Even better—a big bathtub with views of the surrounding rooftops.

A trap-door opening at the top of the house allows for better circulation.

Big Walnut Bowl Handmade in Canada and finished with a natural oil/beeswax mixture, this serving bowl is a handsome addition to any tablescape.

Delightfully simple, yet wonderfully functional, the rainbow-hued trivet offers an attractive way to protect tabletops from hot pots. $20 from areaware.com.

Michael tends to his capons in a Big Green Egg.

Less but Better, by Dieter Rams (Gestalten, March 2014). This read from Gestalten inventories the unobtrusive product designs of author Dieter Rams and, in doing so, meditates on the power of doing more with less.

The Cliff House at Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California The most epic getaway on this list, Post Ranch Inn’s Cliff House (designed by famed local architect Mickey Muennig) overlooks the Pacific and offers 960-square-feet of glass and wood surroundings. The room comes together with purposeful angles, mirroring the ocean-side cliffs below.

Set into the dense tropical foliage of Hawaii’s wildest coast is a house that goes with the flow by welcoming the breeze.

Taper collection by BIG for Kallista, from $1,095 Conical shapes define this line of fixtures designed by architect Bjarke Ingels in collaboration with KiBiSi. Among the 12 available finishes are chrome (shown), bronze, and gunmetal.

This understated ceiling fan from Big Ass Fans is injected with circuitry that makes it nearly autonomous. Under the Haiku fan’s minimalist exterior, sensors monitor the room’s humidity and temperature to keep air flowing for an ideal interior climate.

We're not in Kansas anymore, except we are—despite what the wind turbines may suggest. After being torn to shreds by a twister, Greensburg has rebuilt itself as a beacon of sustainable design in the middle of the American heartland.

The family is never far from the outdoors, as this lush view from the dining room attests.

The rooftop is wired for a solar farm, but they are waiting for better prices and tax breaks before investing.

A ceiling fan that slashes energy bills in June and January might seem implausible, but Big Ass Solutions products work intelligently with HVAC systems for comprehensive sustainability. In summer, they reduce homeowners' reliance on air conditioning units. In winter, they push rising heat downward, producing energy savings as high as 30 percent.

Jay Austin’s Matchbox house is only eight feet wide but feels bigger thanks to a well-organized interior.

Big One Lamp, 2013, white oak and black anodized aluminum. Photo by: Gilad Langer

Big Bug by Paola Navone for Poliform.

Big Walnut Bowl by On Our Table “It’s clean and contemporary and well-crafted. It’s something you’re going to have forever. It speaks to contemporary life.” -- Julie Nicholson “It’s a gentle bowl, with this very beautiful, warm walnut.” -- Shaun Moore

The Big U is the firm’s ambitious plan to protect Manhattan from a Sandy-like hurricane by ringing the lower half of the island with 10-foot, sculptural berms.

Pepa gets a better view of what Gorman is explaining in the girls’ bathroom from her stump stool.

A better view of the light that keeps the Alumiada Table lit.

"We wanted Brininstool + Lynch to honor the original intent while transforming it into an even better version of itself," says the client. "Clean it up, balance it out, modernize the systems, create more views out to the landscape, and introduce one big, new element: A gorgeous whole-house terrazzo floor, to pull it all together."

A skylight over the lofted bed and some clever storage moves, including magnetized spice containers overhead help maximize space in Austin's Matchbox house.

“We chose to have a very big kitchen,” says Egelund. “I love it when people cook together.” The kitchen is by Egelund’s brand Vipp, and is a design that was developed more than 14 years ago. The couple have the same kitchen in black in their Copenhagen apartment but decided that the warm gray color was better suited to the coastal setting of the summer house.

nArchitects, Monadnock Development, and the Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation partnered on a winning proposal for a micro-unit apartment block.

Brian Levy, Tony Gilchriest, and Jay Austin (left to right), are creating the Boneyard Studios complex in Washington, DC, along with Lee Pera and a team of architects and builders. The four structures onsite are both experiments in small-space living and, during public “work days,” a base for educating the community about construction, design, and tiny houses.

Big-Game designed these plastic mesh laundry baskets for the company.

Herem's design for the Big Egg Hunt UK. The winning bid's profits will go towards Action for Children, a children's charity that supports families and neglected children across the UK.

A built-in light is also available as an option, which can be set to turn on at certain times as a wake-up alarm, or to make your home look occupied while you’re away.

The air foil-like blades are made of compressed bamboo that, the manufacturer says, are as strong as steel.

The units are arranged on every floor to form a staggered facade and will measure between 250 and 370 square feet each.

Renderings of their project reveal a building made of 55 modules that will be prefabricated in a factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and craned into place on a city-owned lot on East 27th Street in Manhattan.

These non-obvious gifts are perfect for even the hardest-to-shop-for guys.

A pleasantly-hued still life collaboration with stylist Irina Graewe for Better Living.