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A fixed rooflight over the new kitchen island floods the once dark and gloomy centre of the home with natural light, while an exposed metal structural beam, painted in green, offers a modern feel to the property’s industrial heritage.

Before: The massage room, whose windows faced east, led to the backyard.

Set on six acres in Sullivan County, New York, Jason Shannon and Paola Yañez’s weekend getaway is a study in minimalism. The couple chose to work within a small footprint for both aesthetic and financial reasons. On the patio, the Maya modular seating is from Room & Board and the Ball light is by Smart and Green. Jason and Paola designed the fire pit, which they also use as a grill.

Influenced by Southern California’s Case Study House program, designer Bob Butler conceived a luminous residence and guest house on a sloping lot in Nashville that originally held a red-brick ranch-style duplex. Western red cedar lines the walkway from the carport to the entrance. The Globe lights are from West Elm.

"Where the house sits, it’s sandwiched between these two structures," says Garry. This made accessing good natural light and views a challenge. A breakthrough move in the design consisted of installing windows on the north wall with glass-backed cabinets over them, thereby admitting natural light into the house, but not giving less-than-ideal views of surrounding buildings too much visual weight.