Favorites

The footprint echoes the layout of the old house while celebrating the site’s spectacular views.

Dark walnut floors are paired with vertical bleached walnut paneling.

Martin, Daniela, and their three children are all movie buffs, so a dedicated cinema room was a must. The porthole window is a creative touch that easily slides closed for the optimal theater experience.

According to Daniela, a simple material palette was important. "The kids are coming and going all the time," she says, so all bedrooms are made up with the same linens, "much like a hotel."

The team installed sliding fluted glass doors with wooden framing to separate the living room from the home office, which doubles as a guest bedroom.

The sauna interior is lined with hygroscopic aspen slats. One-way glass separates the sauna from the hallway and provides views out into the landscape.

The master bedroom features spectacular views of the fjord.

A glass cutout on the floor of the upper level provides a glimpse of the hallway below.

The courtyard is an extension of the living room, which can be separated by a folding glass door. The angled roofline and clerestory windows are visible above the second-story bedroom window.

The home essentially comprises two structures that are unified by a double-height, courtyard-like space with clerestory windows allowing for ample natural light.

The Siglo Japanese soaking tubs in the girls’ bathroom are from Signature Hardware.

Each of the couple's three children have their own rooms, with built-in desks and storage units. The bedrooms have rift and quartered white oak flooring.

A pair of Icelandic prefab pioneers deliver an efficient family home in Culver City. Building smarter is at the heart of everything designers Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir do. Whether they’re testing the limits of indoor/outdoor living or developing a prefabricated wall system that they hope will make traditional wood framing a thing of the past, the founders of the Santa Monica design studio Minarc are consumed with making structures stronger, lighter, and more efficient.

Ten minutes from British Columbia’s prized Whistler and Blackcomb ski areas, this house is located on a small lot atop a hill. Embracing a vertical layout, the upper level is where the open living area, complete with sectional, wood-burning stove, marble island, and spacious dining table, is found. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the forest views are especially heady.

The upper levels of the six-bedroom, four-bathroom Mountain House feature large picture windows that offer sweeping valley views.