The office houses the letter “U" as well as cameras.

Nestled within a forest clearing near the Argentinian city of Córdoba, this 2,153-square-foot house named "La Negrita" is designed to exist in harmony with nature. Designed by Córdoba–based Morini Arquitectos, the house first reveals itself as a black corrugated wall in the middle of the woodlands. "The house is totally introverted [and] mysterious towards the street and extroverted towards the interior," says Morini.

A Woodchuck-made loft bed anchors Sam's room. The dark green playmat is by Alex Playmats.

The home's wood deck is a neutral base that compliments the home's back and white features.

Composed of overlapping cubes of different sizes, the Gjøvik house by Danish firm Norm Architects gracefully embraces its hillside terrain—naturally blending in with its stunning surroundings near Mjøsa Lake an hour north of Oslo.

A view into the sleeping nook.

This wall shelf, made of powder-coated steel and oak, is available in different sizes and colors, all of which give an almost invisible, shadow-box effect when mounted.

This compact Brooklyn kitchen features a white Corian counter and integrated sink, IKEA cabinets with custom pulls, and geometric floor tiles in black, white and green from a collaborative series by Heath and Dwell. Black appliances pull the look together nicely.

An archival photo shows the interior of the detached studio with drafting tables awash in light through the enormous skylight above.

Built in the early 60s, the separate concrete-and-glass studio echoes the original home.

A stone path leads from the backyard, up the hillside, and arrives at the streetside entryway. The rhythmic pattern of the concrete garage, as well as the pedestrian walkway, are front and center. The privacy of the living and sleeping areas, seen at the left through floor-to-ceiling windows, are shielded from public view by the hill and the stone wall.

Minimalist sliding doors separate the rooms.

An existing bedroom was sacrificed to make room for a first-floor bathroom, which is fitted with a large skylight. The herringbone wall tiles are from Topps Tiles.

An old sugarcane dock was turned into a swimming pool, which offers views of the Karst mountains and Li River from a distance.

The home’s sunny vestibule features a vibrant yellow door and a photo by William Bailey.

Local 123 and Flowerland is the East Bay's version of S.F. favorite Flora Grubb.

Before the 1969 Airstream was home to Local 123, it belonged to Oakland's Remedy Coffee. Hoffman and her team of helpers worked for three months to revamp the interior and bring it up to Alameda County's rigorous health code. "We enlisted the help of our artist friend and Local 123 Gallery curator Alex Case to fix the shoddy cover-up work, build out a proper hand sink, add storage shelving and stereo cabinet areas, install aluminum cove base, clean up and seal existing wood finishes, repair plumbing lines, reroute the precariously hung electrical conduit, and rodent- and weatherproof the trailer's floor. Friends and family helped repaint, deep clean the interior and aluminum exterior, and adorn the trailer," recounts Hoffman.

The four neutral shades of the tile are also suitable for outdoor applications.

Local 123 is open Wednesday through Monday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (though the nursery is closed Tuesdays. Find the cafe at 1330 Solano Avenue in Albany, California. For more information, please visit local123cafe.com.

The nursery has continually been in operation since the 1940s and is peppered with vintage artifacts.

Local 123's creamer station rests atop an orange metal ironing board found at Berkeley's Urban Ore.

Here's some of the cafe's glassware emblazoned with their logo.

Some fine latte work by Ebel; the drink was excellent.

"Most of the existing brewing equipment was damaged or beyond repair, so we bought a Fetco Extractor for small-batch drip brewing, set up an inexpensive but sleek pourover bar (scale, Hario v60 dripper, Able Kone metal and paper filters), installed a new Ditting for grinding bulk coffee and Mazzer Kony-E for espresso," says Hoffman.

Once inside, Hoffman (right) and Ebel (left) make an espresso drink. "With the help of our roaster friends at Four Barrel, we revived a 3-group Linea-AV La Marzocco, our workhorse of an espresso machine," says Hoffman.

Hoffman let us tour the interior. Here's the side door.

A diorama inside the nursery shop, which is prime for perusing.

Cake stands sourced from local thrift shops display an array of cookies and sandwiches. On any given day you might find dark chocolate sea salt cookies, flourless peanut butter cookies, and hand-rolled vegan truffles.

The cafe is situated in Flowerland Nursery, which was first opened in the 1940s. The current owner, Carly Dennett, bought Flowerland about three-and-a-half years ago (she's only the third person to own the historic business). At the time, it was mostly selling sod, pesticides, and fertilizers. "It was kind of stuck in time," she says. Now, green-thumbed shoppers can peruse aisle upon aisle of flowers, vegetable starters, succulents, garden accessories, outdoor furniture, and more at the shop. "Dennett, a Local 123 regular, approached me about setting up a coffee cart at her nursery. We had been looking for the right second location for over a year at that time and I knew immediately from her vibe and her gorgeous shop that this was it," says Hoffman.