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“Sometimes you go with emotions rather than logic,” says Woodhull founder Caleb Johnson. “I just wanted to renovate the little Pizza Hut look-alike my son told me looked like a blowfish.”

The clients—a family of five with three children in college—wanted to create an “urban cabin” that embraces the tranquil forested site on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. The solution was to use vast expanses of glass to dissolve the boundaries between inside and out.

Intrigued by the "smart, simple things" being done with modular housing, Will Arnett tapped architect Suchi Reddy and prefab company LivingHomes to design a house that merges the best of on-site and factory construction. The "Arrested Development" and "LEGO Movie" actor’s new home, completed in 2017, faces down a verdant canyon in Beverly Hills.

If you think this $3.9M home’s distinctive sloping roofline is impressive, just wait until you see the midcentury details awaiting inside.

Rear Courtyard

A geometric glass entry gate leads to the rear unit, which comes with its own address.

The expansive windows offer unparalleled views of La Plata peak while also providing lots of natural light to the living room and kitchen.

Now available for $2.1M, the desert oasis comes with walls of glass, native landscaping, and a shimmering pool.

"At Tara Iti, south of the Mangawhai Heads, a former pine plantation is gradually being restored to native habitat on the windy coastal sand dunes. On a site overlooking the world-renowned golf course is the Dune House, designed by architect Julian Guthrie as a retreat for a family with four children. The clients had holidayed in Palm Springs, a city noted for golf, mid-century modern design and a California desert climate—all of which factored into the brief for an expansive yet relaxed house at Tara Iti."

"The 1970s houses of Whangamatā were the design source for this new beach bach—the simple gables, lean-tos, decks and yards. ‘The clients and I walked the neighbourhood to have a look at the existing character,’ says architect Paul Clarke. ‘They wanted to build sympathetically in the form and size of the building, so we’ve reused elements we know well, but combined them in a new way to put together something different.’"

A highlight of the overhaul is the floor-to-ceiling glass on the north side, which includes a five-panel bifold door. The door opens to the couple’s favorite area of the house, the backyard. The deck is shaded by the cantilevered roof, and Ren planted drought-resistant brush amid the existing oak trees.

The house was fully assembled in just 32 working days. “It was a wonderful, emotional thing to be able to put ourselves in the shoes of our clients,” describes Meelena.