houses I like

The beanbag chairs and outdoor sofa and chairs are from West Elm and the Case Study Museum Bench is from Modernica.

“What often happens in our relationship is I come to Funn with an idea and he makes it into something livable.” —Vincent Kartheiser

A series of horizontal window panes on the rear facade serves as vanes for ventilation and adds a craftsmanlike design come nightfall, when the house is lit up by the flicker of candlelight and gas lamps.

With his son, William, watching, architect Noah Walker tries out the floor-to-ceiling Schüco glass doors he integrated into a guesthouse he designed off an existing barn for Nathan Frankel, an amateur violinist, in Beverly Hills, California. The new portion features an open living-dining area. See more glass houses we love!

A series of long stairs leads to Maison Amtrak, which is set below street level. The entranceway demonstrates Cohen’s love of Japanese design with a geometric simplicity matched only by the formal elegance of the stained Douglas fir two-by-fours.

“The home is quite small, but designed in such a way that you don’t feel it,” Herrin says. Lift-slide openings by Quantum Windows & Doors, which were fabricated fewer than 50 miles from the house, make the main living space seem larger.

"Pulling the buildings apart allows what is not a big house to feel really big," says architect Jonathan Feldman of the sustainable retirement home he built for a couple in California. "Because of the ways it opens up, it feels much more expansive than it really is."

Cooke clad the building in a black-stained, sustainably-grown Canadian cedar, a durable choice that ages well and requires little maintenance. The dark glazing was chosen so windows appear seamless, accentuating the form of the building.

The exterior of the new, two-story home in East Austin, Texas was designed with a minimal palette, bronze windows, and steel details in order to blend into the existing cityscape.

Oskar and Karl, 12 and 9, share breakfast at their family’s summer getaway in Sweden. The table is from ILVA, and the CH36 chairs by Hans Wegner are from Carl Hansen & Søn.

Milwaukee studio Vetter Denk Architects designed this eye-catching prefab on the banks of Moose Lake, Wisconsin, as a weekend retreat. The home was based on an idea presented by the home's owner, who was inspired by a screw-top jug of $9.99 red wine.

Two art studios adjoin a central volume at this work/live residence built from terracreto (sustainable concrete), glass, and painted steel just outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Residents Austin and Lida Lowrey, retired design and museum professionals, collaborated with their two daughters—Sheridan, an artist, and Elizabeth, an architect—to design the structure as a place for creative contemplation.