Inspiration

Cedar, glass, and concrete combine in this minimalist pool house that draws inspiration from Mies van der Rohe’s 1929 Barcelona Pavilion. The pool house, built into a mountainside west of Montreal and designed by Halifax–based MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, employs board-formed concrete for the home's expressive exterior.

Because the architects wanted to showcase the view of one of the more majestic oaks on the property, they placed a lap pool below the tree so the mirror-like surface of the water would gracefully reflect its image.

Rising out of the earth like a natural rock outcropping, the holiday retreat is clad in a combination of stained Western Red Cedar and stained Alaskan Yellow Cedar on the upper volume, while the lower is wrapped in stone veneer.

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.

The sleek black kitchen is fitted with oak timber floors and brass accents to infuse additional sophistication into the space.

Julie and Chris Hill’s home in Austin is built around a pair of massive oak trees, one of which shoots through an ipe deck, past a Loll deck chair, and into a void in the overhanging roof. “The hole also allows light to penetrate deeper into the house,” notes designer Kevin Alter. A limestone brick wall mirrors the curves of the Western red cedar roof, the edges of which are coated in stucco.

A clean-lined bathroom of stone and concrete.

The crumbling stone walls of a 17th-century farmhouse in the remote countryside of Dumfries, Scotland, presented a unique renovation opportunity for Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture, the teams behind this project. Rather than demolish the old walls, they inserted a crisp, modern home within them, so as to emphasize the site's history and passage of time.

In summer, trees help to filter out some of the heat during the warmer days.

Composed of overlapping cubes of different sizes, the Gjøvik house by Danish firm Norm Architects gracefully embraces its hillside terrain—naturally blending in with its stunning surroundings near Mjøsa Lake an hour north of Oslo.

Here are eight ways to turn your space into a warm, welcoming oasis that helps you get your work done while reflecting your personal style.