this is where people live.

A view of the Abel House and its classic Sea Ranch design. With sloping rooflines and a naturally aged wood exterior, the minimalist aesthetic is meant to blend with nature.

The mirror was replaced with a long window. The buffet moved with the owner from her childhood home. Black Eames chairs surround a generous wood table sourced by Annie Wise.

The 1894 Queen Anne Victorian features an open floor plan that juxtaposes classic original features with cool modern elements—many of which are customized for the home.

The open-plan great room is bright and airy, with a modern feel that nods to the home's midcentury roots.

In the South Bay, San Jose–based BLAINE Architects expanded this Eichler by transforming the old carport into an atrium. A folding glass NanaWall system allows the owners to watch their kids in the playroom from the kitchen.

This single-family residence in Bloomfield, Michigan, known as the Treehaus, embodies the iconic style of midcentury modernism. Thanks to a thoughtful renovation, this rare dwelling has been restored to its original state of refined elegance.

"We installed a lot of ceiling-to-floor glass and connections with the window systems that may have been atypical but so we could include as much glass as possible," says homeowner and architect Matt Loosemore of SUM Design Studio + Architecture. Since the design was not for a client, he says, "We skirted around recommended detailing, but it was for our own use, so we were happy to explore alternatives."

After: The kitchen faces the back garden and benefits from a double height atrium space. Pine has been used for the kitchen flooring and cabinets. Extensive glazing gives the ground floor living spaces a direct visual link with the courtyard and terrace.

When Rob and Mary Lubera started pulling threads to uncover the origins of their new home—the lone midcentury house amid rows of Tudor Revivals in suburban Detroit—not even architecture scholars could have anticipated what they would find. Theirs is the last surviving residence by Alexander Girard (1907–1993), a modernist visionary who made his name in textiles but tried his hand at virtually everything, architecture included. The shoji-like laminate screens, seen in the entryway, are characteristic of his Japanese-influenced work.

Kitchen 01

When Austin-based firm Matt Fajkus Architecture was tasked with renovating this classic midcentury home, they sought to open up the interior—not only by unifying the common areas into an open-plan layout, but also by literally raising the home's roof. This strategy increased the ceiling height on three sides of the home, allowing for the insertion of clerestory windows to create a bright and airy open living space. "The raised ceiling maintains the original pitched roof geometry to stay harmonious with the existing gabled roof in the private zone," explain the architects in a statement.

Plant Prefab was originally established in 2016 as an offshoot of LivingHomes, a design and development company that’s built dozens of award-winning prefabs—including actor Will Arnett's home.

Current owners Scott and Kelsey Bouska worked with Landscape East & West to replenish the half-acre property.

The home exterior was recently sandblasted and painted with a ship-grade, high-gloss industrial paint.