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“Being perched on the hilltop at Spyon Cop is like nothing else,” says client Siobhan Turner. “My favourite experience of the house is sitting in my Ercol chair or, in nice weather, out on the deck, coffee in hand, watching the sun rise over the valley.”

When glass dominates a home, the result is a borderless residence that syncs with its environs, creating a stunning, new visual and psychological sense of space. See how these glass homes use the versatile material to create ambiance and connect with the outdoors.

The firm enlarged the opening to the courtyard to create better flow between inside and out.

The original home was built in the shape of the Hebrew letter “Chet," which wrapped around an open courtyard. The courtyard was closed off to become flexible public space, and now lies in between two private living areas. A steel and wood bridge connects the private wings of the home, which consist of bedrooms, bathrooms, and working spaces for the residents.

Homeowner and interior designer Julie Crosby worked with developer Soheil Nakhshab to transform a rundown midcentury property in the coastal Del Mar neighborhood of San Diego. The 5,400-square-foot, four-bedroom residence incorporates a natural palette and tall windows.

A beautiful modern fireplace is encased in the stone hearth.

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An aluminum-and-ipe gangplank rises from the dock (right), leading to the recycled redwood-clad moon gate and the front door landing. Below are spare bedrooms and a garden.

Created after appearing to its owner in a dream, the Panorama Glass Lodge offers direct views of the active volcano Hekla, the northern lights, the midnight sun, a beautiful river, and the Icelandic highlands—all from the comfort of your bed. Inspired by the simple, rugged beauty of Scandinavian houses, the property consists of four lodges and two saunas completely immersed in nature. “Saunas are very important to us locals. We think it is important for body health and mental health, as well as a way to deeply relax and unwind,” says co-owner Sabrina Dedler. In Iceland, a country that embraces cold winds and freezing temperatures, “we are able to find a greater balance of health by incorporating sauna.” For the full experience, Sabrina recommends two to three continuous sauna sessions of 10 minutes each, with a 5- to 10-minute break between to relax outdoors in the cold air or to have a “super refreshing” outdoor cold shower. “Wherever you go in Iceland, the most amazing landscape is just around each corner. Fresh air, the ocean, thousands of waterfalls. With such unpolluted air, it is mesmerizing to watch the sunsets and sunrises,” says Sabrina. With so much geothermal activity, it invites the question: Why? Iceland has some of the world’s most active tectonic plate movement, allowing the underground geothermal waters to spring up all over the country, making the raw, untouched landscape even more surreal and visceral.

Floor Plan of Beaver Creek Cabin by Outside Architecture

The kitchen range hood is framed in wood, wrapped with cement board, and parged with a thin layer of polished concrete. The sides of the Carrara-topped island are clad in anodized aluminum, as are the IKEA cabinets.

Is it a toilet or a work of art? Okay, it’s definitely a toilet, but Duravit’s D-Neo is worth hanging on your wall. Its sleek form, by Belgian designer Bertrand Lejoly, is not only easy to look at but easy to clean, too, thanks to its rimless bowl, which minimizes the number of crevices for germs to hide in.

The Ridge House was designed "to emphasize a feeling of refined shack

The master bedroom leads to its own private courtyard. The rug is from Peace Industry; the Kelvin LED floor lamp for Flos is from Lumens. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

A guest bedroom, with furniture from Room & Board, overlooks the bridge above the dining courtyard. The home’s landscape architecture is by Ventura, California–based Jack Kiesel. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

“I love the house more each day,” says Tamami Sylvester of her and husband Michael's home by Sebastian Mariscal in Venice, California. The kitchen, which includes all Miele appliances, is sheathed in custom woodwork from Semihandmade. Accessories from A+R complement the Caesarstone countertops and Franke faucet. A LifeSource Water System provides filtration. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

Nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, this 200-year-old home inspired one former copywriter to delve into architecture as a living. Inside, renovator and owner Tom Givone mixes vintage and industrial decor. Photo by Mark Mahaney.

In the kitchen of Floating Farmhouse in Eldred, New York, a custom-built wood-fired oven extends up to the ceiling, accentuating its steep pitch. Photo by Mark Mahaney.

In the primary bath, the vanity countertop and integrated sink is done in the same micro-topping material as the room’s walls and floors.