The front door dissolves into the facade.

In the house’s front room Monkman relaxes on a stool from local retailer Andrew Richard Designs. A new window system draws in sunlight and views of the front courtyard designed by local landscape architect Terry McGlade, the building’s former owner.

A landscape of native grasses designed by GSLA Studio complements the raw textures of the concrete-and-ipe front facade.

The house uses solar panels and water tanks to function off the grid. Its waste water is recycled and used for irrigation.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, with project manager and lead designer Emily Kudsen Leland at the helm, remade a Portland abode with a crisp paint palette: Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron for the cladding and Venetian Gold for the front door. The home was originally designed by Saul Zaik in Southwest Portland, complete with a wood-clad exterior, in 1956. As part of the renovation, landscape design was completed by Lilyvilla Gardens.

The concrete wall mimics the slope of the hill outside as a reference to early Maori structures that were dug into the land. The simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The ceramic works on the built-in seat at right are by Raewyn Atkinson and Robyn Lewis.

When not in use during winter, the tub is hidden from the home’s view. The entrance has a sheltered overhang for car parking.

Seen in the architectural context of its London neighborhood, the house is all the more extraordinary: compact, materially innovative, and easy on the eyes.

The bedroom and bath share a glass wall.

Clad in Western red cedar siding and punctuated with floor-to-ceiling windows, this minimalist two-bedroom home boasts sunrise views over the Sonoma hills.

The second-floor family room is fronted by an L-shaped staircase with an opaque guardrail that provides some privacy for the front facade.

Composed of 220 aluminum "light shelves," the solar reflector screen is the focal point of the front façade. The home takes advantage of its Southern exposure, using the reflector screen to funnel sunlight and warmth deep into the interior space.

A simple poster with bold colors adds to the industrial character of this Paris abode. Photo by Céline Clanet.

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The dining room and upstairs view from the courtyard.

Phillips designed Judith a stark white, glass-fronted art studio.

Many tiny home dwellers develop eco-friendly habits when they downsize—like adopting a capsule wardrobe, carpooling more, and harvesting rainwater.

Reception Area, Modern Law Firm by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

“The house is a piece of origami made out of triangular shapes, which we then draped over the landscape,” says Arbel.

“We sought to create a house that would not damage the environment and not be too visible,” says architect Tina Gregorič. A single zigzagging roof stretches over 5,380 square feet, doubling the area of the interior spaces and serving as an ideal spot for sunset cocktails and whale-watching.

Since surrounding neighbors can overlook the one-story property, Thomson created a roof detail that is environmentally friendly and attractive: “the bio-diverse [green] roof is planted with indigenous species of flowers and grasses,” he says.

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Eero Saarinen’s legendary Miller House opened to the public in May 2011 for the first time. The pathway from the pool to the house is paved with the same slate that clads the exterior walls. Photo by Leslie Williamson.

“The backyard, which was kind of the focus of the project, was overgrown and quite disconnected from the house itself,” said architect Nigel Parish. The glass doors of the addition open onto a patio and lawn where the kids can play.

The entrance to the wateraum, or waiting room.

The rear facade.

Architect Tamira Sawatzky used Ikea components—one-inch Lagan butcher block countertops and inexpensive Ekby Lerberg brackets—when designing the bookshelves along the living room wall in the home/studio he designed for himself and his wife in Toronto.

Mirror by MAP for Sabi, $160 Not only is it irresistibly cute, Sabi’s mirror is also designed for universal use. Installation is a breeze: Punch out the to-scale template from the packaging and hang it with the included adhesive or easy-mount screw.

“Your first impression is that the house is very closed,” says David Barragán of the building he designed with Jose María Sáez in Quito, Ecuador. Stacked concrete forms, developed by Barragán and Sáez and used as planters along the front facade, offer privacy and integrate the building with the site.

Behind an unassuming 19th-century facade in Singapore's Joo Chiat neighborhood, Ching Ian and Yang Yeo's renovation of a typical shophouse venerates tradition while looking squarely to the future. Photo by Richard Powers

Architect Lorcan O’Herlihy created a remarkable residence for himself and his wife, Cornelia, just off Pacific Avenue in Venice, California. Photos by: Misha Gravenor

front facade detail

Architect Sven Matt mixed basic shapes with rich details in this Austrian home. The lattice shell was hewn from silver fir sourced from a nearby forest. Eternit shingles clad the roof.

“High-density living achieves numerous social, environmental and economic benefits,” architect Clare Cousins explains. “[Our clients’] decision to remain in a small space allowed their modest budget to be maximised by efficient spatial planning and a creative composition of commonly available materials.”

Many home buyers are looking for some original or character-defining features.

Herem also sketches his own designs.