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Twelve electrically heated windows pierce the facade, framing views of the surrounding forest and fields.

The bedroom is lined in spruce and sparsely furnished, save for a built-in bed designed by Ateljé Sotamaa. The coverlet and pillows feature a folkloric pattern by Klaus Haapaniemi & Co.

The glass balustrade allows light to filter down to the kitchen and dining area below.

A staircase ascends past inset shelves to the second floor.

The kitchen is outfitted with IKEA and Bosch appliances and a custom sink and countertop by Durat.

Ateljé Sotamaa designed the faceted structure as a guest house for Ulla-Maaria Koivula and her family, although during the pandemic it has served as an office for Ulla, a recording studio for her husband, Jonathan Hull, and an after-school playroom for their children.

Floor-to-ceiling shelves and storage bookend a cabinet that conceals the television.

The concrete hearth at the fireplace has angled sidewalls and a bevelled edge.

On one side of the house, a white central staircase leads to a split-level landing the Robertsons call "the reading room." "We needed a place to hang out and for the kids to read," explains owner Vivi Nguyen-Robertson. Awaiting the birth of the couple's son, she relaxes in a built-in reading nook in the library.

At Alex Strohl and Andrea Dabene’s Nooq House in the Rocky Mountains of northwest Montana, highlights include a suspended fireplace, cathedral ceilings, and expansive windows. "The windows are my favorite feature. I've loved seeing the colors change in the fall, snow in the winter, and bears in the spring," says Andrea.

Sometimes all it takes is a little luck. For a young married couple, it came in the form of this rare find: a 19th-century, three-story, single-family home in the heart of Paris. The building was a charmer with good bones, but was in need of some serious care. In a vibrant retrofit by architect Pierre-Louis Gerlier that includes structural reinforcements, the reimagined design is set off with a new floor plan. The lower level now serves as a space for the couple’s children, with the public areas—including an open-plan living/dining room and kitchen—on the floor above. Upstairs, the attic has been transformed into a very large primary bedroom with a green-and-white bathroom suite. The living room (pictured) showcases the firm’s bespoke carpentry work with a beautiful, mossy-green built-in bookcase that frames a new fireplace, and a staircase surrounded by arched doorways that hold hidden storage. “We created visual breakthroughs in order to connect the different spaces,” says Gerlier. “The rounded arches are there to help magnify these moments.”

Main living space

Taiwan apartment renovation by Hao Design includes a new floor with a wooden bridge-like corridor that connects a master bedroom to a walk-in wardrobe on the mezzanine level.

The guesthouse has similar built-ins and is outfitted with a reproduction rotating sconce by Serge Mouille and rugs by Stephanie Odegard.

Materials enhance this natural connection, reflecting the silvery hues of the overcast sky of the Pacific Northwest and tying the building to the forest floor.

The loft features a lounging area and a cozy, built-in sleeping nook beside a window. Originally, the dome had a full second floor, but the result was a choppy layout of small spaces. “There was no good living area,” says Sam. “My instinct was to open it all up.” When he’s not at the property, he rents it out. The bedding is from Parachute Home.