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

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."

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

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

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"

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.

The living room, dining room and kitchen are in one open space. The flooring is bamboo. The cabinetry is a mix of bamboo, walnut, and maple, and was fabricated by City Cabinetmakers out of San Francisco.

The countertops in the kitchen are a mix of quartz surfaces and custom and salvaged stainless steel. "We use the kitchen all of the time, it turned out really nice," says Melissa. "It's very open, certainly one of the central focuses of the house, and is fun for entertaining."

After - exterior and new cedar fence

Inspirational spaces

Shelter No. 2, Broisson Architects, 2008 This prefab made mostly of recycled materials is modest, but not too modest for a spiral staircase. Three levels culminate in a large skylight, which filters natural light all the way down to the ground floor's hydroponic garden.

It Will Get Loud: A Small Speaker That's Big on Sound Home audio companies are managing to make speakers smaller, more portable, and more wallet-friendly while keeping sound quality as robust as their larger (and pricier) brethren. Soundfreaq's co-founder and creative director Matthew Paprocki will demo and deconstruct the award-winning Sound Stack and demo Sound Platform 2 to let you in on the technology behind making big sound come from a tiny package. See this Saturday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m. on the Demonstration Stage.

The couple asked Bryan Richards of Real Natives Landscape Design to incorporate drought-tolerant plants into the landscaping. Surrounding a table from CB2 are chairs from Design Within Reach.

Conserve water and energy by swapping your regular kitchen and bathroom taps for more efficient faucets.

The interior is furnished with Lubi Daybeds from CB2, which Howell and Porter designed to include hidden cubbies behind and beneath the cushions.

Top 9 Kitchens of 2020: The nominees for this year’s Dwell Design Awards are the epitome of style and function.

Lauren and Brittan Ellingson, the owners of Notice Snowboards, a custom snowboard and wakesurf company in Whitefish, Montana, approached Workaday Design and builder Mindful Designs to concoct a new lake home for their family. The brief was, perhaps unsurprisingly, focused on getting the family outdoors as much as possible.

The Lofthouse is built one of the many hills separating it from the couple’s main residence. "Excavation was a challenge, as we wanted to maintain as much of the existing landscape as possible, but needed to clear out trees for the foundation," says Tarah.

The architects designed the home’s expansion with the knowledge that the owners plan to continue the renovation when their budget allows it. "We wanted to put everything in the right place so it doesn’t have to be undone later," says Corti.

Parota wood continues in the spacious kitchen. Marisa and Christopher found the blue tile that runs throughout the home on a trip to León, Mexico. "It called out to us," says Christopher. Festooned with small stars, its tone matches the color of the ocean perfectly.

Houston-based designer Barbara Hill is known for a stripped-down aesthetic that blends art-world cachet with Texas modernism. Vitra’s Slow chair sits in front of a powder-coated-steel bookcase made by Hill’s go-to fabricator, George Sacaris; it was originally built for the Houston house.

The architects embraced the modernist form of the new structure instead of cladding the extension in expensive brick to match the original Victorian’s exterior.

When architect Antonio Monserrat transformed an old 800-square-foot Brooklyn loft into his new home, he imbued his love of colorful, multifunctional design into an eye-catching renovation. Once used as a bakery in the early 20th century, the postindustrial space came with great bones—original exposed timber beams, 12-foot ceilings and large windows—that Monserrat used as a backdrop for his playful color choices, small-scale studio prototypes, and contemporary furnishings. From the emerald-green entryway with a hot-pink ceiling to the sunshine-yellow Kartell storage pieces, the Spanish architect’s loft beautifully blends creative inspiration with functionality.

At Under, a Snøhetta-designed restaurant balanced on the Norwegian coast, guests dine 16 feet below the ocean’s surface. The tilted concrete tube gives the impression that it’s sliding into the sea. “The idea was to make a tube that would bring people from above sea level down under the sea,” lead architect Rune Grasdal told Dezeen. “That transition is easy to understand, but it’s also the most effective way to do it. It also feels secure, but you don’t feel trapped.” The angle was also designed with the building’s aquatic neighbors in mind. Over time the structure will become part of its environment, acting as an artificial reef. Marine research tools like cameras have been installed outside the restaurant to help scientists learn about the population, behavior, and diversity of the species living in this part of the North Atlantic.

Located within walking distance to the coastal village of Matanzas, the two Maralto cabins are named La Loica and La Tagua after local bird species.

The Franklin stove adds an authentic touch to the updated cabin.

A "time and materials" contract outlines a set price for labor and materials based on hourly rates or price per quantity.

Tweak, another kitty, sits at the brass-clad kitchen island on a Ghost stool by Philippe Starck.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves provide ample storage for books and memorabilia.

Pine plywood complements the home's bright white walls and beams, while the heightened ceilings and multiple windows make the space feel larger than its 527 square feet.

The 540-square-foot one-bedroom apartment that architect Pierre Escobar, of L'atelier Nomadic Architecture Studio, recreated as a three-bedroom home for a family of five features a narrow doorway that accesses a bedroom off the kitchen.