Small Spaces

An orange lantern lights the way to an angular gray structure.

Each of the sliding trays in Pozner’s tidy office desk serves a different function.

The modular shoveled and drawers were designed into four separate categories based on the measurement of each object.

“Try to group uses and find solutions that solve multiple problems,” Borowski counsels. As an example, Pozner cites the idea of having the loft stairs double as clothing drawers. Though he eschewed a handrail, preferring a cleaner look, Pozner says that the slipperiness of the stairs “remains a work in progress. We had grooves, but they hurt my feet.” The pair are now looking into heavy-duty felt treads.

Pozner credits Borowski with the idea to use a roller shade, purchased at the Shade Store, to close off the sleeping loft. The simple intervention, neither sound- nor lightproof, is sufficient to demarcate one “room” from another.

The studio occupies the corner of a backyard filled with carefully-tended plants. They positioned the studio at the yard’s far corner, diagonal from the main house’s back door, to create a path through the garden that would engage visitors in landscape.

Working with a limited budget, First Lamp designed and built one principle architectural flourish: exposed Douglas fir rafters that would weather to a brighter red over the years and accent the white siding.

Outside, the couple clad the house with a rain screen of 1.5-by-1.5-inch strips of spruce to create a “modern rustic barn.” The extra-deep sills of the first-floor window become a bench on the outside and a shelf on the inside.

Constructed by landscaper Ronald Gramajo for a California family, the outbuilding would make for a great she shed for relaxing, hanging out, writing, or even yoga or art.

For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design.

The wellness area is divided into two areas: a wet zone with a stone swimming pool, sauna, and a Turkish bath; and a separate zone for spa treatments.

The back view of the

Guest rooms offer unparalleled views of the sea, and terraces perfect for enjoying breakfast al fresco or the magical sunset.

Australian firm Archiblox designed the world's first carbon-positive prefab with interiors filled with sustainably sourced plywood with formaldehyde- and VOC-free finishes.

Students from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, designed these cabins to be placed at campgrounds throughout the state. Named “The Wedge” this sloped-roof wood structure with plywood interior walls was built in just four days.