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One of the selling points of the cottage was the meadow surrounding it, which the windows in the addition seek to capture.

Now, the kitchen benefits from all the natural light brought in by the bump-out. The cabinets are Ikea's Sektion cainets with their base line Veddinge white lacquer finish fronts, topped with Ikea quartz counters. The hardware includes knobs from Lowe’s and pulls from Manzoni.

In the entry, a high interior window borrows light from the bedroom wing and a woven wood screen in the kitchen lets the owners see who’s at the front door. Kalon Studios crafted the bench from a single ash log. “It will split a bit over time,” Lachapelle says.

A floor lamp nearly eight feet tall anchors the seating area in the living area. Ceilings that are 12 feet tall at the highest point help the room feel expansive. “We needed to find a way to define different areas in a relatively tight space,” Lachapelle says. It’s the clients’ first experience with an open floor plan. “We raised our kids in an old Victorian, and the farmhouse we live in now is chopped up into tiny rooms save for the studio we just added,” the husband says.

DeNiord designed a simple concrete bench with a honed top to run parallel to the randomly sized concrete pads that lead to the covered entry. He planted blueberry bushes behind the bench and a river birch tree behind the boulder. To conjure a wabi-sabi feel outdoors, diNiord poured concrete around a boulder. “It represents the interruption of perfect geometry,” he says.

Subtly textured and tonal, a metal backsplash can be a great idea in a range of spaces, from industrial to moody and sombre. In this particular kitchen, the backsplash and drawer pulls were fabricated by 12th Avenue Iron. The cooktop is by Miele.

Local materials and a restrained, natural palette allow the surroundings to sing at this family getaway.

The use of consistent and contrasting flooring minimizes disorientation, and decks are accessed via zero-step thresholds. “More and more, I’m having talks with clients about flexible homes,” Wylie says. “They want homes that will work now and for future needs.”

At a 1954 midcentury home in the West hills of Portland, Penny Black Interiors deftly updated the residence with standout cabinetry, carefully-selected tile, and wallpaper galore. The renovation balanced preserving the home's innate character and updating its function for modern life.

The back of the property has a relatively private feel for a downtown location. The living room opens out to the garden through two glazed walls, while the trellis cladding of the mudroom echoes the screens at the front of the home.

371 Mavis Drive features three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the main house, including an open loft-style bedroom in the A-frame.

Drawing inspiration from the farmhouse vernacular, the Clinton Corners Residence features gabled structures clad in western red cedar and topped with standing seam metal roofing.

Silvano Zamò, third-generation winemaker at Le Vigne di Zamò winery, and his wife Brigitte tasked architecture firm GEZA with a holiday home on a hilltop location in the tiny northern Italian village of Camporosso, not far from the ski resort Monte Lussari.

The house has two spacious outdoor patios for entertaining.

After: The kitchen faces the back garden and benefits from a double height atrium space. Pine has been used for the kitchen flooring and cabinets. Extensive glazing gives the ground floor living spaces a direct visual link with the courtyard and terrace.

Intrigued by the "smart, simple things" being done with modular housing, Will Arnett tapped architect Suchi Reddy and prefab company LivingHomes to design a house that merges the best of on-site and factory construction. The "Arrested Development" and "LEGO Movie" actor’s new home, completed in 2017, faces down a verdant canyon in Beverly Hills.

Taking cues from their style-conscious clients, Jessica Helgerson Interior Design transformed an Amagansett home into a light-filled, Scandinavian-inspired getaway.

After an unprecedented year of earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires, a bright light has been shed on the benefits of building with concrete.