This chic, reusable cutlery is made from organic, food-safe bamboo and water-based adhesives, and finished with premium natural oils. Set the perfect picnic table in safe, natural style.

A wall of bamboo adjacent to the atrium floor provides a dramatic and seductive green entrance—“natural art,” Eric calls it.

Among the first Passive Houses in France, this bamboo-clad farmhouse by the Parisian firm Karawitz Architecture only uses a tenth of the energy a conventionally constructed home does. Photo by Nicholas Calcott.

The entrance hall, with bamboo flooring, dark grey paintwork, and a cork wall for added texture.

Stylish display shelving in the entrance hallway.

The architects designed the large dining table, which is framed by the open kitchen, the wood-burning stove, and the garden beyond.

A linear sequence of eight, 12-foot bays extends the length of the home from rear bedrooms and an office to the open kitchen and living room space. The modest form, a reflection of the owners' desire for simplicity, required few materials: wood, concrete, and steel. Photo by Ron Johnson.

An infrared sauna.

This chic, reusable cutlery is made from organic, food-safe bamboo and water-based adhesives, and finished with premium natural oils. Enjoy the perfect picnic in safe, natural style.

Oki Cutlery by KiBiSi. Designed in 2007 to combine the idea of a chopstick rest ("hashi oki") with Scandinavian cutlery design so the ends of the forks, spoons, and knives never touch the tabletop. In prototyping phase. Photo courtesy of KiBiSi

Bamboo flooring and custom built-ins—fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white-lacquer finish—brightened Gavin and Sheila Smith’s 650-square-foot attic. Gavin Smith designed the blackened-steel balustrade, which has cable inserts and a walnut handrail.

Two-inch-thick bamboo treads and a bamboo handrail on the stairs lead the way to the second floor.

Colourful pendant lighting by Muuto hangs above the reclaimed timber dining table.

A close-up of the bookshelves made of MDF clad in bamboo veneer.

Bamboo plywood is used throughout the house for all integrated furniture, including the kitchen cabinets. The pendant lights are prototypes designed by Jamie McLellan for Tom Dixon and the stools are by Konstantin Grcic for Magis.

Set amongst the trees, with its simple form and earthy adherence to wood, the home fits in well. "Veronica and I walked the land for many months before we decided where to put the house," says Hirsh. "We had picnics there. We sat looking east. We sat looking west. We sat looking south. The site felt wonderful." Photo by Ron Johnson.

Continuing the midcentury modern aesthetic, the dining room includes a tulip-style dining table with Modernica shell chairs.

The 2nd floor corridor creates a light-filled axial connection to all 4 bedrooms and their amenities.

The trip from garage to first floor is through a wood-clad spiral staircase that resembles a giant slatted barrel.

The units don't even require foundations—simple ground screws from Krinner are enough to support them.

The interiors are furnished with midcentury modern pieces, including this vintage Eames Aluminum Group chair.

With input from her clients, Barensfeld used a computer to generate the circular patterns that were carved into a pair of Cor-Ten steel screens with a water-jet cutter. The perforations allow light and the green of the surrounding Koi bamboo to filter into the space while preserving privacy.

While it's not your traditional backsplash material, when properly prepared and treated, wood can make for an effective, functional, and beautiful backsplash. Here, the wood backsplash matches the wood of the nearby kitchen island in an otherwise white kitchen with white cabinetry.

A vintage Danish teak armchair sits against a London stocks brick wall.

"The shrine room, the temple, is the reason I built the house," Gordon says. "I am not a religious person but hold the views and the practices of the Buddhist tradition in very high regard and have a deep heart connection with my teacher in Arkansas." The room is clad entirely in bamboo and frames a view of the surrounding deciduous forest.

Inspired by mid-century furniture designer George Nakashima, Seggerman crafted the components by hand in his home studio. The cabinetry in the kitchen and shelving in the bedroom seamlessly flow, adding the impression that there is more space. Photo by David Engelhardt.

The bamboo garden, home to Oscar the tortoise, abuts the walkway leading to the central courtyard.

The diminutive Morsø wood stove and its hearth of local Criehaven beach stone gives off enough heat to warm the entire cottage.

"We composed the house to have its highest, brightest space in the middle," says Paul Raff. Warm wood stairs lead to the second floor, which houses guest bedrooms, bath, and a kitchenette for the family's frequent visitors.

Malboeuf stands at a Fisher & Paykel refrigerator in the kitchen. He and Bowie shopped around to find appliances that balance cost and performance: the dishwasher is Bosch, the gas cooktop is Dacor, and the oven is Fagor. Walnut veneer clads the cabinets, and the floors are bamboo.

Natural bamboo flooring was used throughout the home, as well as dimmable LED lighting. The house incorporates a hybrid heat pump water heater, which draws in ambient heat from the surrounding air, moves it across condenser coils, then transfers it into the tank to heat the water. This device creates the same amount of hot water as a traditional electric water heater, but reduces water-heating expenses up to 62%.

Pre-engineered dark stained bamboo flooring closely mimics the exterior decking material, creating a fluid transition from the interior to the exterior.

The children’s rooms, which are reserved for family and an extended network of friends, feature more custom Crasset-designed beds set against a vivid blue backdrop, courtesy of the French paint brand Zolpan.