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The Tairyu-Sanso garden in Kyoto, Japan, was designed in by pioneering Japanese garden architect Ogawa Jihei VII, who also laid out the idyllic Heian-jingū and Murin-an gardens. "Here, Ogawa incorporates the distant view of Mount Higashiyama," says garden designer Sophie Walker, author of The Japanese Garden (Phaidon, 2017). "With the carefully composed natural scenes framed by windows and sloping roofs, you would never know that this private property is surrounded by the modern city of Kyoto."

Jikkō-in is a small temple near the Sanzen-in Temple in Ōhara, Kyoto. The peaceful grounds include the Keishin-en Garden, which was designed to incorporate "borrowed scenery" from the mountains across the valley.

The Adachi Museum Garden in Yasugi, Japan, has been ranked as the country’s most beautiful garden for 18 consecutive years by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. The garden, which was designed according to shakkei principles, features rugged stones that evoke the craggy mountains in the distance.

"Shakkei can act as a core design component in an interior living space, with the same objective of bridging ‘the beyond scenery’ into the site," says architect Ryan Ng, who cofounded CplusC Architectural Workshop with architect Clinton Cole. "In the Totoro House, every window and door opening acts as a frame that captures a different element of the backyard."

The renovation and extension of the Totoro House deliberately removed boundaries from the Sydney residence. The walls that previously separated the kitchen, living, and dining areas were reimagined as vertical thresholds, and parts of the rear extension were pulled outward to form the open-air dining and lounge area. A circular window on the ground level overlooks the backyard, framing the transition between the interior and exterior.

The new kitchen is a vibrant mix of vintage-inspired and modern, featuring warm maple, bold pops of color, and stainless steel.

In her L.A. office, Tracy A. Stone swaps commercial fixtures and 20-year-old cabinets for fresh appliances and tasteful finishes.

Sitting lightly above the eelgrass, this tiny dwelling serves as a port of entry for a family getaway on the Salish Sea.

A custom mini kitchen is designed to entertain the client and their guests.

Hexagonal penny tile ascends from floor to ceiling in the skylit primary bathroom.

Backsplash tile by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mutina pairs with custom cabinetry and quartz cunters in the kitchen.

A hickory vanity and hexagonal floor tile enliven the bathroom.

Built-in shelving and cabinetry frames the bed in the bedroom

The tiny home on wheels that Tru Form Tiny designed and built for Judy and Dean Anderson is wrapped in white-painted pine and accented with ebony-stained cedar around the door.

In the en suite bath on the second floor, a concrete floor gives way to a round, tiled, double-height space that culminates in a skylight. Plants hang on either side of a custom shower-head from Still Bathrooms. The faucets is from Crestial and the pendants are from Spazio Lighting.

A three-seater Ella sofa and footrest in Vega Anthracit by Sofacompany anchor the living room. The steel coffee table is by Lim and the rug is from Coral & Hive. The shelving and cabinets are custom from Holz Cabinetry. The lamp is from Vamp and the lampshade is from Skinny laMinx. The chairs are from Chair Crazy and the television is from Samsung.

A trove of original details can be found all throughout the residence, including the floor-to-ceiling windows, custom built-in shelving, and blue tiled fireplace awaiting in the main living room.