Built-ins in the bedroom echo the cabinetry from the great room.

The building's perimeter echoes the irregular trapezoidal site.

Planted with three olive trees and drought-resistant shrubs, the roof terrace provides an entertaining space, where Storey often has friends over for drinks and dinner. Storey made the deck out of clear-coated Douglas fir to save costs; it also echoes the cabinets inside, providing visual continuity. “[I wanted] to keep the variety of wood species you use to a minimum,” says Storey.

The studio is clad in corrugated tin, echoing the adjacent water-storage tanks, which collect and filter rainwater off the roof.

The entry hall culminates in integrated shelving with arches that echo the archways of the walls.

The pentagonal geometry of the third story is echoed by an Alumilex window.

The concrete countertops, walls, and staircase echo the home's refined modern design aesthetic.

Built-in bookcases in the living room echo the birch ply of the kitchen cabinetry.

It was a happy accident the way that the floating Fire Orb, which was designed by architect Doug Garofalo, echoes the onion-dome-inspired architecture beyond.

Oak lines the interior for a tactile surprise, and the marble counter echoes the marble on the island and perimeter counters.

The Hupert-Kinmont house lies low in a century-old apple orchard, far from neighboring houses. The spaciousness of the rural surroundings is echoed inside.

The homeowners' existing furnishings meld tradition with contemporary elements, echoing the architectural expression of the new structure.

The bathtub is a simple box made of fragrant hinoki cypress. Its shape echoes one of Cho’s favorite inspirations: a wooden apple crate.

In Unit J's kitchen, the Bouroullec brother's Algue for Vitra echoes the greenery outside.

The rhythm of the slat wall (made from red cedar and stained to look prematurely weathered) is echoed in the shutter detailing on each window.

A George Nelson pendant hangs in the reconfigured entrance hall, whose stairs echo the concrete steps off the back deck.

The rear of the Villa Bio features an almost 50-foot-wide expanse of glass. The pool (now just a large gravel pit) echoes the panoramic window’s exact shape. The custom kitchen features a Silestone counter.

At the base of Echo Mountain in Phoenix, a geometric home by Wendell Burnette opens up to the surrounding desert landscape. Photo by Dean Kaufman.

Pendant lights from Rubn hang over a private dining space, and textured plaster walls from Armourcoat echo the wooden screens.

Repetitive patterns create a soothing sensation, with staircases, rails, and wall panels mimicking elements of the courtyard. This architectural approach is also echoed in the furniture pieces.

Hatchet Design Build took a contemporary approach with this kitchen while still drawing from the a traditional palette. The grain-matched walnut cabinets echo the walnut pocket doors elsewhere.

It was important, says Kaplan, to define the kitchen area with the “heavy horizontal lid” that runs along the top of the windows. The custom stove hood echoes the lines of the original wainscot.

In the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, architect Barbara Bestor designed Blackbirds, a multi-family housing development with 18 detached and semi-detached homes ranging from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet each. Bestor says she approached the project with a strategy towards "stealth density," attuned to the scale and context of the neighborhood. "I have a romantic idea about individuals densifying L.A. as opposed to large developers doing twnety blocks at a time," she says. Spacious interiors open up to expansive views of the hills beyond.

While there is "a lot of stuff around," the busy, "cluttered" studio doesn't feel sloppy. It's like a very colorful bomb went off but everything landed in a perfectly logical place.

Lift-and-slide doors open the ground-floor living space up to the outdoor courtyard. The exposed concrete floor of the interior is echoed in the courtyard by linear concrete pavers to emphasize indoor/outdoor living.

Oak slats in the living room echo the timber slats that enclose the entry courtyard. The black-marble Empire side tables are by local furniture brand Seer Studio, and the white-marble Tulip table is by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.

The tree in the central courtyard rises up through the center of the home, with its top branches visible from the first floor to create a vertical connection through the spaces that echoes the dynamic stairs.

The sculptural end piece to some of the cabinetry in the kitchen echoes some of the other arched motifs. The natural wood is an anomaly in the kitchen, whose cabinets, backsplash, and countertop feature man-made materials.

This Barcelona apartment features soft round forms and arches throughout. The design move that is also on display in the open kitchen, where a portal window to the bathroom is echoed by a curved marble island and backsplash and a cylindrical Corinthia hood by Faber.

The bathroom set-up echoes that of the kitchen. A single-bowl, apron-front sink sits on a thin steel shelf, with exposed plumbing and separate hot and cold taps. The tall, slim inset mirror conceals a medicine chest in the bottom portion.

Griffin engraved a large sun on the driveway, echoing the one he carved into the south side of the house.

The light and airy kitchen features a gently curved hood and island, which echo the design play throughout the house. Appliances by Fisher & Paykel are hidden behind custom fronts for a clean and streamlined aesthetic in what is a functional, but compact, space.

"We were interested in this idea of treading lightly on the site. Using a green roof is a logical extension of that. When you introduce a building that supplants a little piece of the forest floor, it's nice to replicate that on the roof as a return gesture to continue to create habitat for birds, animals, and plants, and to help manage the flow of storm water," explains McFarlane.

Awkward sloping ceilings are put to good use in this family apartment known as the Starburst House in Beijing, China. Across from the living lounge, tucked under the mezzanine study, is a child’s playroom. Mountain-shaped wall cushions line the wall, echoing the peaked ceiling.

A custom cabinet in the ground-floor playroom provides a variety of storage options. “The biggest frustration of parents is that the toys are everywhere,” says Eva. “I always try to create a kids’ corner as well as some space for the parents. And of course enough storage options and a logical layout of the house will help to make a home child friendly.”