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The greenhouse top as seen from the driveway. The garage and former basement level of the original building has been transformed into new living quarters, a small guesthouse, for when family and friends visit.

The units are installed on a site in Hurley, New York, overlooking Twin Lakes, and some of them will include private hot tubs.

The homeowners appreciate the vibrancy of the green frame as a nod to the dynamism and variety of their Hackney neighborhood, filled with brightly-hued shops selling produce from around the world.

The homeowners love that their secret garden is now an extensions of their living space.

No-fuss, sturdy materials, like Kahrs oak chevron floors that camouflage dirt and easy-care black metal siding, free up time for family. “The more durable the material, the less work to maintain it,” says Susie. Also in the kitchen is a quartz countertop by Daltile and faucet from Kohler. The windows are by Milgard.

In Australia, a manufacturer and an architecture firm create an off-grid home that can be broken down and shipped across the world.

The living room features a sectional sofa and leather chair by Zanotta, coffee tables by Porro, a Kymo rug, and a floor lamp from Flos.

DZINE Concept did the interior design throughout. The dining room features a Liquid table by Baxter and Charme chairs from Busnelli.

“We call it the Traveler because it will travel to you, you can travel to it, or you travel within it, into your own healthy world," says the Coexist team.

The home of architect Margit-Kristine Solibakke Klev and her husband, Arnstein Norheim, is built inside an enormous greenhouse.

The furnishings set amid the planting beds—including the Winnipeg armchairs and Royal pendant, all from Jotex—further blur the boundaries between interior and exterior. “I chose the light fixture because it’s simple and elegant, and, of course, I wanted something really big in the greenhouse space,” says Margit.

“The pink color scheme was something that Dagny and I started the design process with,” says Margit. “We wanted a warm, natural color, so we decided to use pink Claystone on the floor. The other pink colors followed. It also makes a wonderful contrast to all the green leaves in summer.” The glass pendants are from Jotex.

The home is clad in red-painted Norwegian pine, echoing the red-flecked trunks of the surrounding spruce forest. “We wanted to reference a traditional red barn in a modern way and pull it forward into our time and give it a complexity,” says color consultant Dagny Thurmann-Moe.

“During summer there is so much greenery, and it grows and changes every day. It’s very different in the autumn and winter—even the acoustics are different,

The rooftop terrace is covered by the greenhouse roof and features a long dining table surrounded by secondhand chairs from a community center and a pink kitchen used for preparing food when entertaining. The couple hope to add cooking facilities in the future. “It’s a great place for parties,” says Margit. “I haven’t grown anything up here yet, but I’ll start this spring.”

“It’s the biggest one you can get,” says Patrick Powers of the shipping container he revamped and moved to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Steel frames hold ample glazing, including a pair of custom 2,000-pound sliding doors.