Inspiration

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.

Stone walls, a pine tree exploding out of a deep overhang, iroko decking, outdoor rooms, a glassy swimming pool, and endless views of the sea make this home a paragon of indoor-outdoor living.

Grossman made a name for herself in the male-dominated architecture scene in Los Angeles, saying working as a female architect "kept you on your toes. You had to be a step ahead or else."

This is John Lautner's Sheats House from 1963.

Moonshine is beautifully set in an isolated spot in the English countryside outside of Bath. The dramatic juxtaposition of a stone gamekeeper's cottage and a modern timber framed addition gives the home a quaint, pastoral feel while capitalizing on the dramatic view of St. Catherine's Valley.

Designed in 1972 by local architect Edgar Waehrer, this home was renovated by creative director Ben Watson and his partner, painter Claudio Tschopp. As a later example of Northwest modernism, the home combined the clean lines and open plans of mid-century modernism with an emphasis on natural local materials and natural light. However, while the 16-foot ceilings in the home gave a sense of airiness, the plentiful wood paneling on the walls kept it dark and feeling damp, and so the couple bleached the walls to better reflect natural light.

Two Womb chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll and a Ring bench by Castro structure a reading area in the enclosed terrace.

Sheridan Coakley, owner of the London-based furnishings purveyor SCP, uses his circa-1970s home as a testing ground for the furnishings he carries in his company’s inventory. In the foreground, a Balzac lounge chair by Matthew Hilton is draped with a Donna Wilson blanket.

In a chaotic stretch of Brooklyn, architect Nicholas Hunt built a 55-square-foot reprieve from the bustle in his own backyard. The studio, crafted with salvaged fence pickets and cedar planks, is crowned with a Plexiglas skylight.

The house that Fleetwood Fernandez Architects designed for contractor Mehran Taslimi and his wife, Laila, embraces its surroundings. “They wanted doors that they could just throw open,” designer Hunter Fleetwood says of the retractable wall system from Vitrocsa.

A cantilevered cabin designed by R D Gentzler blends into the forest, even as it hovers above a 20-foot drop-off. Its south face is almost entirely glass, but a roof canopy limits solar gain. “We sit on the deck all afternoon watching the trees, and the time just flies by,” says resident Maricela Salas.

Large, glass, accordion-style doors from LaCantina Doors open the family dining room to the home’s outdoor space, ensuring airflow and ocean views while effectively doubling the size of the room itself. The custom wood table and benches were made by Hill Construction from reclaimed California redwoods.

Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan collaborated with New Haven, Connecticut, firm Gray Organschi on their midcentury-inspired New York vacation home.