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The back patio and fire-pit area are central entertaining spaces. When the weather is nice, homeowner Joan and Ken wheel their dining room table outside for parties and dinners with friends. The fire pit was built using a steel cut-off from a natural gas tank.

The owners' love of Sea Ranch style inspired the architecture of their home, which surrounds a courtyard protecting three large redwoods.

Neal and Inga Barber built a new home atop the existing foundation of their previous house in Kenmore, a suburb of Seattle, Washington.

Concrete and weathered steel form the home’s low-profile western facade, anchoring it to the desert.

Requirements for licensed contractors depend on the scope of work and the location of the project.

In this house in downtown Miami, lightweight, shuttered Western red cedar doors wrap the front porch to provide privacy and protection from the weather but support natural ventilation, which is important in biophilic design. The unstained wood will age naturally.

The feel of natural materials on the skin can make a home comforting. A Colour Carpet by Scholten & Baijings for HAY, made with 100% New Zealand wool, defines the play area in the child’s bedroom of this house in Hamburg, Germany.

An internal courtyard punctuates the main floor of this renovated home near Melbourne, Australia, and adds a practical source of light and air. The local climate patterns were taken into account during the home’s design and layout. Because temperatures can vary quite dramatically, solar control was very important. The large glazed sliders to the east, where the home gets morning sun, strategically contrast with the less extensive glazing to the north.

Using natural materials is one way of bringing nature indoors. Oiled white ash floors and ceilings, along with Italian poplar and Lawson cypress joinery, are found throughout architect Andrew Simpson’s 538-square-foot home outside Wellington, New Zealand.

"The design intent was to calm down the geometry of the house," says Blue Truck Studio’s Peter Liang of the renovation.

Located in Portola Valley, California, this renovation of a William Wurster Ranch house began with a study of the home’s history. Inspired by original photos of the 1950s home, the renovation refreshed its significant architectural past without detracting from its Wurster essence.

The family room is situated at the apex of the house, with picturesque views that extend up the meticulously landscaped north slope. The concrete floor sits just low enough that the main elements of the scene—the succulent garden and large limestone ledges—are at eye level. A bank of NanaWall folding windows breaks up the fourth wall.

The reading nook has a cushion made from a vintage rug Ann found in Morocco eight years ago, a Lin Sconce by Muhly, and a Bijou Mini Table by Muhly, which can also be used as a seat or plant holder, and moves around as needed.

More surfaces in cork—a side table, the frame for a skylight—punctuate the CLT.

A picture window with a deep seat provides a place to take in the sun.