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.

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.

Architect Janna Levitt devised a creative emellishment for a residence in Canada. Photo by: Philip Cheung

In keeping with the island’s rugged character, the new home was pared down to the essentials. Even the floor in the living room, elevated during the construction process to give seated guests sight lines of the coast, helped frame the outdoors. With this philosophy in mind, Vieira da Silva sourced and designed simple, light furniture, such as the custom bookshelves made from “criptoméria," a type of Japanese wood planted in the Azores for construction. The floor lamp, a Sampei model by Davide Groppi, is set above a Lamino Easy Chair by Swedese. Both the sofa and table are also Swedese.

Another simple, white kitchen with black countertops is this diminutive kitchen in Singapore. Light pours in through the large window, and a tiny but tasteful farmhouse kitchen table rests in the middle of everything.

Built as part of a functional farmhouse, the original building's ground floor was used to store food and animals, a situation that didn't exactly call for expansive views or large amounts of natural light. Vieira da Silva maintained a similar layout over the two-story home, with social areas on the upper floor and bedrooms on the ground floor, but opened up the lower level with large windows. "With the pre-existing stone walls we created patios, keeping a distance [between the walls] so we could have big openings, and create a close and intense relationship with the landscape and the ruin itself."

Initially unassuming, the E/C home appears hidden from the road, perched on the sloping edge of the island and partially wrapped in the basalt walls from an 18th-century farmhouse. Architects Ines Vieira da Silva and and Miguel Vieira approached the site with a vision to create a relationship with the landscape; they designed the 2,600-square-foot holiday home to not only be a simple escape, but also to frame the weathered coast and reflect its past. “Both paths to the house were designed with basalt stone, as if they were still a rural path,” Vieira da Silva says.

The new concrete exterior has already been transformed by the rain and humidity of the Azores, and now sports an aged look. The color contrasts with the basalt wall and dark soil of the Ilha Preta ("Black Island"). Vieira da Silva anticipates that surprising patterns and textures will develop on the outer walls over time.

Six staircases, many open to outside light, serve as pathways between the private interior spaces.

DIY touches define this three-tiered, 182-square-foot studio, belonging to artist and engineer Steve Sauer. Tables, shelving, and benches are made of wood recycled from IKEA products. Copyright Andrew Pogue Photography.

The Pico Remote by Lutron is smaller than a deck of cards and operates the dimmable lighting in the great room.

Though most of the home's interior comes without a splashy designer's name attached, the bathroom is kitted out with a toilet, sink, and bath/shower from Jasper Morrison's line for Ideal Standard. The cabinets are from an Ikea kitchen system.

The materials palette that I chose is light in color with a few splashes of color. This lightness holds the space open and gives it a contemporary feel.

In many an alley I found walls and walls of graffiti.

Nearby, the bathroom includes a composting toilet and a Home Depot sink on a pedestal Chris made from chunks of found wood.

A ‘light soffit’ offers a dynamic view of the stream below, providing both visual and audio stimulation. Throughout the year, the studio is filled with the sound of water, from the ocean waves to the rain and drizzle, to the flowing stream below. The artist, who has a longstanding connection to the site, focuses on “art which leaves marks at once permanent and delicate,” much like the structure itself.

Minimal interventions by architect Andrew Simpson allowed this former jam warehouse outside of Melbourne, Australia, to be turned into a family residence. "To draw light and ventilation into what was a poorly oriented and deep footprint, an extensive number of operable skylights were introduced on the north- and south-facing roof pitches, and a large void connecting the floors was strategically positioned to also take advantage of this amenity," Simpson says. American oak floorboards and Dulux paint were used throughout the property for continuity.

Above the sink in the kitchen, you can see one of Bocci’s first 57 chandeliers. Photo by José Mandojana.

The Pico Rocket by Femme Den.

Color is one way the architects differentiated the structures, as in the custom doors they designed for the entrances in contrasting light and dark light finishes.

A couple enlist Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to reimagine their home as a multigenerational meeting point. In 1963, landscape designer Lawrence Halprin devised a master plan for a community that would live in harmony with the natural environment. The resulting Sea Ranch, which stretches 10 miles along the Pacific coastline in Sonoma County, California, is characterized by timber-frame, wood-clad structures that are in dialogue with the local climate and terrain. Sited on a bluff within this pioneering community is the vacation home of a lawyer couple. After purchasing the residence in 2007, they lived in the home as it was for four years, even keeping the previous owners’ furniture. Envisioning a retreat that would accommodate their extended family and guests, they then recruited Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to help guide the project.

It took Susanna several layers of sanding—and then finally tossing her water-based paint and selecting the proper oil-based formula—to get the floor as white as she'd envisioned. But she couldn't be happier with the result. “The apartment looks bigger when there are white surfaces for the light to bounce on,” she says.

Sleeping nooks that look like the grooves in a block of cheese.

If you’re tired of your go-to beverage and missing your favorite craft cocktail bar, recreate the experience at home by dimming the lights or swapping in colored bulbs, rearranging some decor and furniture, and trying out one of the shelter-in-place cocktail recipes recommended by top mixologists.

In New York about two hours north of New York City, architecture and interiors firm BarlisWedlick created an eclectic compound designed to suit a client with an idiosyncratic wish list. In the kitchen, a custom Stickbulb LED lamp hangs above a kitchen island topped by concrete from Get Real Surfaces. The cabinets and island feature a modern version of a traditional board and batten siding that are given an even more contemporary feel with the concrete countertop.

A glass door on the north side sits opposite a glass window on the south wall that overlooks a birch tree forest. Skylights pull light into the interior. "Even though the artist paints landscapes, she didn't want to be distracted by the beauty of her surroundings while in the studio, which led to the limited apertures," Peterson says.

Plants found in the surrounding landscape were used to obscure the lines between designed and natural worlds.

Strategic openings on the ground floor provide a clear view of the ocean.

At dusk, the home's light illuminates the lines and layers of the aged stone, casting shadows on the lawn.

A passage between the walls for hide and seek.

AURA LIGHT Intending to take light to an elemental place, the Aura Light from Ladies & Gentlemen Studio features two simple, primary elements: the light source—the bulb—and the illumination, which is highlighted by a brass ring. The result is a simple but sophisticated fixture that can be used as a singular suspended piece, or can be grouped with other Aura Lights for a more dramatic, installation-like effect. When the Aura Light is turned off, the minimalist pendant looks delicate and spare; it does not interrupt its environment. When it is illuminated, the aptly named Aura Light produces a lovely, halo-like diffusion of light, enhanced by its metal ring.

Light Strings A visual representation of age versus time spent online, this brightly lit display at the TICdate festival produced a visual metaphor for data consumption.