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Some of the same local wood that was harvested for the stairs was cut up, charred, and made into the bedroom’s custom headboard.

Dusk. Ready for the evening to begin!

High above Sonoma’s historic square on a sloping half-acre lot, this 1950’s home purchased solely “for it’s great views” has been transformed by Bevan & Associates, from cramped and cold into a classic and modern midcentury estate; with large glass windows, broad eaves, wide wooden decks and drought-resistant landscaping.

Front entry pierces through the living room across the pool.

Complemented by 5,600 square feet of outdoor space, the enclosed passage opens up to a central courtyard with a bocce court and a saltwater lap pool.

Stepping into the holiday home of interior designer Denise Portmans is like visiting her Los Angeles design shop—a revelation in West Coast style.

When your favorite place for a drink is just steps from your living room...

Tasked with creating a multi-use guest pavilion on a relatively small Northern California vineyard lot that could also host sit down dinners for up to 60 people, designers at Anderson Architects started by asking the key questions: “Where should it be within the property?” “How much floor area do we need for a 60 person dinner?” “How much volume do we need for a basketball court?” “We also always tell ourselves to look at the landscape first, let it dominate and lead it through. The building took the form of a large Napa Valley barn.

Whisper Rock Ranch just north of Pioneertown, California.

With little to no permitting required because of its small size, Sett Studio units can be used for an extra bedroom, a yoga studio, a hydroponics growing area or an office space, like this 96-square-foot one shown here.

The most costly parts of the build were the board-formed concrete walls and fireplace. “We believe it was worth spending the money here for a few reasons,” reveals architect Cavin Costello. “The mass anchors the house into the landscape, and the material is incredibly durable—something we need in the harsh desert sun. The board-forms give the home a wonderful character.”

A sofa from Elte offers plush seating in the living room.

In their concrete-walled courtyard, Yuka and Aaron watch as twins Emerson and Jasper, daughters Maude and Mirene, and Alfie the dog play. The house is painted in Black Bean Soup by Benjamin Moore, a color in keeping with the period of the original architecture. The garden was designed by Lauren Hall-Behrens of Lilyvilla Gardens.

Warby Parker offers at-home try ons, where you ship five frames to your house for free—keep the ones you love, send back the ones you don't.

Silvano Zamò, third-generation winemaker at Le Vigne di Zamò winery, and his wife Brigitte tasked architecture firm GEZA with a holiday home on a hilltop location in the tiny northern Italian village of Camporosso, not far from the ski resort Monte Lussari.

Even as the square footage of this cottage in Fayston, Vermont, shrank in response to budget constraints, architect Elizabeth Herrmann remained focused on making the space feel warm and functional for a family of four and their dog and cat. "I think the trick to making small spaces feel much larger is to design the experience of being there,

On a steep, forested, nearly 30-degree slope adjacent to a ski run and lodge north of Lake Tahoe, Greg Faulkner, founder of Faulkner Architects, spent multiple years working on this contemporary family cabin. The roof "tilts up to the mountains and down to the valley like a visor, while the main home mirrors the ski run to the east side of the property, so the home has a central axis that runs up through it," he says. During the winter, one can ski directly into the living room, with its inset fireplace and 17-foot-high ceilings.