Rad Houses

Blue, yellow, and pink accents enliven the living area, where guests relax on the *Gus Modern sectional sofa.

Unlike other new houses in the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston, the Gottschalks embraced a simple, functional pavilion.

After: Elevated landscaping allows the lush greenery of the outdoors to take center stage.

A geometric wood accent wall lies across from the main entry wall and runs alongside the stairs.

The home features a one-car garage and a covered carport.

The hillside home enjoys picturesque views of the Cascade Mountains.

French-born chef, TV personality, and pop-up wizard Ludo Lefebvre says of his kitchen, "My life is based around cooking 24/7‚ so making the kitchen the star of our house was really the only choice. Our previous kitchen was tiny‚ and with two small children it became almost dangerous at times: too many people‚ not enough space. I wanted an open area where family and friends could be part of the experience but also have breathing room."

A green guest bathroom with a vanity designed by Pascali Semerjdian and wood panels by Plancus.

The Parker's interior is cozy and welcoming. Jonathan Adler wanted guests to feel like they were visiting "the estate of your favorite glamorous, global, great aunt who you wish you had but never did."

The Axiom Desert House celebrates desert design that is elegant and replicable. Its open plan, indoor/outdoor flow, and innovative use of materials and space are a testament to modern prefab.

The C6 is one of LivingHomes' most popular models. Coming in at 1,232 square feet, this LivingHome offers a comfortable living space for a relatively low cost.

For the master bedroom floor, Regan bought plywood panels from Home Depot and turned the wood distressing process into a family affair. "Libby and I were in there with protective headphones just banging away," he says. "We distressed it, stained it, and sanded it down." The bed is made out of a piece of wood Regan salvaged from an abandoned bridge.

The Fosters unwind in the soaring, 960-square-foot great room. The family wanted plenty of space for hosting friends and events, as well as lots of bedrooms so they can rent the house to groups on Airbnb if they like.

In 2014, while recovering from a work-related injury, Denver-area firefighter Regan Foster started exploring the idea of shipping containers for a new house he was planning to build. Two years later, he and his wife, Libby, moved into a home made mostly of the giant metal bins, having done much of the work themselves. They share the residence with their year-old daughter, Evie, and Libby’s mother.

The downstairs garden space offers another outdoor escape.