A lofted sleeping pod offers a bit of privacy and helps maximize space. Beneath it is a zippy yellow bathroom.

For those who need design pieces to be multifunctional, the Pedal Pod boasts ample cubby space to stash odds and ends along with a rubber-lined roost that suspends your bike, freeing up desirable floor real estate.

Power Pod Convenience and functionality blend into elegant design with Coalesse’s PowerPod. Designed by Scott Wilson and MINIMAL, PowerPod delivers two functions in one. When needed, the PowerPod houses six power outlets with built-in surge-suppression. When not needed, the outlet is converted to a sleek pencil organizer and accessory tray. Energy-saving on/off switch reduces vampire power consumption.

Alexander walks from the bedroom pod into the living room under her freeway-inspired sculpture, titled Run A Way.

Headspace, a website and app for teaching self-care and mindfulness, has teamed with Californian architect duo Oyler Wu to design an experience that embodies the spirit of meditation and enhances its practices. What they came up is a simple pod, hollowed out with a curvilinear interior made of layered, machine-cut wood that rests on a steel frame.

Launching later this year, with price upon request, the Meditation Pod aims to trigger a reevaluation of how the built environment supports mental well-being. Learn more at Headspace.

Inside the Headspace Meditation Pod, a discreet built-in screen leads practitioners through the company's library of guided meditations via headphones. Its organic forms provide a comfortable position for repose.

The project addresses an age-old conundrum of meditation, says Headspace co-founder Rich Pierson: "How do you make an intangible exercise, tangible?" Oyler Wu responded with a characteristically forward-thinking concept, one that envelops users in undulating folds that were inspired by natural geological formations.

Large and small Natural Pod made from black ash and cassein paint. From $6,000

This ingenious mug handily brings together what is, perhaps, the greatest, most comforting, and perfectly delicious duo of our time: tea and biscuits. Eliminate the need for a pesky plate and just stick your cookies beneath your brew and you're good to go.

Five pods made of OSB wood and metal provide informal nooks for socializing or eating. The pods contain built-in banquettes and Emeco's 111 Navy Chair. Photo by Nikolas Koenig.

Spheres were an underlying theme at this year's Dwell on Design; witness the G-Pod, a convertible outdoor pod with a bench that raises to create a flat, protected lounge area.

The POD INDAWO, designed in Johannesburg by architect architect Clara da Cruz Almeida and the interior designer team Dokter and Misses, tries to address some of the country's housing issues in roughly 186 square feet by stacking space, incorporating custom storage solutions, and—most relevant to the South African context—maximizing sunlight and outdoor exposure.

The POD INDAWO prototype prefab home from South Africa—the name comes from an indigenous word for place—offers a sustainable, affordable solution to overcome the high barrier to homeownership.

The compact, custom bathroom. Currently estimated to cost between roughly $18,000 and $63,000 depending on options, the pod not only offers a choice of on- or off-grid living (with the installation of solar cells), but presents a new framework for more local, sustainable housing, according to Almeida.

Within the small, bi-level dwelling of steel, wood and aluminum, a system of space and energy conservation govern every feature, from the white-and-mint exterior that reflects solar heat to the inclusion of a slim ladder to reach the upper mezzanine. Adriaan Hugo of Dokter and Misses incorporated custom piecework, as well as a foldaway couch and table, to make the interior feel as large as possible.

“In South Africa, a lot of the population live in backyard shacks,” says architect Clara da Cruz Almeida. “So why don’t we make it better and desirable?” The display unit features a glass side wall that gives a glimpse of the interior.

While the bi-level space gives the impression of airiness in a relatively confined room, those clamoring for more space can simply fold up the couch and go out on the custom deck, which the designers call the lounge, to rest under the retractable awning. There’s an easy expansion plan, too, since multiple steel-framed modular units can be linked together to create a larger, custom dwelling.

Designed by ZJJZ Atelier, the shingle-clad pods—known as The Seeds—provide an off-grid retreat in a lush area in Jiangxi, China.

Madison points out that the pod concept would make it easy to add an extension if necessary. “We see it as a house that can grow with us—and that we can pay for as we go along.”

Project Name: Basic Pod Website: www.pod-idladla.com

While Nature Pod pictured here has a showerhead installed outside, it is normally placed in the in the bathroom behind a glass door (or a curtain if the home is purchased without insulation).

A narrow staircase connects the main floor with the pod’s upper level and intersects the entryway to form another captivating, carved-out space.

The Nature Pod is available as an empty shell without insulation for €13K. Furniture and millwork throughout the rest of the unit, including the queen-sized futon in the bedroom and storage options, must be purchased as add-ons.

Eek and a partner standing in front of a pod they built on their workshop site with scrap metal

Keven Weeks shows us how it's done inside a Nestrest pod.

Kitchen and dining pod

Metal Pods by Scott Parenteau

In the tower pod, there’s an open plan master bedroom and bathroom on the top floor with the children’s bedroom, utility, and bathroom underneath. The pod on the opposite end is for guests and can be closed off when they don’t need it.

A small galley kitchen is built into the larger of the two prefabricated pod volumes.

Each pod is conveniently equipped with a complete bathroom.

The “guest pod” could be used as an additional bedroom, or a writing/art studio.

Whitepod currently offers 15 pods in 3 different configurations.

An arial view of the property clearly illustrates the five attached pods.

The color of the pods is adapted to each season: white in winter, green in summer.

The firm relocated the master bedroom to foster privacy, and it is joined by an en-suite bathroom and private study, seen down the hallway. "Black Laminate was used as the finish for the wall paneling, and provided concealed storage behind the master bed," says the firm. "This black laminate continues around all exterior surfaces of the master en-suite, powder room, and study joinery, to form a ‘black pod’ of sorts."