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Architect Ken Meffan's ten-years-in-the-making home is located in the tiny Northern California town of Rough and Ready—a term that might as aptly refer to the house itself. Though all the on-site plants are mundane home-center varieties, they grow to uncanny heights in the moist, sunny environment.

“In a regular house you can't hear the birds or feel the fresh air,” says Meffan, contrasting it with his greenhouse-within-a-house.

The wood inside was harvested from the local forest. Anders’s favorite spot in the home is the sofa situated under an almond tree in the greenhouse.

A small greenhouse is attached to the garage. The vintage barn wood on the back wall was salvaged from an old barn on the ranch that had fallen down decades ago.

You don't need a full greenhouse to successfully grow herbs, just a dedicated spot that will get at least six hours of sun a day. In fact, your indoor herb garden can be as simple as a row of potted plants.

"Small IKEA kitchens drive me crazy, but six kitchens' worth of IKEA cabinets can be made into something beautiful," says homeowner Andrew Dunbar. Staggered by width, the cabinets have exposed kick-plate gaps for storing CDs.

The prohibitive cost of outfitting the structure with radiant heat led Dunbar and Astrakhan to pull down the solid south-facing rear wall for additional sunlight and solar gain.

Two offices are outfitted with semi-custom built-ins that include murphy wall beds.

Living space is wrapped in full height windows, anchored around a wood-burning stove.