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A centuries-old blue oak stands near the intersection of the two wings of the house, which is clad in Alaskan yellow cedar. “We decided to split the house into two volumes to let in light and allow us to be more nimble with where we placed the structures.” Jess Field, the architect.

Bleached walnut replaced cold concrete floors in this family-friendly renovation of a dated loft in West Chelsea’s late 19th-century Spears Building. To make the loft feel more welcoming, architects Ravi Raj and Evan Watts toned down the heavy industrial elements of the 2,700-square-foot loft with a warmer and lighter palette and added custom built-ins for a streamlined look. At the same time, the loft still preserves much of its historic appeal—from the exposed brick seen throughout the home to the oversized openings left intact.

An award-winning, modern masterpiece inspired by Neutra

“We bought the land not knowing what we could build or where. It’s off by itself and pretty isolated,” says Jeff.

The home takes the form of two volumes that slide past each other. The front door leads directly to the center of the home, which connects to the both the entrance courtyard and the rear pool area, dissolving the boundaries between interior and exterior space.

Homeowner and general contractor Clint Unander redesigned his dated Santa Barbara ranch to be a bright, airy home that combines classic California style with Scandinavian minimalism.

"We wanted the main suite windows to have a non-traditional relationship to the walls and contemporary detailing," Lanigan says. The new bedroom adds a fourth bedroom to the property, expanding it from 1,475 square feet to 2,045 square feet.

For more than 70 years, claims have persisted, without much evidence, that a home in Portland, Oregon, is a lost work by Frank Lloyd Wright. Regardless of authorship, the structure—a flat-roofed, cedar and glass ranch—endures as a sterling example of postwar American architecture. Its recessed entryway features panes of translucent glass.

Inside, the double-height living space features a beamed ceiling flanked by clerestory windows and a built-in bookcase along one wall.

The star of each unit is the double-height living room, featuring a dramatic wall of windows framed by exposed masonry block walls. Shown here, Unit No 3. was restored several years ago by Ernesto Cragnolino of Alterstudio and Krista Whitson of Mel Lawrence Architects, who used the apartment as their personal residence.

Architects Ernesto Cragnolino and Krista Whitson designed and built an efficient four-bedroom home for their family in Austin.

"We were interested in this idea of treading lightly on the site. Using a green roof is a logical extension of that. When you introduce a building that supplants a little piece of the forest floor, it's nice to replicate that on the roof as a return gesture to continue to create habitat for birds, animals, and plants, and to help manage the flow of storm water," explains McFarlane.

The loft-inspired living room features bookshelves made of salvaged wood along one wall. Exposed beams—also salvaged wood—run along the ceiling.

The master bedroom includes a bathtub in the same space and opens to a courtyard.