Mint green-painted ironwork and tiles connect the indoors to the outside more fluidly.

The Max-A studio is also built with a pine frame, though it has pine panelling on the ceiling, while the main house ceiling is painted a warm white.

The GKILO Scale Thingk team leader Stefano Marangoni believes new technological advances will change how products are designed: “We feel good design is fundamental for the Internet of Things. Electronic devices will be more and more pervasive in our life. They will be everywhere. A designer needs to know something about electronics and software, and vice versa, because everything is merging.” Photo courtesy of Thingk

The GKILO Scale According to Marangoni, the design process involved a different type of problem solving: “We involved our network—designers and geeks, but also common people—from the beginning to understand their needs and to collect suggestions on the best user interface. We were inspired by the concept of Animism, so we tried to create devices that seem natural and totally unanimated and only when you touch them, they switch on, showing their functionality.” Photo courtesy of Thingk

Wood decking extends out to the yard.

Amending Meeuwissen’s early request for an open bathroom space, the architects devised a more private chamber with an overhead skylight and walls in stone tile from Intercodam Tegels.

Sunlight is plentiful at every level of the house.

After - living room (Rubio monocoat floors, Chantilly lace walls, used fireplace)

99 by Von Tundra and Lydia Cambron $13,000 Oregon-based Von Tundra’s unit combines three different storage options—a rack, drawers, and boxes—into a multipurpose dresser.

Photo courtesy Reinhold Andris Office, Walddorfhäslach.

The couple made the house feel even more spacious by flooding a series of levels with natural light.

Looking from the open-plan dining area, through the kitchen to to the new living space, one gets views of the tree canopy through a high-level band of frameless glazing.

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

Leveling the wood framing.

Although the two apartments were stacked vertically, their individual systems and layout were quite different. The limited horizontal overlap meant that the owners and design team had to give careful thought to the connective elements, and how the family would ultimately circulate through the home. One of the key pieces to the puzzle was finding a place for the interior stairs. Says Bangia Agostinho principal Anshu Bangia, “There was a challenge to find an appropriate location to cut a new stair opening between the apartments, and then have the new stair coordinate with the existing one to form a logical sequence of circulation between the three levels.”

TriScale Compact Folding Digital Scale by Joseph Joseph, $30 Cycle between weighing your ingredients in fluid ounces, grams, pounds, and millimeters, all displayed on an LCD screen. An integrated tare function deducts the weight of a container from the gross weight of what’s on the scale. When you’re finished cooking, it folds up to fit in a kitchen drawer.

Smart Body Analyzer by Withings, $150 Weight alone isn’t a sufficient metric for gauging health. This scale will tell you your body fat percentage and heart rate—and can even detect carbon dioxide. Sync the data to the Withings Health Mate app to create a full health profile.

The scale will handle up to 11 pounds of foodstuffs. The top is glass, so it can be wiped down clean after weigh-ins. It has a kitchen timer built in as well.

This outdoor chair from designer Damian Velasquez is both striking and strikingly comfortable—you might not believe you're sitting on metal. The mesh design is sturdy, but has just enough give to conform to your body. The heat-dispersing, wind-resistant powder-coated stainless steel construction makes it a smart addition to your yard.

O Table by Half 13 $2,800 This curvy powder-coated stainless steel outdoor table, fabricated by Damian Velasquez in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is available in nine vibrant colors.

Wooden decks can be added to heighten the indoor-outdoor living experience.

Landscape architect Kevin Campion went to great lengths to protect the poplar trees during construction. Delta Millworks charred the cedar gable fronts following the shou sugi ban technique.

A Rafa Kids swing hangs below the loft bed near the large desk designed for playing with Legos.

In the new space, small-scale, 24-inch appliances from Fagor are incorporated into Ikea’s Applåd cabinetry.

Shumaker Design + Build Associates honed in on natural light, rich tones, and earthy materials to update this Chicago kitchen. The renovated kitchen now boasts a ten-foot-long banquette paired with a West Elm table, offering seating for everything from quick breakfasts to grand dinners.

Light pine finishes make the interiors feel airy and spacious.

An opaque sliding glass door separates the bathroom from the dining area. White tile with pink-colored grout ties the two spaces together.

A pool cage with a retractable awing makes the pool deck feel like a natural extension of the home's interior, while the terraced construction lifts the building up above the level of floods and storm surges.