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Molded plastic lounge chairs from Ikea offer additional places to sit on one of the decks.

Chairs by Hee Welling for HAY www.dwr.com

A black leather-upholstered sofa, inspired by the Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy for Ligne Roset, supplies a chic, casual aesthetic for the loft area.

Julie and Malcom arranged an Ikea corduroy-wrapped sofa, a table lamp from Schoolhouse, and a vintage coffee table in the living room, where there's a vintage Kent wood-burning stove.

Wood trim, a large wood bookshelf, and a vintage wood accent table offer warmth and texture in the upper-level bedroom.

created this spacious, spa-like washroom,” says Braithwaite.

The structure is “cranked” thirty degrees from the point of entry to maximize nature views and encourage solar gain, Braithwaite says.

The old driveway, which used to loop around the back of the house, was an eyesore. The couple also wanted to find a way to carve out more outdoor living spaces. "From there, the layout of the yard was born, and we were able to more easily configure and think through the outdoor living areas," she says.

The resort-like atmosphere of the home set on a two acre garden, is magnified by the stunning indoor-outdoor pool.

The home features five bedrooms and comfortably sleeps ten.

Minimalists may prefer hingeless track doors to swinging doors with handles. In this steel-frame Texas home, the bright blue galley-style kitchen has not visible hinges, which makes it look as if it were a part of the similar color back wall.

If you don't like handles sticking out from your cabinet doors, then one quirky and clever idea is to have a hole drilled near the top of the cabinet door, so you can stick you finger in it and pull the door open. These orange-painted MDF cabinets in a New Zealand beach house is an example of how this idea works brilliantly in cheery, low- kitchen.

In addition to its rear deck, which features an outdoor kitchen and hot tub and capitalizes on stunning ocean views, the Surf House in Santa Cruz, California, includes a sunny front patio that’s tucked between a customized surfboard storage unit and a garage.

The pilot home on Whidbey Island demonstrates the system’s potential: a 600-square-foot interior paired with nearly equal covered outdoor space, set lightly on a pin foundation that protects tree roots and cuts carbon by 77 percent. "Puzzle Prefab can be modified according to each site,

Inside, the original ceiling complements new Douglas fir slats. A teal sofa from Crate & Barrel picks up on a color in the stained-glass panels. The coffee table is from Salty Home.

A cozy dining banquette with a custom walnut table by Susan Swingle saves some space.