Here's a detail shot of the stool. The leather comes in four options—black, chocolate, tobacco, and saddle—and the brightly hued backing fabric comes in ten—sky, radish, egg yolk, cream, camel, charchol, sand, mocha, chocolate, and black.

"I wanted the bones of the house to be bold, strong and simple,

The architects incorporated sustainably sourced parota wood into the living room’s sunken seating area. The Turn Tall side table is from Blu Dot, and the pillows are from West Elm.

A young Finnish designer bypasses building permits by creating an affordable tiny home under 100 square feet.

The journey through the dark tunnel to the new, light-filled addition is both a texturally interesting and atmospheric experience, where the contrast between old and new, dark and light, can be felt.

I.M. Pei, Luce Memorial Chapel (1963) When architect I.M. Pei designed this chapel for Tunghai University in Taiwan, he had to take local conditions, like typhoons and earthquakes, into account. His plan, which, included a curved roof of glazed, diamond-shaped tiles and interior ribs of reinforced concrete that run like ribbons towards the cross mounted on the roof, was an elegant solution to the challenges of the local environment. Photo courtesy Valter Wei, Creative Commons

Architect Ulrich Hamann's rendering of the new addition to the Lenbachhaus Museum and Gallery; the Stadtische Galerie Im Lenbachhaus. Image courtesy of Lenbachhaus Gallery and Museum.

Broken, 2014. I.M. Pei's Fountain Place in Dallas, Texas, built in 1986. “He used angles, triangles, planes and prisms to create a seemingly impossible visual space with this building,” says Olic. “The view from the east makes the structure seem broken and folded down the middle.”

Because their loft is a rental, David and Im Schafer built everything to be removable.

Inspirational spaces

On one side of the house, a white central staircase leads to a split-level landing the Robertsons call "the reading room." "We needed a place to hang out and for the kids to read," explains owner Vivi Nguyen-Robertson. Awaiting the birth of the couple's son, she relaxes in a built-in reading nook in the library.

The outdoor atrium of Family House Litvínovice is a completely private space that's well-suited for the installation of a hammock, outdoor bath, or shower. A11 designed the home to be an exploration of minimalism and privacy from the outside world.

Rear Facade

I’m not generally drawn to Piero Fornasetti’s designs but I did love these graphic suns from Ceramica Bardelli. The larger, Fornasettiana, is 8" x 8", and the smaller, from the Lunario Del Sole line, is 4” x 4”.

The house for Kundan's mother, dubbed Chameli, is constructed of two 40 x 8 containers located next to the family's garden.

Luce Memorial Chapel in Tunghai, Taiwan, 1963, by I.M. Pei.

Piet Hein Eek's wooden chairs add a touch of color to the monochromatic apartment. "I'm a fan of simple modern furniture, with a twist," says Carr. "I wanted to buy everything from Piet Hein Eek."

Configur8 tiles provide distinctive cladding for the exterior of this modern home.

"The site has lush vegetation dotted with mature live oak trees, and Sarah is a gifted gardener who keeps the yard beautiful,

Although synthetic slate roof tiles have been around since the 1970s, the way architect Stephen Bruns used them to completely clad Woven House is unusual. "I love this material," says Bruns. "The way light reflects off the tiles creates a specular effect, almost like a mosaic." That reflective quality is enhanced by the floor-to-ceiling windows by Loewen.

The living room has a long, built-in couch with a custom midcentury-inspired fireplace. Polished concrete floors in the interior contrast with the outdoor timber decking.

Top 9 Prefabs of 2020: These best-in-class prefabricated homes are vying for your vote in the Dwell Design Awards.

The two monolithic walls on the north and south sides are integrally colored, steel-troweled plaster. They anchor the home in its site as well as provide privacy from neighboring homes.

While the design is suitable for life on land, the owners of this one decided to mount it on a floating catamaran, which can be moored to a buoy or sailed at speeds of up to four knots. The tiny house, called Altar, is currently offered as a rental on Airbnb.

Aidlin Darling Design recasts an unremarkable midcentury home as a multigenerational retreat crowned by a living roof.

Inside one of the bathrooms.

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.

A minimalist black-and-white aesthetic is kept in this apartment kitchen, where elongated black tile is contrasted with lighter gray grout. The countertops are dark soapstone and the cabinets are a dark green-black.

The firm also designed the new kitchen space, opting for a contrasting darker palette.

“Escapism for us is about exploration and immersion in nature,” says Little. “We have designed beautiful buildings that sit in harmony within the natural environment and offer an interior sanctuary, a space that lends itself to quiet, contemplative reflection, a space to mindful of our wellbeing.”