Ways to Literally Live Large

Ikea cabinets were combined with durable work surfaces and personal touches like a chalkboard wall. Decopour flooring, a cement topping similar to terrazzo, is a very durable, family friendly surface. Kitchen, dining and outdoor space flow around a 12-foot long island—nicknamed "the mother of all islands" by the residents.

Inside, the slim cedar boards wrap the walls horizontally, a visual trick that seemingly expands the home’s petite footprint.

Tall and surprisingly open, the Tel Aviv Town House by Pitsou Kedem Architects continues in the tradition of its Bauhaus-inspired neighbors with a white facade and black window frames.

With the white exterior and huge black-framed windows, this six-story, 4,843-square-foot town house with the is a contemporary update on Bauhaus forms. Inside, suspended floors mean that each level is both open and adaptable, and because the house is divided up between so many floors, the black steel staircase doubles as an architectural showpiece and a perpetually used bit of circulation.

As the facade of a Bates Masi-designed home in Water Mill, New York, rises from eight to 14 feet high, the mahogany planks subtly widen. “It was quite a demand to make of the contractor,” architect Paul Masi says. “But the design was so much about traveling through the site and weaving [the house] together with the deck.”

With this elegant steel prototype, Marmol Radziner and Associates launch a new prefab venture with the goal of bringing their modern design sensibilities to a broader market. When you think of prefab, “palatial” is probably not what comes to mind. But as you take the bend of the desert road, their house—4,500 square feet of sturdy steel modules (2,100 interior square feet and 2,450 covered exterior square feet) rooted onto a concrete pad atop an untamed hill—looms into view like a sleek metal oasis.

"Pulling the buildings apart allows what is not a big house to feel really big," says architect Jonathan Feldman of the sustainable retirement home he built for a couple in California. "Because of the ways it opens up, it feels much more expansive than it really is."

The living-dining area of a beach house designed by El Salvador firm Cincopatasalgato features a custom bar cart by local designers Claudia & Harry Washington, a built-in sofa, and an Ikono chair and Circa low tables by The Carrot Concept. An Isis model from Big Ass Fans is above.

“All our kids moved out long ago, but now all the grandchildren stay over frequently,” Wilma said. “The open space is great for them. They can bike and run around inside and with the walls of windows, we can keep an eye on them when they’re outside.” The stairs were custom made by Level Trappen, with a steel railing resembling interlaced branches from the nearby forest.

Clad in a rich wood palette, architect Charles Gane's summer cottage on the Georgian Bay draws all its energy needs from a mighty solar array. The home maintains remarkable material consistency, with Douglas fir cladding the beams, kitchen countertop, and interior walls. The open-plan kitchen absorbs views of the lake through an expansive glass wall.

When husband and wife duo Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba were planning their vacation home, they fell in love with an old mill dating back to the 17th century in Sogliano Cavour, a small village in the province of Lecce. Keeping the ancient stone floors, walls, and arches intact, they made their own mark on the space by showcasing their own designs like the one-off version of their Lama chaise longue, originally designed for Zanotta, which graces the living room. There are also feature pieces made specifically for the abode including all the fixtures, doors, and iron lamps commissioned from local makers.