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Pickles (seven years, Shih Tzu) and Tortilla (4.5 years, Maltese) lounge in designer Tamara Honey’s Pasadena–based studio.

Laylo releases a capsule collection of three new designs every few months, allowing pet owners to refresh the look of the beds.

At the bottom of the 34-foot light well sits an airy, open stage, which is a beloved spot for the family of musicians. “While the stage easily acts as a place for performance—from hosting a jam session to children’s impromptu concerts, it can also double as a seating area for the living room,” notes co-founder of Acre Architects Stephen Kopp. “We were part of a lecture that the client gave from the living room, and it really felt like an intimate fireside chat.”

Bachs, seasonal beach houses that line New Zealand's ample coastlines, are small by nature, but this one in Auckland felt a bit too confined. The residents called in Carolyn Gundy of C Architecture to plot an addition that adds extra living space and a ton of volume.

Several years later, he installed an exterior staircase and divided the upper floor into two guest wings that accommodate up to six people apiece.

The tree house–inspired design mimics the surrounding woods. On each floor, steel rings and columns support Western red cedar floor joists above.

In one corner of the room, an Arne Jacobsen Egg chair and ottoman rest on a flokati rug. Overhead is an Ecos pendant by Vistosi.

A second spruce alcove frames a nook with wool-covered custom seating, and features Nendo’s Innerblow coffee tables with blown molten-glass tops; the geometric pillows were designed by Yovanovitch.

The north-facing rear yard is located on the lower ground floor, and its uniquely challenging shape lead to this project being referred to as the Triangle.

In the living room, Busick left the original brick walls and tongue-and-groove wood ceiling exposed, while he refinished the white oak flooring with a walnut stain. “We edited the newer renovations to the historic home down to the fundamental elements,” he explains. A gray Delos Sofa by Control Brand sits cozily in front of a window.

Reading nook and skylight.

The rest of the rooms are freestanding pavilions with large projecting windows that look out over the open landscape. The rooms are accessed through an exterior walkway, providing them with additional privacy.

Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design reimagined this family retreat in Sea Ranch, a 1960s planned community that stretches 10 miles along the Pacific coastline in Sonoma County, California. Clear, vertical grain fir wraps the interior, while ample windows offer stunning glimpses of the sea and surrounding meadows.

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.

Bright yellow and purple paints were used to add some vibrancy to the daughter’s desk area, one of the ways the architects tried to honor the personality of each inhabitant's space.

In a family home in Mill Valley, California, Lauren Goldman of l’oro designs kept her clients’ goals of “modern yet accessible” in mind while also looking for opportunities to add functionality. This proved successful when she discovered that the empty space under the steel-and-glass stair landing was the perfect scale for children to sit and read under. The team was inspired to create a kid-sized library, turning a useless space into a perfectly cozy reading nook.

A built-in bench by the window is a cozy perch for Tyler. The herringbone flooring looks like wood but is actually man-made.