"I wanted the bones of the house to be bold, strong and simple,

The architects incorporated sustainably sourced parota wood into the living room’s sunken seating area. The Turn Tall side table is from Blu Dot, and the pillows are from West Elm.

A young Finnish designer bypasses building permits by creating an affordable tiny home under 100 square feet.

The journey through the dark tunnel to the new, light-filled addition is both a texturally interesting and atmospheric experience, where the contrast between old and new, dark and light, can be felt.

Inspirational spaces

Polychromie Le Corbusier by kt.COLOR Produced with the Le Corbusier Foundation, this historically faithful swatch of 81 hues was sourced from the architect’s own wallpaper samples, paint chips, designs, and storied investigations into the essence of color.

On one side of the house, a white central staircase leads to a split-level landing the Robertsons call "the reading room." "We needed a place to hang out and for the kids to read," explains owner Vivi Nguyen-Robertson. Awaiting the birth of the couple's son, she relaxes in a built-in reading nook in the library.

The outdoor atrium of Family House Litvínovice is a completely private space that's well-suited for the installation of a hammock, outdoor bath, or shower. A11 designed the home to be an exploration of minimalism and privacy from the outside world.

Rear Facade

The house for Kundan's mother, dubbed Chameli, is constructed of two 40 x 8 containers located next to the family's garden.

Configur8 tiles provide distinctive cladding for the exterior of this modern home.

"The site has lush vegetation dotted with mature live oak trees, and Sarah is a gifted gardener who keeps the yard beautiful,

Although synthetic slate roof tiles have been around since the 1970s, the way architect Stephen Bruns used them to completely clad Woven House is unusual. "I love this material," says Bruns. "The way light reflects off the tiles creates a specular effect, almost like a mosaic." That reflective quality is enhanced by the floor-to-ceiling windows by Loewen.

The living room has a long, built-in couch with a custom midcentury-inspired fireplace. Polished concrete floors in the interior contrast with the outdoor timber decking.

Top 9 Prefabs of 2020: These best-in-class prefabricated homes are vying for your vote in the Dwell Design Awards.

The two monolithic walls on the north and south sides are integrally colored, steel-troweled plaster. They anchor the home in its site as well as provide privacy from neighboring homes.

While the design is suitable for life on land, the owners of this one decided to mount it on a floating catamaran, which can be moored to a buoy or sailed at speeds of up to four knots. The tiny house, called Altar, is currently offered as a rental on Airbnb.

Aidlin Darling Design recasts an unremarkable midcentury home as a multigenerational retreat crowned by a living roof.

Inside one of the bathrooms.

A minimalist black-and-white aesthetic is kept in this apartment kitchen, where elongated black tile is contrasted with lighter gray grout. The countertops are dark soapstone and the cabinets are a dark green-black.

The firm also designed the new kitchen space, opting for a contrasting darker palette.

“Escapism for us is about exploration and immersion in nature,” says Little. “We have designed beautiful buildings that sit in harmony within the natural environment and offer an interior sanctuary, a space that lends itself to quiet, contemplative reflection, a space to mindful of our wellbeing.”

Mariah included as many modular elements as possible in the kitchen. "I didn't want a lot of built-ins that would make the space look and feel heavy," she says.

Photo: Willem-Dirk du Toit

Behind the door of the floor-to-ceiling cabinet in Cato's room is a small play area as well as a staircase that leads to an upper-level play space.

In a twist on Tudor Revival, one of only a few styles permitted in the neighborhood they raised the living area above a terrace. “The layout was all about how to fit the program within the very particular limitations of this site,” says architect César Becerra.

The open living space is warm and inviting, filled with natural materials, specially curated and restored furnishings, and a bold orange-and-black wool rug which dates back to 1969.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.