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The Sunset House gets its name from a nearby square famous for its views, and the hillside home’s upper levels frame the setting sun.

The home offers multiple spaces to foster creativity, including several music rooms and living areas designed to spark conversation.

Bloomberg windows and large sliders by LaCantina Doors bring ample light into the home.

The architects incorporated sustainably sourced parota wood into the living room’s sunken seating area. The Turn Tall side table is from Blu Dot, and the pillows are from West Elm.

A built-in sofa and vintage 1964 George Mulhauser "Mr. Chair

The volume of the first floor overhangs the entrance by three meters, covering the semi-public garden. “The overhead volume makes you feel quite small,” says Eduardo Ugalde from All Arquitectura. “Then, when you open the door and turn to the right, you discover a large open space.”

Sliding doors from Western Window Systems connect the living room and the deck, which is made of pressure-treated pine planks surrounding a black gravel pit.

The jagged roof of Villa Tellier references both an upside-down chair (giving the residence its other name, The Chairhouse) and the owner’s initials, W.T.

At Sea Ranch, a half-century-old enclave of rugged modernist houses on the Northern California coast, a new home captures the spirit of its surroundings. The client, a couple, were guided by the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. Lovers of Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, the architects made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house "was very crisp and clean," he says. "This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi." Together, the Cor-Ten steel and board-form concrete give the exterior a weathered look.

Assembled in just two weeks, this cedar-wrapped passive house near Woodstock, New York, designed by BriggsKnowles A+D, realized a couple's dream of rural living.

The stair, hovering just above the downstairs landing, is barefoot (and paw) friendly.

Larger windows fill the home with daylight and forest views.

MASA Architects constructed the built-in cabinets using side-pressed and lacquered bamboo.