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Asking £880K, this RIBA award–winning eco home sits perched above the Galloway Hills.

The cabin lit up at night.

The Hive was completed in May 2015 for a total construction cost of $160,000.

The Perch at sunset.

becomes this wood cocoon with ambient light coming through the clear wall panel. You don’t need to even turn on a light.”

Well-placed skylights flood the built-in desk and workstation with natural light. The elegant desk lamp, which Hara calls the Sunset Lamp, has a maple base and bowl-like shade, the latter finished with gold leaf for a warm glow.

The walls are covered in Milestone cement plaster.

The preserved brick chimney was exposed and cleaned up in the remodel. A classic Smeg range and exhaust hood create a pleasing contrast with the contemporary Kerf cabinetry.

The new structural support at the island is a slim intervention that enabled the firm to open up the kitchen to the rest of the home.

Inside the entry, black walnut plywood is framed in red oak casework and bedecked with Muuto Dots coat hooks.

The revamped living area features an updated fireplace and sconces. Light hardwood floors run throughout the home, reflecting the brighter new aesthetic.

An enormous contemporary light fitting has been installed in the roof space above the family room, creating a dramatic contrast with the old timber structure. This element epitomizes the way new and old elements sit together in the renovated home.

Embodied energy, gray water, black water, carbon footprint—the list of sustainable design terms goes on and on, and we're here to help you make sense of them.

In Sunnyvale, California, architect Ryan Leidner cracked open a 1962 Eichler with a crisp remodel flush with foliage. He replaced the home’s vertical plywood facade with one-inch strips of American red cedar set at two depths. The rhythmic slats conceal a garage door that swings open on a hidden hinge. At the entryway, two massive panes of frosted glass shimmer with light and shadow from the atrium inside. Homeowners Isabelle Olsson and Matthaeus Krenn stand out front.

Harry wove a tactile palette of earthy tones throughout the new space, which includes blackbutt cabinetry, cement counters, and handmade backsplash tile from Spain.

The upper floor layout was rejiggered so that the kids' bedroom could be relocated, and now a cantilevered addition at the back of the house hosts a library space with full-height glass capturing a view to the backyard. The built-in shelving has a rich blue laminate, and the tiled wall to the left denotes the light well into the kitchen.

A Cor-Ten steel planter running along one side is filled with Carex Ice Dance. “The plantings are minimalist, yet rich in color and texture,” says landscape architect H. Keith Wagner. The wood planters on the top level were custom designed by Kelton Woodwork.

A three-story mahogany screen partially veils the backyard retreat designed by Flavin Architects for Ed and Kathy Kelly in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Incorporating a renovated garage, it includes both closed and open spaces and a potted rooftop garden. The garage door is by Garaga and the Exotic Red paint is from Benjamin Moore.