Pliny the Lounger Chair by Loll “This is actually a modern take on an old 1939 lounge chair. It’s made out of milk jugs by Loll, which is based in Duluth, and part of a sustainable line of indoor and outdoor furniture. It’s insanely durable; you can have it outside in the snow all winter and it’s fine, just what we need in the Midwest.”

Ryan Anderson of RAD Furniture designed the stools as well as the table and benches on the pool deck.

Classic butterfly chairs from Universal Patio Furniture are stationed by the pool. The mural is by street artist Morley, a close friend.

Composed of primarily steel, this prefab home has sufficient outdoor space. Photo by: Daniel Hennessy

Michèle Monory’s Chinon farmhouse is an idyllic getaway from her home basein Paris. After she inherited the property and centuries-old structure from her father, she hired Matali Crasset, who runs a cutting-edge architecture and design firm, to update the living spaces.

New pine and spruce wood from the Pyrenees (both recyclable and PEFC certified) were selected for the façade of the 1,000-square-foot prefab. Smart blinds cover the windows, rigged to open and close depending on the weather forecast.

Seen from the guesthouse, the new home touches every corner of the property without overwhelming its natural beauty.

The back of the home glows at night as the giant, two-story glass doors swing open to remove the barrier between inside and out. A polished concrete patio deck and pool, along with a simple block perimeter wall, make smart use of available materials. The pool acts as a passive conditioning tool, cooling air before it enters the house. The block wall is positioned 31 inches from the house, creating a gap or "air chimney" that allows air to circulate up and away from the home, while simultaneously letting light filter down.

The residents decided to convert a koi pond on the property into a petite pool. Next steps for the renovators are updating the kitchen and increasing its size by expanding it into the mudroom and laundry room.

The inner courtyard is the core of the home.

Masi also turned the miniscule guest quarters into a pool house.

The dining room features 1970s leather-and-brass dining chairs and a table concocted from a brass-and-silver base and a custom lacquered top. The cheerful blue paint enlivening the doorway is from Emery & Cie.

To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.

Though the front of this 1880s home in Adelaide, Australia, maintains a traditional facade due to strict heritage laws, the rear is modern eye candy at its best. See more of the home.

Melanie Maher sunbathes beneath the lattice of a pool house, which is clad in Cor-Ten steel.

The pool feels as laterally finite as the house feels spacious—but the view goes up forever.

A collection of Miss Petra chairs from Myyour are next to the pool; all lighting for the house is by Skip Yeknik.

The swimming pool offers an alternative plunge to the nearby Bantam River.

The dwelling showcases the designer’s collection of Danish chairs and loungers from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s — including pieces designed by Kofod Larsen, J.L Moller, Harry Ostergaard, Bruno Mathsson, and Hans J. Wegner.

The concrete wall echoes the curves of the pool’s portholes.

The geometric pool also captures views of the lush landscape.

Lisette requested the central work island, which cantilevers over the pool.

The home's exterior, composed of concrete and glass, welcomes guests with a traditional water fountain in the entryway. Photo by: Bill Timmerman

Their property features an abundance of local flora and fauna. “We have deer that come from Griffith Park through our garden,” Judith says.

The architects discreetly sunk a pool into the roof terrace of the old corral. In order to shade part of the terrace, the architects designed a freestanding sun shelter. So as not to damage the outer walls of the old building, a galvanized-steel frame is secured to the terrace floor. A bamboo-reed covering projects a soft, filtered light onto the outdoor living area below.

This open-concept Amsterdam loft features soaring 15-foot ceilings, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, and a Jielde light. Throughout the home, Standard Studio architects Wouter Slot and Jurjen van Hulzen favored raw materials, including concrete, oiled oak, and hot-rolled steel, all of which complemented the original space's industrial feel. Tucked smartly underneath the loft, a compact home office features functional built-in shelving and an Eames DSR chair.

The pool of the Phoenix house feels as laterally finite as the house feels spacious—but the view goes up forever. Photo by Dean Kaufman.

Homeowner Susanna prefers a motley set of dining chairs over a coordinated set; that way, guests can pick their favorite when they sit. Photo by: Petra Bindel

There are plenty of places to sprawl in the living room, including an Eames lounger and a custom-made orange chair.

A 41-foot-long heated saltwater pool includes a submerged tanning ledge. The hot tub was created using concrete and stucco. The outdoor area includes lounge chairs from Jøna’s curatory, Cast + Crew.

In an effort to create an abundance of light and air flow throughout the space, the home follows an L-shaped floor plan that wraps around outdoor areas. “We designed several open spaces, each with a different feel: the garden and pool, the terrace, and the back patio,” says Cesarman. “The idea was to reduce the area to the most basic and essential [elements].”

Dish’s Island sun lounger by Alexander Seifried for Richard Lampert, $2,430 Named for a character in Robert Altman’s film MASH, this weather-resistant lounge chair is sized to fit smaller urban spaces.

Books pepper the Toronto apartment, but most are housed in two libraries, one of which is dedicated to art and photography. It also features a Palms lounger by Dutch designer Frans Schrofer and the painting Any Number of Preoccupations by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. The second bedroom, which also functions as a library, has Vitsœ shelving and houses owner Kenneth Montague’s book collection.

Chair Necessities The couple’s four Chair One dining chairs by Konstantin Grcic for Magis are among their most prized possessions. They had been given their dining table as a wedding gift but couldn’t afford enough chairs to surround it, so they opted for a wooden bench on one side and the Grcic chairs on the other. Davor says he’s pleased they purchased the chairs early in the design process before the budget got really tight. magisdesign.com

The pool house patio, featuring Harbour Outdoor sun loungers.

In Palm Springs, Sander Architects created an energy-efficient hybrid prefab home that’s designed to stay naturally cool in the desert heat, which often climbs to triple digits in the summer.