Favorites

Floor plan of Pine Flat by Faulkner Architects

By the end of this year, Inherent Homes founder Tim Swanson says they company will deliver 14 new, all-electric homes on municipally-owned land.

Frontal facade - Street view

The four containers are also the same brand, which was an important consideration as each brand has slightly different dimensions, and the highly detailed design of the hide-out necessitated precision.

The elevated modular home is clad in locally sourced radiata pine treated with a stone-gray oil stabilizer.

The rear of the bedroom module is enclosed in timber slats for privacy. The slats allow light through the hidden windows.

"The most comfortable and pleasant place in the house is the library nook, where you can lie down to read a book, have a coffee, or take a nap with the light and warmth of the sun coming through the window," says MAPA.

The built-in kitchen features a black polished granite countertop that’s complemented by Ardosia stone floors.

This wooden staircase doubles as kitchen shelving in the English designer's home. Tyler hired David Restorick, a furniture maker and friend, to build a staircase that doubles as display space for Tyler's vast collection of colorful cookware.

Clever cubby storage is incorporated into the base of the interior stairs, while the extra-deep stair treads provide flexible "stadium-style" seating for the kids.

The containers are fused side-by-side, giving each apartment a 16-foot width. They are then stacked in four pairs with wrought, industrial-style exterior staircases in-between. To spare living space and installation headaches, a cinder block core houses utilities and a bathroom for each unit.

Sam Shah and Anne Suttles asked architect Kevin Alter to renovate their 1920s bungalow in Austin, Texas, and add an addition, which contains a living area downstairs and an office upstairs. They tucked an office nook under the stairs; the Eames chair is a hand-me-down from Shah’s father.

The home’s small footprint can be efficiently heated and cooled, and the windows and cutouts above the barn door provide passive ventilation.

Architect Guillermo Acuña’s sprawling getaway lines the coast of Isla Lebe in the Chiloé Archipelago in Chile. He developed it in stages, first building a boathouse with a modest living space, then adding two cabins and later remodeling the boathouse. An avid sailor, he often sets out to explore the nearby fjords. The archipelago is midway between Santiago and Tierra del Fuego and comprises more than 30 islands and islets.