Resident Peter Østergaard (with Maja, 6, and Carl, 20 months) and architect and photographer Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen have been best friends since they were 13, which makes for easy collaboration. Says Bjerre-Poulsen: “There are always a lot of challenges in a renovation, but Peter and Åsa trusted my judgment and gave me a completely free hand. Usually it’s hard to push people into unconventional solutions, but Peter has all these wild and crazy ideas.” One such idea was to embed a transparent glass-and-iron door in the floor, operated by a hydraulic pump, which allows access to the subterranean wine cellar. At night, the lit-up cellar glows, lending the compact living room an increased sense of verticality.

In realizing their dream to build a country retreat in upstate New York, Sandy Chilewich and Joe Sultan—proprietors of the textiles firm Chilewich|Sultan—eschewed a mountainous view for an understated wooded plot. At 800 square feet, the flat-roofed home is a modest structure for the expansive 10-acre property.

Fruit, fruit endless fruit for breakfast.

A bright corner in the kitchen houses an Electra coffee maker and a quirky pendant lamp by Lightyears.

White platters from Crate & Barrel allowed the food—lox, crudités, and cornichons—to stand out atop the Saarinen table.

This tree house in Sweden with a mirrored exterior by Tham and Videgård Arkitekter is just large enough to host two people.

Radamés “Juni” Figueroa lived in his art project tree house, made from found materials, for two fortnights, as part of his artist residency at La Practica at Beta-Local. "The Practice" is an interdisciplinary program of research and production focusing on art, architecture, and design, with an emphasis on collaboration.

Strong lines on the floor and the walls reinforce the notion of old and new.

The Caroma shower head meets the highest level of Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) at three stars.

A salvaged 19th-century soaking tub wrapped in stainless steel is topped by Hudson Reed faucets.

The futuristic fireplace, designed by Engels, is flanked by a BeoLab 20 speaker by Bang & Olufsen.

The 4TREEHOUSE features a futuristic illuminated facade that looks like something straight out of a science fiction movie.

Architecture for Humanity Home “We are enthusiastic about these home designs that reflect traditional life ways, while exemplifying deep green public-impact architecture," says Nathaniel Corum, architect, Architecture for Humanity.

Just as the barn was extended and cantilevered over the sloped site, so too was the deck off the kitchen, which juts out toward the oak grove. “There are 125 coast live oaks on the property,” says Walker. “They’re beautiful trees, so why not exploit that?” See more ways to use oak in your home.

The courtyard is sunken because of the existing grade. The Albezia shade tree was planted when the outdoor area was still scrap yard, an “act of hope and faith in the future,” says Wittman.

@sticks.and.bricks: it's #treehouse season! please excuse me while I go #playintheyard.

An intricately detailed staircase leads to the central wing’s second level. Its walnut treads and top rail harmonize with the welded steel rod railings. The geometric pattern on the staircase’s risers comes from encaustic tiles that were handmade in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Below Kovel’s apartment is Fritts’ furniture shop, Intelligent Design, and around the corner West Enders can expect a new branch of Seattle’s Ace Hotel and the new Portland headquarters for the architecture firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.

Ethan Schussler built his first tree house at 12 years old. His tree house in Sandpoint, Idaho, sits 30 feet above the ground and can be accessed by an "elevator" consisting of a bicycle that, when pedaled, ascends a pulley system to the top.

Plumstead describes the Clip Tree valet as sheet music where the bars are posts and the notes are the adjustable clips."I became focused on entry hall," he says of the concept. "I was trying to come up with a system with fairly simple parts for shipping and manufacturing, and for it to be configurable so people would have authorship over the object."

The houses are set on a three-acre plot of fertile volcanic land, ideal for growing fruit and vegetables.

A cantilevered cabin designed by R D Gentzler blends into the forest, even as it hovers above a 20-foot drop-off. Its south face is almost entirely glass, but a roof canopy limits solar gain.

The long rectangular Field House abuts what Burnette describes as a “memory orchard,” a grove of fruit trees just beyond the deck that was planted in honor of Geller’s late father.

The family cat, Rey, steps in front of the concrete fireplace in the living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows enhance the indoor-outdoor connection.

For easy solutions to complicated hardware problems, the team’s favorite first stop is the Häfele showroom in the Flatiron District. They sourced the rotating rods for the closet there, as well as the Murphy bed components. “But we just like going back and looking for inspiration,” says Rosa. hafele.com

The bedroom pavilion is mostly hidden, thanks to a massive native California oak—part of a grove. “That’s the good thing about oaks—they keep their leaves in the winter, so you don’t have one view in the summer and another in the winter,” Suzanne says.

The new great room opens up completely to the patio with multi-panel pocket sliding glass doors that measure seven feet tall and 22 feet long.

The Balancing Barn in Suffolk: On the edge of a nature reserve a few miles from the Suffolk coast, the MVRDV-designed Balancing Barn cantilevers over the surrounding meadow.

Custom details like this corner bed with built-in shelving keep the younger generation’s spaces playful, but still sophisticated. With four children, utilizing space wisely became a top priority, and the family relies on custom shelving and built-ins to keep clutter at bay. The bed is custom with IKEA frames.

Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).

While Leah and Kyle initially wanted to fully open up the wall between the kitchen and the living room, discovering that it was load-bearing changed their plans. “We ended up opening the wall up so you could see into the beautiful kitchen, and made a custom hood vent with shelves,” says Leah. “Looking back, I am not sure I even would have wanted it removed now.”

The terrace off a bedroom holds chaise longues from Design Within Reach. “When we laid out the project, the eucalyptus tree was going to go away,” says Walker. “But then we thought, if we move the foundation a little bit, we can probably save the tree.”