A look at the small reading nook located on the level between the bedroom and ground floor.

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

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

Sleeping nooks that look like the grooves in a block of cheese.

A passage between the walls for hide and seek.

See Arch restored the exterior fireplace wall and painted it a deep blue hue to match the repainted blue timber cladding.

Coffee and Tea Set, 1995-1996. Zaha Hadid (Iraqi, b. 1950). Sterling silver. Overall: 18 1/2 x 22 1/16 x 14 3/16 in, Tea Pot: 3 1/8 x 5 7/8 x 11 in, Coffee Pot: 3 15/16 x 3 9/16 x 11 in, Milk Jug: 2 3/4 x 7 7/8 x 3 9/16 in, Sugar Bowl: 2 3/4 x 3 9/16 x 3 15/16 in. Silver. Made by Sawaya & Moroni, Milan, Italy. Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

Both cabins are elevated on wooden pillars about 260 feet above sea level.

Installation started at 11 a.m. and the second floor was stacked by 3 p.m. later that same day.

Haines House by Christopher Polly in Newtown, Australia

In Esperance, Australia, Fiona and Matt Shillington turned an outdated holiday resort into a cozy compound with restored A-frames, log cabins, and cottages.

The clients for an existing home in Seattle approached Best Practice Architecture with a need to make space for an aging family member, but the home on-site was already filled to the brim. The firm's answer was to expand the existing detached garage into a gracious and airy living suite. The architects worked with the natural, six-foot slope of the site and built the Granny Pad into the hill to gain the needed interior height. The volume on the right is the original garage footprint, which now houses a kitchen and sitting room. The added volume on the left hosts the bedroom, as well as a bathroom beneath the loft space.

Clad in salvaged wood and adorned with moss, this tiny hexagonal home is #cabinlife goals.

The finished print measures approximately 5 x 5 feet.

“The inspiration for Kynttilä was fully derived from its unique setting,” the Helsinki-based firm states. “The place chosen for Kynttilä, in the middle of a pristine forest, on a narrow arm of the peninsula, provides views over the water in both sides of the cottage.”

The second-floor plan: 1. Rooftop garden, 2. Media room, 3. Guest bedroom, 4. Bathroom, 5. Deck.

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

The exterior of Connect 4L 1,600 sf 3 bed 3 bath 2 story modern prefab.

The stairs are one of the best parts of the renovation and were assembled on-site, stretching from basement to the top floor.

With its emphasis on the outdoors, the petite shelter in Normandy offers room to roam.

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.

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.

The unit is 3.5 meters long and 2.4 meters tall, and is a chic focal point in the room.

The Premaydena House by Misho+Associates was designed as a "box within a box," in which two interior structures—an open-plan living space and two en suite bedrooms—sit within an exterior envelope. Inspired by the region’s fiery orange lichen and the indigenous waratah shrub’s bright flowers, the colorful exterior panels are made of heavy-duty galvanized steel to guard from Tasmanian winds, which can reach up to 60 miles per hour.

The extensive use of natural wood on nearly every surface makes the inside of The Barn feel like an extension of the landscape outside.

In 2003, Resolution: 4 Architecture was one of 16 firms who participated in the Dwell Home Design Invitational—a competition to design a modern prefab home for $200,000. Their winning design, constructed in Pittsboro, North Carolina, is a groundbreaking case study that combines prefabricated construction with contemporary, modern design.

The crumbling stone walls of a 17th-century farmhouse in the remote countryside of Dumfries, Scotland, presented a unique renovation opportunity for Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture, the teams behind this project. Rather than demolish the old walls, they inserted a crisp, modern home within them, so as to emphasize the site's history and passage of time.

The curved blue kitchen larder has a projecting “nose” that illuminates the worktop and a mirrored eye that “winks” each time the door is opened.

Outside, a triangular saltwater pool overlooks breathtaking views.

A yellow epoxy floor matches the sconce in the tiny bathroom that sits under the staircase.

The green backsplash tiles are vintage, reclaimed from another project.

Heva was designed by A6A and manufactured by My Little Loft. A spacious deck and large glass doors allow for seamless indoor/outdoor living.