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Japanese-style joinery means that The Bed by Thuma can be set up in a flash.

Floor plan of Haseman House by Willa Work

Place a cactus or succulent in your bathroom if you want all the benefits of greenery but not much of the work.

Interior designer Ginger Lunt revives a 1954 residence that she fell in love with as a young girl growing up in the tropical forests of Mount Tantalus.

The use of consistent and contrasting flooring minimizes disorientation, and decks are accessed via zero-step thresholds. “More and more, I’m having talks with clients about flexible homes,” Wylie says. “They want homes that will work now and for future needs.”

Completed in 2018 on a 2.6-acre site in the San Juan Islands, the two-bedroom modular home was installed in a day.

Architect Johan Sundberg looked to Japanese architects like Kengo Kuma for inspiration for the design of a holiday home in southern Sweden. "We call it the Katsura typology, but that's probably sacrilegious," he says. The eaves of the gently sloped hipped roof extend generously in all directions, turning the deck into a covered retreat that’s part veranda, part engawa, the Japanese version of a porch.

The cabin has charcoal-colored metal siding and a punchy yellow-green front door for contrast.

Oil your wooden kitchen tools and cutting boards. Most mineral oils will do the trick—and they’ll give your wooden widgets a much longer life. Make sourdough bread. If you’ve got some yeast in your pantry, and it’s not too old, get down to perfecting that sourdough bread recipe. You could also start a kombucha culture, or pickle any hearty vegetables you’ve got lying around. Make a pantry meal. If you can’t get to the supermarket, think about making some Spanish rice and beans from canned or dry goods. Perfectly simple. Label absolutely everything. KonMari your entire kitchen, while you’re at it. Know where and what everything is, and get rid of anything you don’t use for a perfectly uncluttered and organized kitchen.