To allude to the nearby ocean, the architects designed a seaweed patterned for the interior of the garage door (seen here raised). It successfully reads like a leather padded wall and makes “the cube” feel that much more customized.

The flat roof of the Nakhshabs’ energy-efficient home is topped with photo-voltaic panels. It is the first single-family LEED Gold–certified residence in San Diego.

A concrete and glass dressing were employed in DIGSAU’s LEED Gold certified Iroko building. Philadelphia Naval Yard, 2012. Photo by Todd Mason/Halkin Mason Photography.

Livestrong Foundation (Austin, Texas: 2009) Lance Armstrong’s charity can certainly get behind cycling as a way to reduce energy usage. But when the organization made the move into a larger space, it earned its environment bonafides with a LEED Gold-certified renovation of an old paper mill that earns a yellow jersey for smart renovation. Lake|Flato Architects reused 88% of the existing building, installing features like skylights and a rainwater collection system that reduced energy consumption by nearly 40% and water usage by 67%. Photo by Frank Ooms

A Movie sofa, by CB2, and a Rais wood-burning stove are in the living room.

Taking inspiration from Arlberg Valley, Austria to classic Nordic materials, the Troll Hus certainly adds a European touch to the California landscape. “The inspiring concept is that of a treehouse that, as if suspended between treetops, seamlessly and ingeniously blends with its surroundings.” Casper says.

Roberto Burneo designed this home for his eldest niece, her husband, and their three young children in a suburb outside Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The house is set on a flat expanse of land with fruit trees, and Burneo's design "guides the social areas inward in order to link them to the gardens.”

Burneo took advantage of the perpendicular orientation of the volumes to create outdoor spaces that look out to the gardens.

Sawn wood planks add texture to the interior walls.

Burneo oriented the house in a pair of perpendicular volumes. The ground floor houses the public areas, including a study, while the top volume, housing the bedrooms and a family room, is oriented north-south, allowing for warm sunlight and a visual orientation toward the gardens.

The custom kitchen counters are concrete, and the yellow dining chairs add a welcome splash of color.

Burneo added exposed brick to his palette of interior materials.

With the help of Carver + Schickentanz Architects, Jason and Melissa Burnett were able to push their Carmel, California home's renovation from LEED Silver status to LEED Platinum-certified. With eco-friendly innovations like a retractable skylight for natural ventilation, double-pane windows to keep in air and heat, and sustainable landscaping with native vegetation, it's no wonder this mid-century-modern redesign is one of our green favorites. Click here to see the home's interior.

Sustainable Attainable Home (MV Properties & Construction) Owner Bill Benton adapted the design of a LEED-certified home to create this affordable green residence in Wicker Park, one that ended up being cheaper than comparable new construction in the neighborhood. By utilizing material substitution (bamboo flooring instead of cherrywood, tile instead of quartz around the fireplace) and incorporating a massive oval lightwell and solar paneled-garage, this home, in Benton’s words, aims to become a template for others seeking to build green in Chicago.

Get the whole family involved in the kitchen, whether it be teaching young ones a tried-and-true recipe or exploring a new dish together.

In the bathroom, a teak live-edge countertop and custom yellow cabinet support a double wash basin by Duravit. A mirror from Restoration Hardware hangs below custom lights, designed by the homeowner for a steampunk look.

The kitchen is marked by its Wolf gas range, white Carrara marble countertop bar, and Cobb Rise & Fall pendants by Original BTC. The architect designed a custom wine glass holder, which hangs nearby.

The three levels of the house transition from public to private: The ground floor is composed of the kitchen and living-dining area; the bathroom and closet occupy the mezzanine, accessed by a ship’s ladder; and the sleeping loft hovers a couple steps above. The seminal 1970s tome A Pattern Language, written by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein, inspired the layout. “I’m a huge proponent of the [book],” says Azevedo. “I like the ideas of a bed as an alcove, natural light on two sides of a room, varying ceiling heights, and different levels of privacy.”

“By creating high ceilings with large windows, the feeling is all about space and light,” says architect Robert Nebolon, principal of Berkeley firm Robert Nebolon Architects. The 2,100-square-foot floating house was built on land in six months before settling into its final location in Mission Creek.

In the second floor master bedroom, a custom captain’s bed designed by the homeowner, features drawers and storage underneath. Its towering height allows for views out the nearby window.

Darcy Miro and her son, Lucien, enjoy a moment in their new double-height living room. The Charlotte Perriand wall sconces are vintage finds.

Residents, too, have taken the opportunity of rebuilding to embrace experimentation.

Petco Park — 100 Park Blvd., petcoparkevents.com

In this sleek kitchen renovation in San Francisco, the kitchen backsplash is an easy-to-clean glass backsplash that mimics the glossy finish of the surrounding white cabinets. Painters accomplished the high-gloss finish on the cabinets of a kitchen in San Francisco by applying a coat of paint, polishing it with very high-grit sandpaper, repeating the process for each layer, then topping it with three coats of clear varnish. "It’s like an auto body," says builder Jeff King. "It’s incredibly beautiful." The island provides shelving space and storage as well as a second sink, an is topped with pietra grigio marble.

The new master bathroom also benefits from its position along the canted exterior wall. The couple initially envisioned a tub for the space, but realized during the design process that it would pose a functional challenge when paired with a push-out casement window. Bringing in valuable light and air, the casement window remained in the final design, while the tub was changed to a shower. The geometric bathroom features a custom walnut vanity by the Building Workshop, ash porcelain tile floor, and Modwalls Lush glass wall tile.

Russell-Clarke tends a small garden.

Made of black anodized aluminum with stainless steel hinges, the home’s warehouse-style windows are designed to withstand corrosion. No wood was used on the exterior except for the dock, called a finger pier, which allows access to the front door and the couple’s boat. The home looks out onto downtown San Francisco, with AT&T Park visible from the main deck.

Generous storage is key to an uncluttered look. Drawers for shoes tuck away under the raised mezzanine floor.

The architect placed the windows at Sabrina’s eye level so that she’d be able to see her son, Rocco, playing in the yard outside. "You can feel the seasons changing here," says Chiavelli. "I grew up three miles from here, outside in nature. This is a house for experiencing life."

The living room floor is made of Australian cypress with a tung oil finish. A Solas wall-mounted fireplace by Hearth Innovators and a curious chair, by Putra Salahin in Bali, complement the sun-drenched space.

Designer Jeff Sand’s Universal Chairs combine his love for classic French café chairs with an appreciation for “the beautiful metal casings on an old Moto Guzzi.” Sand Studios also designed the dining table and pendant lamp.

This room can be a family room, office, or guest suite. The flooring is the same throughout: Riva Floors, Engineered Wood Select Grade, in Crystal Thunder, and the couch is from Restoration Hardware. Unseen is the foosball and ping pong tables.

Miha hangs out with Kea, the dog, on the wooden deck that extends the living space outdoors.

The extended clan, which includes about two dozen members, collaborated with Gray Organschi Architecture to design an inclusive home for three generations.

The family room becomes a meeting point

In order to transform the structure from its original state to something more modern, Rice and his team stripped away the existing Spanish-style roof and selected clean new stucco to create a blank canvas to work from. He calls the new facade a “study in composition,” with windows punched out from the walls in geometric patterns and corrugated metal sheets weaved into the overall theme to add a distinctly urban feel.