A look at the small reading nook located on the level between the bedroom and ground floor.

House O, designed by Jun Igarashi, forgoes hallways and interior doors in favor of casually interconnected rooms.

“So many houses seem like they’re completely still and heavy,” says Dencity architect Staffan Svenson. Inspired by his client’s role in the airline industry, Svenson relished the chance to create a home that evokes motion and lightness.

On an agricultural estate in Portugal, blaanc studio designed a simple retreat that does its utmost not to interfer with the scenic backdrop.

On the roof, Geller takes in the night sky with his telescope.

As grand as it ever was this renovated Eichler home in San Rafael, California, exudes warm light into the California hills. Photo by: Scott Hargis

Looking into the warm, brightly lit house at night offers a different kind of view, one that charmingly recalls the cutaway dioramas in Wes Anderson’s films.

A compact and vertical guest tower is sited at the western corner of the lot amongst tall evergreens, allowing for a more private guest experience, more compact floor plan, and the ability to effectively shut off (socially and energy-wise) the guest spaces zone by zone during typical daily use.

Set amongst the trees, with its simple form and earthy adherence to wood, the home fits in well. "Veronica and I walked the land for many months before we decided where to put the house," says Hirsh. "We had picnics there. We sat looking east. We sat looking west. We sat looking south. The site felt wonderful." Photo by Ron Johnson.

Sleeping nooks that look like the grooves in a block of cheese.

In all of its beige glory...

5.0.2

These steep pitches let snow slide off the roofs and create enough room inside for both men and their families to stand up and stretch.

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

A passage between the walls for hide and seek.

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"

A small recess is built into the wall, acting as a side table.

Oakland–based Building Lab effortlessly connected the patio to the living and bedroom areas just beyond the striking wall of windows.

The outer wall means residents don’t have to worry about privacy when the sun goes down and the house’s windows begin to glow.

The addition’s two stories of cedar-framed sliding doors and window provide generous views of the house’s prized jacaranda tree. The addition’s polished concrete floor and white cladding extend into the garden, drawing occupants to the serene rear porch. There, they can relax on stools designed by Alvar Aalto and Charles Wilson while admiring the luscious greenery.

At night, the house’s unique windows glow brightly, much like a lantern.

At night, subtle light fixtures provide soft ambient light. The lights “as discrete as possible, and aimed at the surfaces of the house, defining space and creating the kind of three dimensional modeling that is easy for the eye to interpret,” Snyder says. “It is relaxing, calming, provides plenty of light to live, and as much as possible eliminates visible bright hot spots or illuminated fixtures that call attention to themselves.”