Mami and Goo the Kishu dog return from a frolic in the forest, which the couple, along with Hideaki, has thinned and trimmed back over many weekends. It’s an idyllic escape and a world away from the concrete expanse of Tokyo.

By reducing the bedroom to its essentials and filling it with windows, the El Cosmico staff has made this small space as expansive as the desert beyond.

Gustav cycle by Coh&Co, 2015.

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

Eric Ripert invited Dwell into his personal kitchen he co-designed with Poggenpohl and made us the perfect cod basquaise.

Inspirational spaces

When the Casali family gave Michael Krus and Prishram Jain of TACT Architecture free rein to work with unconventional materials, the architects responded by creating a geometric 4,300-square-foot smart home encased in aluminum panels by Agway Metals. The front facade features Cor-Ten steel fabricated by Praxy Cladding.

With primary colors and a classic shape, this pot is a throwback to childhood tea parties with a grown-up sensibility. $65 from store.dwell.com.

Utah. Ogden-based leather goods company Stock and Barrel Co. produce bags, belts, and cases that balance sophistication and rusticity.

Each of the 20 guest rooms are comfortable, but intentionally minimal. The idea is to encourage guests to utilize the motel’s ample communal spaces, especially during the summer.

Cutting boards by Reykjavik Trading Co.-Designer Anthony Bacigalupo grew up in a very different environment from the one he now calls home. With the culture, climate, and aesthetics of central California as early reference he and his Icelandic girlfriend Ýr Káradóttir now combine a nowhere-but-there Pacific Coast aesthetic with vintage Icelandic design. "Our focus is on sustainability,” explained Bacigalupo. “Our serving boards are painted with natural and food-safe milk paint." The color-blocked oak boards made it on to my mental wish list. Would I use them for their intended purpose? Maybe not, but just like many of the products from companies Bacigalupo has worked with before (Apple, Bang and Olufsen), there is a certain must-have quality to them. The oak is grown in Kentucky which makes me question their eco credentials somewhat, but I like the way they look and the feelings they trigger. Photo by: Tiffany Orvet

The Lotus Chair by Miller Yee Fong for Fong Brothers Co., 1968. Photo by Museum Associates/LACMA.

Original Planter Box Yield Design Co.

“Knowing that the kitchen would be where the family would spend most of their time, it was designed to have a variety of seating and really good views to the beautiful forest and field outside,” says Lewis. IKEA bar stools line up against white quartz countertops, and lighting by Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. shines overhead.

The Chore Glove, $18 at bestmadeco.com These Italian-made cowhide gloves are considered the gold standard for those who want to avoid getting their hands dirty.

These sweet little planters are brand new from San Francisco design outfit Yield, a company that also brought us the ingenious Picnic Bags we fetured recently.

Con carne?

Snarkitecture for COS installation at Spazio Erbe. Via delle Erbe 2.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.

At night, the interior lighting casts the geometric window framing in silhouette.

Four bedrooms occupy the bottom level. The beds are by Modernica and a Womb chair by Eero Saarinen sits in the corner.

Turnkey Chevron by Andi Kubacki for Detroit Wallpaper Co. $65–$270 per roll, Eco-free wallpaper (PVC-, VOC-, and vinyl-free) made in the Motor City comes in 60 different color combinations.

EGG PRESS DOT SHEET SET A hand-printed pattern of dots adorns these 280-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets by Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.

The geometric front facade of the home is made of Cor-Ten steel, segregated into eight vertical panels. Juxtaposed with its lush natural environment, the front elevation is a minimal and abstract counterpoint to its surroundings. An exterior pool meets the facade at its base.

Cell International Co. Ltd, Photo by Sergio Pirrone

Cell International Co. Ltd, Photo by Sergio Pirrone

Architect Chris Pardo designed the Element 1 model for prefab builder Method Homes, cladding it in Cor-Ten steel and cedar. Pardo’s design “is the definition of simple, elegant, straightforward building,” resident Karen Kiest says.

A 24-by24-foot Cor-ten-clad pavilion tops the three-story addition.

Alabax Large light by Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. $135 A surface-mounted porcelain shade fabricated in Portland, Oregon.

Every mom deserves a bit of luxury in her life. We love this super soft cashmere throw in a waffle weave. It's the perfect companion for a chilly morning or evening and looks beautiful draped on the couch or foot of the bed.

Hyundai Department Store Co. Ltd, Photo by Sergio Pirrone

The same materials palette continues throughout the entire home. A cohesive marriage of Cor-Ten steel, handcrafted bricks, and marble floors come together at the home’s perimeter. The thick exterior walls were designed to act as an insulating barrier, shielding interior spaces against thermal loss.

A collection of Dixon's new gold pendants hangs in the Bar Club.

The Bar Club is outfitted with what Dixon describes as a "monolithic" bar holding his new Plum barware line.

Among designer furniture from Antonio Citterio and Arne Norell, built-ins filled with books line the living room of this Los Feliz, Los Angeles, renovation.