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Though the front of this 1880s home in Adelaide, Australia, maintains a traditional facade due to strict heritage laws, the rear is modern eye candy at its best. See more of the home.

While Audax reconstructing the front facade with restored brick, wood trim, and new stucco, they built a new modern addition onto the back. They also rebuilt the roof to reflect the original design, which ensures that the house still feels like one residence.

Architect Gregory Phillips connected the original house to a new modern extension that doesn’t interfere with the surrounding houses. “I try to be true to the location,”he explains, “so it doesn’t seem like some spaceship has landed.”

The mezzanine is fenced by slats of whitewashed pine, and acts as the children’s playroom and hangout space.

The gable roof and L-shaped structure add a buffer against the sound of winds blowing at up to 45 miles per hour. “You don’t hear the outside,” says Ravi.

"It only cost about $48,000 to build, which was incredibly cheap," says Turner of the Stealth Barn. "We got the Timber Frame Company to supply the shell, then we clad it and fitted out the interior and windows ourselves. The idea was to take the archetypal black tar-painted agricultural building and make an almost childlike icon of that."

Colthoff, project architect Jon Jeronimus, and general contractor Derek Nicholson used two techniques to build the house: post-and-beam for the great room and master suite and stick-frame for the guest wing and entry area. Near the front door, there’s a special tub for the owners to wash their dogs in after hikes. The basin has a low opening and is made of durable concrete, courtesy of Mag’s Concrete Works. The wood paneling is walnut.

The two bathrooms are sited on either end of the rectangular plan. Each have been fitted with discrete skylights for additional illumination.

A clean and simple bathroom add to the modern feel of the space.

The shower is enclosed in travertine and topped with a skylight.

Serenity and purity of the elements inspired the concept of r3R residence, a project realized in an existing building. A low-lying modern fireplace design in the living room brings warmth to the space.

Built in 1957, Witthoefft House was designed and lived in by the architect Arthur Witthoefft. At the time, he was an architect in the Manhattan office of corporate modernists Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. This recently restored 1957 modernist masterpiece features a freestanding travertine-and-steel fireplace, open on all four sides, that divides the living and dining areas.

Architect George Bradley and his husband, Eddie Baba, renovated a 1941 house in San Francisco. Tiles from Heath Ceramics surround the Ortal Clear 130LS fireplace. The white ceramic logs are by Klein Reid (but of course can be replaced with real firewood!), and the firewood storage continues the same dark horizontal band that contrasts with the light-colored fireplace cladding.

The living room and dining room were originally separated by a central fireplace, which interior designer Nicole Hollis removed to create this great room. She installed a modern, custom eight-foot-long open gas fireplace in the living room, equipped with sensors that automatically turn it off when someone gets too near to the flames.

Spaces are kept minimal to instill a sense of serenity. A Pilotta chair from Cassina is the only piece of furniture other than the built-in bench.

“Instead of using a typical frame system, we created frameless windows by burying aluminum channels into the floors and walls,” says Richard. “It kept our glazing budget much lower than normal.” The sofas feature custom upholstery by Inverse Project and HDM.