The second-floor plan: 1. Rooftop garden, 2. Media room, 3. Guest bedroom, 4. Bathroom, 5. Deck.

The exterior of Connect 4L 1,600 sf 3 bed 3 bath 2 story modern prefab.

Named Los Terrenos, meaning The Terrains, this retreat in Monterrey, Mexico, was designed by Mexico City–based architect Tatiana Bilbao to reflect the lush woodland hillside it sits on. The dwelling consists of two volumes made of rammed earth, terracotta clay bricks, and a facade clad in mirrored glass.

The design as shown above is 1,000 square feet, and includes 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths plus carport. It can easily be modified for a 3rd bedroom.

"It was rundown, dark, and divided," recalls Masaaki of his first impression of the warehouse, the ground floor of a multistory apartment building. But after some thought, Masaaki, a Japanese-born architect, and Esther, an artist from Minorca, realized that owning the combined 2,700 square feet would allow them to headquarter Mas-aqui, the architecture and design firm they were planning to start, on-site. They bought the property and within months transformed it into a bright, modern live/work space.

The dining area features a PH5 pendant by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, a T12 table by Hay, and Møller Model 77 side chairs. A 1960s rocking chair by Vladimir Kagan sets off the living area.

NOEM, a Barcelona–based architecture firm, created a metal-clad house for a young client just outside Madrid. It’s raised 12 feet off the ground to offer better views of the landscape, lending it "the futuristic feeling that it just landed," says Pol Guiu, one of NOEM’s cofounders.

6 and 3

Tsai Design was able to double the home’s footprint via a rear addition that includes two bedrooms and two bathrooms. (The original home was 645 square feet, and the extension added 614 square feet.) The firm then introduced plenty of natural light and three separate exterior decks that add up to 270 square feet of outdoor space.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

A new office sits at the front of the house, and its moody walls and bookshelves contrast the other rooms' mostly light and neutral palette.

Chickens foraging in an enclosed garden with vertical planters.

Completed in May 2018, the Crossfield Street House is the residence of architect Jonathan Pile, his wife Katherine, and their five-year-old son.

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

In this updated 1950s Portland home, a light gray Neo sofa by Bensen harmonizes with warm wooden walls, ceilings, and floors, as well as a red-and-mustard-yellow vintage rug.

After 15 years of living in a one-bedroom flat above their specialty violin shop in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, the owners were tired of trekking downstairs to their workshop in order to use the building’s only bathroom.

The box-shaped extension plays off the familiar farmhouse typology, creating a series of intriguing contrasts.

A painting by Ginger’s grandmother hangs above a midcentury dining set Ginger found on Craigslist.

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

Lightroom 1.0, a photography studio, is a freestanding structure on the property. “Together, they represent an autobiography of my career,” Carpenter says.

A modular shelf system by Alu provides a more sculptural take on the classic bathroom vanity in this Toronto home.

Linda Taalman and Alan Koch, of Taalman Koch Architects, completed work on their glass iT House, a lovely, minimal home that tests the limits of living lightly on the land in the desert near Joshua Tree National Park. The bath and basin in the bathroom are by Duravit, and the orange wall is by Three Form.

Detail of the kitchen

Both the sitting and standing versions of DESK 01, a collaboration between Artifox and IdeaPaint, are outfitted with dry erase surfaces for recording sudden bursts of creativity.

Style: "#1"

"Shane enjoys both cooking and entertaining so we maximized the counter space to make meal prep and hosting easy," Priftaj says. "It was also very important that the kitchen include a gas grill so he could quickly and conveniently grill without having to climb up five flights of stairs to use the bbq on the patio." Priftaj selected high-gloss acrylic white cabinets from bulthaup's b3 line with an aluminum backsplash and b3 prism drawer system to keep things tidy. A Wolf hood and gas cooktop with chargrill give Carslake the flexibility he desired for indoor grilling. The counters are polished white quartz.

The sunken living room is just one of many grade changes inside the structure. “We were adamant that we didn’t want something domestic,” says Andrew. “We wanted something surprising, that was hyper-animated, and that, when you moved through it, changed all the time.” The sofa, designed by the couple and Levenbetts, is upholstered in cotton velvet. The Habibi side tables are by Philipp Mainzer for e15, the fireplace tools by Fort Standard, and the doors by Fleetwood.

The 260-square-foot Hytte module features tall ceilings of up to nearly 12 feet. Multiple windows fill the interior with natural light and frame views of the outdoors.

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden.

When designer Hilton Carter furnished the industrial-style Baltimore apartment and work studio he shares with his wife Fiona, their dog Charlie and two cats Zoe and Isabella, he created a wondrous indoor woodland that offers all the benefits of being outdoors without leaving home.

The colors used in the interior were inspired by the surrounding landscape. The kitchen island is clad in solid timber fluting crafted from durable plantation-grown iroko with with a granite top. “The green-blue-brown color of the granite benchtops very much reminded me of the colors of the water in the nearby harbor of Tutakaka,” says architect Belinda George.

A custom sofa was installed on the far side of the bathroom for even more space to relax.

Platform is being framed out in 2' x 6' wood studs.