On the north-facing facade, it’s easy to discern where the original glass doors used to open directly to the deck. In spring of 2012, Block Island contractor John Spier replaced the entire wall of glass panels.

Originally, glass doors opened to the deck, but after years of gusty winds, it was decided that a side entrance, protected by a sliding steel door, would be the preferred entrance.

A bright-yellow “R” sign, from a truck that used to deliver furniture from Jens Risom Design, sets off the southern facade. When Jens designed the house, he stipulated that he wanted cedar shingles, not the asphalt ones that came with the original design from the catalog.

The Risom plot, located on the northern portion of the island, is bordered by a low stone wall, an aesthetic element that appears throughout Block Island.

Mid-century designer Jens Risom's A-framed prefab family retreat, located on the northern portion of Block island, is bordered by a low stone wall, an aesthetic element that appears throughout the land.

This dwelling joins a number of structures—such as a boathouse and guesthouse—owned by one family and used for vacations. They needed a new house to accommodate new generations at the reatreat.

Edgeland House, built on a cliff-top lot in Austin by architect Thomas Bercy for lawyer and writer Chris Brown, is topped by a living roof that helps it blend into the landscape. The concrete, steel, and glass house is divided into two distinct public and private halves.

Wood from the property’s felled trees was incorporated into every room in the 3,000-square-foot house.

Located in California’s Sugar Bowl neighborhood, this shadowy lair by Mork-Ulnes Architects looks like something out of fairy tale. "We call the house Troll Hus, with a reference to the otherworldly beings in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore that are said to dwell in remote mountains," architect Casper Mork-Ulnes says.

A portrait of the designer. “Architecture, to me, is the most beautiful of the arts. I always knew that I wanted to design, but only [if I could] create products over which I had total control.”

Architects: Kirsten Murray, Tom Kundig

The sofa is a prototype that never went into production—the base slides out and the two cushions become flat for sleeping. Today, one can buy Risom furniture from a variety of sources, including Knoll, Design Within Reach, and Ralph Pucci.

An orange chair and cream ottoman of Risom's design.

A low stone wall surrounds the perimeter, which Jens planted with trees in order to create a buffer between the house and the surrounding vista.

In the living and dining area of Jean Risom's Block Island family retreat, mostly vintage Risom furnishings share space with a few new additions, the view facing north is framed by the wall of glass. Photo by: Floto + Warner

This shade has a levity about it that works well with both muted neutrals and darker colors. Benjamin Moore’s Blue Seafoam (2056-60) is a good example of a relaxing blue paint color that works well for interior and exterior walls.

Jean-Christophe Aumas’ multihued Paris apartment houses both the highly sought artistic director and the stunning assemblage of furniture he’s brought back from his travels. Aumas designed the kitchen island, which is covered in marble tiles from Carrelages du Marais—the geometric floor tiles are from the same place—and strung the matrix of lights up above it. The barstools by Charlotte Perriand were discovered in a vintage store in Antwerp, Belgium. The green wall is covered in paint from Emery & Cie.

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.

The kitchen island, also Douglas fir, showcases the material’s rich striations and color variations. Behind the kitchen are two bedrooms and a single bathroom. A large open air pavilion, built concurrently with the cabin, can be seen from the windows on the right.

All about #red

This 3,200-square-foot structure was assembled with a prefabricated foundation, concrete panel siding, and efficient built-ins, minimizing construction debris and toxins—such as concrete foundation tar—on the site.

The skylights are constantly changing the home's interiors. It's "not just day/night, or dark/light," says Bernheimer, "but the quality of light...changes at any given hour, depending on where clouds are, where the sun is, whether the moon is full or not, all dependent on the time of day, time of year, and so forth."

The inspiration for this prefabricated, modular family home on Fishers Island, New York, were the views that Tanney and Luntz saw from a 12-foot stepladder, which was balancing on the bed of a pickup truck when they first visited the site.

Renowned designer and architect Jens Risom sourced parts from a catalog for his customized A-frame and had them delivered in pieces to his remote island site off Rhode Island, helped to raise the aesthetic profile of modular construction.

Six-year-old twins Nicolas and Constanza use Pentimento as their “little battleground,” says Pasternak. “They have some options here that they will not find anywhere else.” Among those options are a climbing wall offering easy access to the roof.

The exterior timber cladding is coated with black tar, a traditional Norwegian treatment. The finish serves a variety of purposes: solar heat gain, water resistance, and insect repellant.

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."

Light streams from above into the living room and kithen thanks to the home's largest skylight. This skylight isn't one large window but two: one on the eastern side of the double-height volume, and one on the western. In between them are sculptural, pyramid-shaped forms that block and diffuse the sunlight throughout the day. In the words of the architects, they "add to the unexpective quality of light" in the space.

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

Rocket Gallery Jens Risom Furniture

Chris Hardy and Jens Risom's Vens collection is on display at now at WantedDesign.

The kitchen contains an island countertop made of Corian in Glacier White.

A corrugated metal roofing, pine walls stained a warm blonde hue, and an abundance of glass make this modern prefab feel much roomier than its 1,600-square-feet size.

The quiet, minimalist kitchen features a wall in the same “criptoméria" wood used for the bookshelf in the living room. A Davide Groppi Punto 2 PL light hangs over the dining table.

Landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand helped fill out the completed prefab by planting sedge grass on one of the house’s two green roofs to reflect the texture of the surrounding meadow.

Warm wooden walls ensure the simple bedroom setup, a low mattress next to a Muuto Leaf table lamp, offers more comfort than the cold stone exterior.