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The weeHouse exteriors are clad in corrugated Cor-Ten, but with a custom pattern of folds to create an organic randomness. The foundations were designed with a shallow recess around the top to make the modules look like they’re hovering. After they bought the property in early 2014, the Siegels camped there for two summers while they saved up money and planned a permanent structure. In his research, BJ came across this design, a customizable prefab house by Alchemy Architects. "Of all the things that I found, I was drawn to that one because it was absolutely the simplest and cleanest," he says.

Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

Nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, this 200-year-old home inspired one former copywriter to delve into architecture as a living. Inside, renovator and owner Tom Givone mixes vintage and industrial decor. Photo by Mark Mahaney.

Setsumasa and Hideaki toss on the rain fly. The solar panel in the foreground supplies daytime electricity.

Jason lounges in one of two armchairs by midcentury designer Milo Baughman in the parlor-floor living room. The wood block coffee table is by Eric Slayton, a friend of the couple, and the modular Carmo sofa is from BoConcept. A 1952 piece by French industrial designer Serge Mouille, the Three-Arm Floor Lamp—widely referred to as the "Praying Mantis," for its looming trio of arms—is a nod to the couple’s love of Parisian interiors; a branch-like chandelier by Los Angeles–based artist Gary Chapman hangs overhead.

Whether you’re battling noise or are short on space, these guides can turn your office into a distraction-free zone.

The house and studio were christened "Dragon Rock" by their daughter Ann who said the rock formation resembled a dragon sipping from the pool. The pool was created by feeding a waterfall into to the pit. Seen here is a floating sculpture by current artist-in-resident Stephen Talasnik.

With clean white stucco cladding and unusual angles, the three-module house stands out from the surrounding neighborhood, which features mostly post-war, one-and-a-half story homes.

The New Pavilions

The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.

After searching in vain for an empty lot to build on, architect Brian White settled for a nondescript 1960s ranch that nobody else wanted—and proved that building from the ground up doesn’t always start on the ground.