The charred cedar exterior gently basks in the Alaskan sun.

A family of cost-conscious Hamburgers converted a kitschy turn-of-the-century villa into a high-design home with a strict budget in place. To unite the quaint masonry of the original villa with the squat, ugly add-on built flush against it, the architects decided to paint the old-fashioned facade graphite gray and then covered the box next door in plain, light-colored larch. Photo by Mark Seelen.

Built in the early 1970s, the house's kitchen, living, and dining areas were originally divided into three distinct zones. In order for this great room to flow as one, Klopf Architecture removed the glass doors and solid walls separating the enclosed atrium from the kitchen and living room. A Herman Miller trade poster, Design Within Reach book tower, and IKEA sofa mingle in the space.

The couple lounges in their great room. The 16-foot-high windows are from Milgard.

Most of the furniture in the living room is from London flea markets and eBay.

Originally designed by locally renowned architect Arthur Dallas Stenger, this 1960s home featured an unusual awning that was maintained during a 21st-century upgrade by architects Rick and Cindy Black. The architects partially reconfigured the interior layout, updated the kitchen, and added new doors to the porch, all the while making sure the adjustments to the house honored its midcentury provenance while still avoiding creating a time capsule.

A family in Hamburg, Germany, turned a kitschy turn-of-the-century villa into a high-design home with a few exterior tricks, including sheathing the exterior in one-dimensional, murdered-out black.

A series of charred modern boxes, the home Petra Sattler-Smith and Klaus Mayer designed for Martin Buser and Kathy Chapoton, is organized around views of the Alaskan landscape.

Megan: Modernist Cuisine Every Saturday morning at 11:00 am, my friends and family know where they can find me. I'm watching America's Test Kitchen on PBS and then Cook's Country. I love these shows because I love cooking, but more than just the act, I love the science of food. Modernist Cuisine is a great collection of cook books I just discovered that highlight science-inspired techniques for preparing food. The authors, Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet and their 20 person team at The Cooking Lab got super creative with tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. This is cooking for the modern age!

This recently listed home in the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook was completed in 1958.

The front facade features the original fenestration design, including a row of casement windows and a series of translucent panels near the main entrance.

The 1956 all-white La Casa di Ucello Bianca, designed by an unkown architect, was carefully restored by its current owners.

The great room's high, pitched roof and neutral walls give the space an open, tranquil feel, making it a desirable spot for the couple to pursue two of their passions: classical music and literature.

One of the most astounding views from the house extends all the way to Mt. McKinley, the highest point in North America at over 20,000 feet.

Cozy two story great room with vaulted ceilings

Dining Area with Custom Dining Table by Rob Zinn for blankblank & Nakashima Chairs by Knoll, Martis Camp Residence by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

All the floors were redone in a light ash hardwood. The crisp interior paint is Benjamin Moore Super White. The kitchen cabinets are from Artistic Kitchens. A frosted glass door leads to the laundry room.

Vilhelm Lundstrom portrait of Juhl’s wife, Hanne Wilhelm Hansen, hangs above Juhl's Poet sofa (1941). The sofa faces one of Juhl's most recognizable designs, the 1949 Chieftain chair. The white brick hearth extends into the room to resemble an area rug.

A mature avocado tree shades the hardscaped patio located just outside the great room.

Also in La Casa di Ucello Bianca, sunlight from a clerestory reflects off white ceilings to illuminate richly hued furnishings.

Dining Area and Kitchen, Martis Camp Residence by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

Great Room - Eagle's Nest Estate

Living Room, Martis Camp Residence by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

The first-floor great room is where all the action takes place. “It’s like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian homes: everyone in one main space,” Hale says.

Another beautiful design from Haptic Lab and by Emily Fischer, the Great Lakes Quilt features light blue, poly-silk, hand-appliqued shapes against a navy background.

Glass panelling creates light and space within the room.

Large Brick Fireplace in Sea Oaks Great Room

Custom Timberpeg Hammer Beam Truss and Grand Fireplace in the Formal Great Room

Custom Timberpeg Hammer Beam Truss in the Formal Great Room

Custom Timberpeg Hammer Beam Truss in the Formal Great Room

"A flower that rises from the rock" is how Niemeyer described this organic, saucer-like structure, a home for art and design that boasts beautiful views of Guanabara Bay. An inviting red walkway snakes up towards the entrance towards the main cupola.

The structure is characteristic of the town's architecture. The city was rebuilt by modernist architects from the nearby Bordeaux school after it was destroyed during World War II.

Ocotillo was placed in key areas as a great structural focal point.

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