A wall of bamboo adjacent to the atrium floor provides a dramatic and seductive green entrance—“natural art,” Eric calls it.

Among the first Passive Houses in France, this bamboo-clad farmhouse by the Parisian firm Karawitz Architecture only uses a tenth of the energy a conventionally constructed home does. Photo by Nicholas Calcott.

While the residence features four bedrooms, the crown jewel is the master suite, which includes a seating area with a fireplace, dual baths, expansive closets, and panoramic views.

The entrance hall, with bamboo flooring, dark grey paintwork, and a cork wall for added texture.

Stylish display shelving in the entrance hallway.

Deep eaves prevent the entrance from being buried in snow. The clients can see directly into the valley and mountains below.

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.

Bamboo flooring and custom built-ins—fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white-lacquer finish—brightened Gavin and Sheila Smith’s 650-square-foot attic. Gavin Smith designed the blackened-steel balustrade, which has cable inserts and a walnut handrail.

Two-inch-thick bamboo treads and a bamboo handrail on the stairs lead the way to the second floor.

An infrared sauna.

A close-up of the bookshelves made of MDF clad in bamboo veneer.

+Farm is based in upstate New York, where land can be cheap but new housing prohibitively expensive: when a resident breaks ground on a waterfront site, their taxes can dramatically increase. What if new housing didn't need to technically break ground? "Our thought," says +Farm Director William Haskas, was "let's discuss ideas for a new type of dwelling....one that could potential help the people that actually live in the area."

Bamboo plywood is used throughout the house for all integrated furniture, including the kitchen cabinets. The pendant lights are prototypes designed by Jamie McLellan for Tom Dixon and the stools are by Konstantin Grcic for Magis.

Expansive floor-to-ceiling windows invite natural light into the penthouse throughout the day and frame dramatic views as the sun goes down.

Colourful pendant lighting by Muuto hangs above the reclaimed timber dining table.

This chic, reusable cutlery is made from organic, food-safe bamboo and water-based adhesives, and finished with premium natural oils. Set the perfect picnic table in safe, natural style.

The facade consists of exposed concrete, Galvalume roofing, and cedar or torrefied wood coating. The homes are carefully positioned to keep other structures out of sight.

Continuing the midcentury modern aesthetic, the dining room includes a tulip-style dining table with Modernica shell chairs.

With input from her clients, Barensfeld used a computer to generate the circular patterns that were carved into a pair of Cor-Ten steel screens with a water-jet cutter. The perforations allow light and the green of the surrounding Koi bamboo to filter into the space while preserving privacy.

The 2nd floor corridor creates a light-filled axial connection to all 4 bedrooms and their amenities.

The interiors are furnished with midcentury modern pieces, including this vintage Eames Aluminum Group chair.

Inspired by mid-century furniture designer George Nakashima, Seggerman crafted the components by hand in his home studio. The cabinetry in the kitchen and shelving in the bedroom seamlessly flow, adding the impression that there is more space. Photo by David Engelhardt.

The bamboo garden, home to Oscar the tortoise, abuts the walkway leading to the central courtyard.

A vintage Danish teak armchair sits against a London stocks brick wall.

Natural bamboo flooring was used throughout the home, as well as dimmable LED lighting. The house incorporates a hybrid heat pump water heater, which draws in ambient heat from the surrounding air, moves it across condenser coils, then transfers it into the tank to heat the water. This device creates the same amount of hot water as a traditional electric water heater, but reduces water-heating expenses up to 62%.

Themis Mobile Designed by Clara Von Zweigberk for Artecnica via Dwell Store $37.00 Inspired from the polyedra, designer Clara von Zweigbergk created this suspended graphic and delicate mobile to add a playful touch of vibrant color to any room.

Eccentric mobile by Jamie Mclellan for Resident.

Seeing Double To cover up his shoe-storage shelves, Sherman bought bamboo bead curtains from the Callaloo Company emblazoned with an image of the Madonna. He separated out every other strand to create two curtains from one, resulting in twinned pixelated images. The resulting pattern is “like a Chuck Close that everyone can afford,” says Sherman.

Pre-engineered dark stained bamboo flooring closely mimics the exterior decking material, creating a fluid transition from the interior to the exterior.

While it was tempting to embed the cabin into the hillside, Balance Associates sought a smarter solution. By elevating the project on two concrete walls, the clients could avoid a costly foundation, improve their view of the landscape, and stay above the thick winter snowfall.

Smith designed the custom cabinets, which were fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white lacquer finish. There are three drawer heights. "The faces are consistent but some, when you open them up, are triple-height," Smith says. "So that helps with things that are really large, like sleeping bags or camping stuff or whatever. They're three feet deep, so it goes into the knee wall, which is really handy. So you get lots and lots of storage."

All told, they hung some 28,000 linear feet of the material with the larger sections composed of around 250 stalks. Each pole is threaded with galvanized steel wire and separated from the next by a small aluminum spacer. A highly renewable resource, the untreated bamboo has aged over time; what started as yellow-green has turned into a muted gray just a year after completion.

Raise a glass to minimalist Native American-inspired style. The tumbler rests on a coaster made of eco-friendly bamboo, laser engraved with a single row of arrows.