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As part of the built-in cabinetry beneath the stairs, Wilson included a pull-out bed that can be used by overnight guests.

Built-in cabinetry beneath the staircase provides extra storage space for the 1,024-square-foot home.

The ability to open the living and dining area to the pool and terrace makes the home ideal for entertaining.

The living area features a Le Bombole ’07 sofa by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, a Chieftan chair by Finn Juhl, and a rotating hanging stove by FireOrb. The poufs are by Tazi Designs.

Off-Grid Guesthouse by Anacapa Architecture

The entryway opens to a glass-walled interior with views of the backyard pool and a zen garden planted just behind the glass to the right.

The event center is illuminated by large skylights overhead. The space opens to an outdoor deck. The design is a mix of store-bought and vintage with kilim rugs and woven baskets hung as wall art "to add a cozy factor and texture to the concrete and wood space," says Morgan.

Strategic openings and skylights—such as the one above the dining room table—provide plenty of natural light throughout the day. As a result, artificial lighting is only needed at night.

Working with a sumptuous material palette, Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects designed a sprawling new residence in Palo Alto for Mark and Laura Pine. The teak wood and handmade Danish bricks that define the exterior are used inside as well; distressed stainless steel panels by Chris French Metal sheathe one side of the upper volume. Blasen Landscape Architecture chose Peruvian feather grass to flank the entrance walkway.

Steve and Margaret Cegelski, a retired couple who invented a popular tire sealant, welcome guests to their Santa Barbara County home nearly every weekend for hiking, surfing, and horseback riding. Overnight visitors stay in the new guesthouse designed by Dan Weber of Anacapa Architecture and Steve Willson of Willson Design; the builder was Curtis Homes, and the structural engineer was Ashley & Vance Engineering. A green roof helps the structure disappear into the site high above the Pacific. “We wanted to capture the quality of the setting, but with minimal impact on the land,” says Weber.

A chandelier by Lindsey Adelman hangs overhead. The floor-to-ceiling windows throughout are by Fleetwood Windows.

A gravel path leads from the dining area to a bridge across the restored creek that runs along one side of the house.

The orientation of the kitchen was changed to allow sunlight from the slanting windows to better illuminate the cooking station.

In the land of large mountain lodge wannabes, two California natives tuck Utah’s first LEED for Homes–rated house onto the side of Emigration Canyon.

The upper levels of the six-bedroom, four-bathroom Mountain House feature large picture windows that offer sweeping valley views.

Tapped by art collectors to design an inspirational residence in rural Montana, Jackson Hole–based Carney Logan Burke Architects crafted a modern house that frames the property’s extraordinary landscape views.