Just off an internal courtyard, a mudroom provides a prime place to keep sneakers. Each family member has their own shelf, backlit by windows that illuminate every pair.

Waechter Architecture reimagined a traditional gabled home in southeast Portland without significantly altering the original building. A simple coat of red paint abstracts the century-old structure, creating a residential work of art.

Since surrounding neighbors can overlook the one-story property, Thomson created a roof detail that is environmentally friendly and attractive: “the bio-diverse [green] roof is planted with indigenous species of flowers and grasses,” he says.

Pleased with the pop-up they designed last summer, Frame approached i29 again this fall to construct a more long-term installation: a shop meant to evoke a 3-D walk through of an issue of their magazine.

The steel canopy protects the residents from Seattle’s notoriously rainy weather as they walk from the entry gate to the front door.

By inserting a tunnel made from 36 reclaimed commercial doors and tearing down a handful of walls, LOT-EK and contractor Andreas Scholtz brought light into the formerly unused dark hallway in Maurice Russell (right) and Jorge Fontanez’s apartment. The glossy Safety Red paint by Benjamin Moore catches the light by day but “becomes a richer, darker, very relaxing red at night,” Fontanez says.

The bathroom features Chromtech tile, a Toto toilet, Kohler vanity, and powder-coated steel countertop.

The red acrylic hallway.

Haines House by Christopher Polly in Newtown, Australia

"Like the old farmhouses and barns of the Champlain Valley, the Foote Farm House has a clearly ordered wood frame on a sturdy foundation, an exterior skin made of local materials, an economy of form with tried-and-true proportions, a central fire place, and a common-sense relationship to the sun and the weather." - Architect John McLeod

Plants are the perfect way to brighten up any room in your home in the warmer months. Transform a drab area with a simple orchid. “Orchids always look great because they are so sculptural and elegant,” Sarna says. Rubber vase, $34.95, available at the Dwell Store.

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

A Seattle family tasked Atmosphere Design Build with creating a sustainable dwelling in Nevada City, California, the matriarch's hometown and a historic mining community. The firm's material-driven approach channels the pioneer spirit of the gold rush, without compromising comfort or high-efficiency standards.

Moskow Linn Architects of Boston tackled this ground-up renovation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a client who wanted to maximize efficiency. Photo by Eric Roth.

"Architecture exists through states of contrast; the building as a bridge between a wooded forest and a field, a strong roof line against a backdrop of trees or mountains. In these states of contrast we truly start to see where we live." -Architect Steve Kredell

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.

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

The walls are covered in Graniplast, a tinted acrylic finish. Nathan Pereira Arquitectos y Diseño advised on the facade, floors, and finishes. All the bedrooms are off one hallway; the three children’s rooms were designed by Vanessa Clark.

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.

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

Jansen and Dellensen are currently in talks to open a series of pop-ups in London. In the meantime, their second Frame shop is still installed at the Felix Meritus European Centre for Arts, Culture and Science in Amsterdam

The Red House, 2002.

The streamlined shape of the home kept slab, framing, and roofing costs down, Pavonetti explains. A barn red shade on the front door adds a touch of farmhouse whimsy to the modern structure.

Simpatico Homes founder Seth Krubiner has lived in the prefab company’s nearly net-zero prototype since it was customized and lifted onsite in 2011.

One family in Seattle, Washington, looked past a sloping landscape and saw the opportunity to build their dream home. Resembling a modern-day metal treehouse, the Hale and Edmonds residence is nestled within the edges of a wooded park. The house’s exterior of paneled grey is perfectly balanced against the accent of the orange frame, proving that there’s a chance for subtlety with the bright color.

Though Bruce has thus far only managed a week or two here or there on the island, he's hoping to make it a more frequent—and extended—part of his regular routine. "I'm thinking about going out for a month to write," he says.

Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.

Another of our favorite home office ideas on a budget? Incorporate a basic office space in the upper level or attic of the house, like this small workstation on the upper level of this magnificent, midcentury, A-frame prefab home off the coast of Rhode Island. Here, an airy push-open window provides a refreshing ocean breeze for this sparse workspace.

Eazy side chairs by Whiteonwhite line one side of the custom-designed table by LOT-EK. Castore suspension lights by Michele De Lucchi for Artemide hang above, and a custom rug by Liora Manné lies below.

Unlike its next-door neighbor, R-House, TED wasn’t originally planned to meet the exacting Passive House standard. The building’s green bona fides came largely from four roof-mounted thermal solar panels and a 120-gallon water storage tank that architect Tim McDonald attests would have met nearly all of the home’s heat and hot-water needs. After submitting the proposal, though, he completed a course in the Passive House standard. Inspired, McDonald modified the original approach, ditching the tank and thermal panels in favor of a highly insulated, airtight envelope—the equivalent, he says, of shielding the house from the harsh Syracuse winter with a fur coat instead of a windbreaker.

“Considering all of the foot traffic around their property, [the owners] made it very clear that they wanted to find a way to maintain as much privacy in the home as possible,” architect Chad Mitchell says of this Denver home. “Thus, the main floor of the home is elevated from the sidewalk by about six feet.” The exterior siding is red cedar with a custom Sherwin-Williams stain.

March is a purveyor of modern kitchen essentials.

Rice surfs the net at the built-in desk.

The entire family makes good use of the music room, where they hold public and private Sunday concerts with local and international musicians.