Favorites

Seen from the guesthouse, the new home touches every corner of the property without overwhelming its natural beauty.

Hog Pen Creek Retreat by Lake|Flato: More than a home, this varied campus of structures in Austin is a retreat to get lost in. Another 2016 AIA award winner.

“The owners envisioned a place that engaged with the outdoors while providing accommodating spaces for their off-season training for triathlons,” Flato notes. A 75-foot-long lap pool on the west end of the home comes in handy during practice.

The residents decided to convert a koi pond on the property into a petite pool. Next steps for the renovators are updating the kitchen and increasing its size by expanding it into the mudroom and laundry room.

Architect Sean Lockyer designed a 5,760-square-foot concrete, stucco, and ipe home for a couple and their three children in the Southern California desert town of Indian Wells. The residents selected the home's furnishings, including the Royal Botania chaise lounges.

The pool stretches across a rolling lawn that ends at the foot of the wooded mountains.

The 82-foot-long pool gets quite a lot of use by Jeff and Millie, and especially by the kids, who are both on the local swim team.

The indoor swimming pool now features a tall wall of glass.

The pool with a view.

Large openings and a two-bay screened-in porch further emphasize the connection between the indoors and outdoors.

Tall indigenous wetland grasses grow fecund, right up to the border of the saltwater swimming pool.

The saltwater pool provides relief on hot summer days, and a neighboring mahogany deck is the perfect perch for lolling in the sun.

The rear of the house continues the same mix of materials as the front facade and includes a long, narrow pool.

Having completed nearly 70 biologically filtered pools across Australia, Natural Swimming Pools Australia was recently commissioned to convert an existing chlorine pool into a natural pool for a large homestead at the iconic Detroit Station in New South Wales. The team converted the pool just in time for the visit of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

Set on a private reserve, naked Stables is on one of China’s few wellness properties and is the first resort in the country to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Guests have their choice from a treetop villa or an earth hut along the secluded valley. Naked Stables is easily accessible from Shanghai and a great respite from city life.