austin, Texas, and add an addition, which contains a living area downstairs and an office upstairs. They tucked an office nook under the stairs; the Eames chair is a hand-me-down from Shah’s father.