Purple thistles, California poppies, clover, and dandelions have all taken root in the roughly 10-inch-deep, lightweight humus and grape-husk soil in this 580-square-foot green roof. Designer Peter Liang says that he "wanted to plant a green roof for its thermal mass, but I wanted it to be as natural as possible."

A PK 22 Easy Chair by Poul Kjaerholm for Fritz Hansen adds a dash of yellow to the breakfast room.

It might not make you popular with your contractor, but for a more streamlined look, Chris recommends forgoing trim. "It lends a clean look with less visual clutter," the architect says. In their house, the doors, lights, cabinetry, and even wall sockets (all 22 by Bocci) are installed without trim. This allows the planar surfaces to recede and do their jobs without unnecessarily distracting the eye.

Abutting a costal reserve, the property has uninterrupted views of the Snowy River and surrounding wetlands

Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

The owners toured this home, which surrounds a mature tipu tipu tree, while visiting relatives for the day. The brick is original to the 1947 construction.

Sliding doors by Quantum were made to look like the original panes that couldn't be saved, and they lead to a fire pit outside.

The view!

At the top of the stairwell, a sitting area is outfitted with a vintage Eames lounge, a large Jack Goldstein painting, and a 1970s light fixture found by Marcovitz in Paris.

The kitchen features a concrete island topped with marble. Deja-Vu stools by Naoto Fukasawa surround the island. A print by Guy Gormley, as well as a painting bought during holiday in St. Tropez, hang on the walls.

The three levels of the house transition from public to private: The ground floor is composed of the kitchen and living-dining area; the bathroom and closet occupy the mezzanine, accessed by a ship’s ladder; and the sleeping loft hovers a couple steps above. The seminal 1970s tome A Pattern Language, written by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein, inspired the layout. “I’m a huge proponent of the [book],” says Azevedo. “I like the ideas of a bed as an alcove, natural light on two sides of a room, varying ceiling heights, and different levels of privacy.”

Bocci's 22 Series offers stealthy electrical, cable, USB, and phone outlets.

The three arms of the Apfel House stretch out to catch the best views of Ranco Lake and the Andes Mountains.

Take a look at some of the most exciting, sustainable buildings around the world, and you may notice something they have in common: green roofs, or rooftops covered with a thin layer of soil to allow for grasses and other low-lying plants to grow.

Mary and Kundan Bhullar built a shipshape country escape that sits lightly on the land in the Aravalli hills near Gurgaon, India.

The Armadillo is parked on a 1,000-square-foot lot that gives the couple ample outdoor space.

New Depths Inspired by a local winery, George Kyprianou wanted a glass top on his subterranean wine cellar. The interior is lit, casting soft light into the living space at night and revealing the 132-year-old stone foundation. The three-quarter-inch glass lid sits flush with the floorboards; it opens with an ingenious device that Kyprianou devised using a 12-volt air compressor and a remote-controlled switch. When you push the button, the glass lifts just enough to be removed by hand.

Light Box Peter created a simple uplight at the top of the wood box by wiring together energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures typically used under cabinets and countertops. “The cheaper magnetic models hum unacceptably loudly, so make sure you get the electronic ballast types,” he warns. He then painted the cavity white to reflect light and covered them with quarter-inch-thick acrylic from TAP Plastics. homedepot.com tapplastics.com

The view of Kapiti Island is fully revealed from the tower.

The extended clan, which includes about two dozen members, collaborated with Gray Organschi Architecture to design an inclusive home for three generations.

Challenged by the dimensions of the narrow lot, the team worked through significant programmatic and logistical constraints during the design and construction process. The final concept for the layout was a modern take on the side hall plan. The living spaces are stretched back deep into the lot, and strategically raised above grade to allow sunlight to penetrate into multiple living spaces. The multifunctional courtyard serves as outdoor workspace, gardening area, children's play area, and covered parking during winter months.

The top container contains Wardell's office—and a "napping nook" above that.

In the dining area, a one-of-a-kind table with a reclaimed Carrara marble top by NET—themultidisciplinary design firm of architect Alejandro Sticotti, with whom Nicolas works—is surrounded by prototypes of the company’s Board chair. The family dog, China, sits on a floor made of travertine tiles.

The architects added a small circular skylight to serve as a vertical focal point in the center of the fifth floor. The quarter-sawn white oak risers produce a beautiful rippled grain highlighted by the abundant natural light.

“Every time you challenge a basic assumption, there needs to be some method of expressing the fact that there’s new logic at work.”—Omer Arbel, creative director at Bocci

PeaceBOMB Bracelets by Article 22 "A22PeaceBomb3" $38.00 for three A special product with a special story. PeaceBOMB bracelets are crafted from the reclaimed metal of Vietnam-era bombs dropped on Laos during the United States' conflict in Indochina. Developed through a social enterprise that supports sustainable development through design thinking, its collaborators include Naphia spoon makers, Helvetas’s Rural Income Through Sustainable Energy Project and ARTICLE 22. These bracelets not only represent an opportunity for artisan families to generate income, but also tell a story about their makers and the legacies of a shared history. Buy the bombs back!"

To add cards to your Coin, you need to take a photo of the front and back and then use a provided card reader to swipe the card. Once your cards have been synced, you can use the app to manage your library and choose which cards you'd like to use on the physical Coin. Although the accompanying mobile app can store an unlimited number of cards, a Coin card holds no more than eight.

Coin is about the same size as a traditional credit card, and comes in a similar plastic.

Pressing a small buton on the card lets you toggle through the different credit card accounts that you have uploaded to Coin. Currently, Coin only assimilates magnetic stripe cards and has no support for the up-and-coming EMV chip technology.

Coin uses a low-power Bluetooth signal to communicate with the app. If you ever leave your Coin behind while buying coffee, your phone will receive a notification asking whether you left without remembering to take your card. A phone is not required to use the card, however.

The Coin's screen displays the credit card brand, the last 4 digits of the card number, and the expiration date on a digital display. There's a signature panel on the back.

Bucket is currently trying to get funding for the Portland Press on the site Crowd Supply. Part of their pitch is that the Portland Press is a made-in-America product whose most delicate part is easily replaced. "The Portland Press is a french press for a Mason jar, made in the state of Oregon, out of materials sourced in the USA. It’s a simple, clean, practical design made out of fundamental materials: glass, wool, steel, wood. Most importantly, the Mason jar is easy to replace if it breaks, and the rest of the Portland Press is backed with a lifetime warranty."

Playmobilia stools by Tania da Cruz. See it at Salone Satellite booth C24.