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Deep blue-painted cement-board panels, an offset roof peak, and black window frames balance the rich brown Ipe wood of the deck and garden.

The guest loft features a bed from West Elm and custom plywood casework by Kansas City artisan Haynes Nichols.

Walnut and Formica cabinetry, Neolith basalt counters, and concrete floors make up the kitchen’s minimal palette; a large clerestory ushers in natural light.

Sliding glass doors open wide to the great outdoors.

Says Krista, “We needed to know that whatever we built would not take away from the landscape.”

Floor plan of Kettle Moraine House by Johnsen Schmaling

Section of Church Point House by CHROFI. “The section is really the key to this home,” says architect Fraser Mudge. “It shows the sunken courtyard and how the ground floor has been cut into the hillside on a very steep site.”

A koi moat surround this thatched-roof home—a collaboration between AmDesign Studio and Creative Architects—near Ho Chi Minh City.

One of the most significant of Mies' works, the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, was built between 1945 and 1951 for Dr. Edith Farnsworth as a weekend retreat. The home embraces his concept of a strong connection between structure and nature, and may be the fullest expression of his modernist ideals.

A gate provides access to the home from the street. The timber-clad shutter disappears into the facade along the second-floor volume.

In the homeowners' ensuite, a Ferguson tub is surrounded by honed basaltina from Architectural Tile and Stone, while the flooring is limestone from Arcon. An inviting outdoor shower (surrounded by the rammed-earth walls and featuring plumbing fixtures by Signature Hardware) through the glass door offers an alternative opportunity for a spa-like experience under the Texas sky.

The custom white oak-and-steel desk and cabinets are by Filtch, topped with a charcoal-finished white oak slab. Matching Fenton and Fenton desk chairs offer the homeowners the opportunity to work side by side.

In the powder room, a Tom Dixon pendant dangles above a Ferguson Badeloft sink. Dreamy blue watercolor wallpaper from Black Crow Studios lines the walls.

The studio features polished concrete floors. “It is the same as the flooring used in parking lots and gas stations,” says architect Rodrigo Simão. “It’s very durable, and I thought this would be suitable for a home located closely within nature.”

Bowen Island House layout