The kitchen, which sits at the center of the house, features recycled glass countertops, Ikea cabinets, and carbonized bamboo floors. “We had Thanksgiving dinner there,” says the daughter. “There’s no sense of the house as small. It feels like a house.”

Sukat Makkaralla Pitcher by Marimekko "I see this concept—trying to mimic a plastic water bottle—in other places," Stubbs says. "But I like how this isn’t an exact replica of a water bottle. It takes that idea and makes it more into a design object. I think it would be great for a summer drink like a watermelon lemonade."

Van Beek’s extra space is home to her office. She works on a Tense table by Piergiorgio and Michele Cazzaniga and Flow chairs by Jean Marie Massaud, both for MDF Italia.

He worked around existing oak and eucalyptus trees for the new building, and retained the vernacular of an original barn, at right, where Frankel hosts concerts. Check out MVRDV's Balancing Barn.

Located in Aarhus, Denmark, Villa R is a minimalist, serene structure clad in zinc panels. "The objective was to create a house that brings the forest inside through large glass panels—and create an ever-changing seasonal backdrop for the interior living spaces," stated the architecture firm, C.F. Møller, of the 3,200-square-foot abode.

The Parisian flat that American-born architect Michael Herrman shares with his wife, Cécile, and their 2-year-old daughter, Rose, had been nearly untouched since the 1790s, when it was built. “But I wanted to try and reveal some of its age in a fresh new context,” Herrman said.

The striking glass-and-copper Tank Jug Glass Pitcher, designed by Tom Dixon, resembles a piece from a chemistry set.

Tom Dixon's The Tank Series, inspired by chemistry equipment, includes this sculptural Glass Pitcher ($125) made from hand-blown glass and painted copper at its base. Whether contrasted against the color of its contents, or standing alone, the piece makes a distinctive visual statement.

The second-floor office is housed inside a rounded rectangle of concrete that the architect inserted on top of the old farmhouse.

The new volume houses the dining area, which includes stairs to the bedrooms. The table is from Blake Avenue and the walnut chairs are from Room & Board. “You don’t want bright colors to take away from that relationship between the interior and the exterior,” Walker says.

The subway tile-lined bathroom was kept as simple as possible, with Hansgrohe fixtures and cabinets made of vertical-grain Douglas fir above a top-mounted Duravit sink. Since installing a window was unfeasible given the bathroom's proximity to other properties, Storey added a skylight over the shower.

The bedroom is enclosed with a glass wall. A blackout curtain can be drawn closed for privacy. An IKEA cabinet and white lacquered shelves help to provide plenty of closet space.

One major directive was to “honor the tree,” referring to a particular 85-year-old cottonwood on the property. Photo by: Kirk Gittings

To keep water at hand, Esque has handcrafted these charmingly off-kilter cup and pitcher sets. Ideal for a bedside table, desktop or dinner party; they're a bright choice for a perfect pour.

A double-height space encompasses the kitchen, dining and living area, and features 36-feet-wide glass doors that pocket into southern and northern walls.

Leave it to the bloggers at Remodelista to find attractive recycling bins, we love their ten picks.

Ultima Thule This perfectly icy pitcher is beautiful and elegant with a bit of whimsy. It would be great on any table regardless of time of year but adds an extra frosty sparkle to a wintery tablescape.

“Peter and I’ve got shockingly similar and far-reaching design inspirations. Our conversations would move easily from brutalism to driftwood to kachinas and then flow right back to something applicable to architecture. I can’t tell you how many times I will do that with a less-design-literate client and just get a blank stare!” —Architect Craig Steely

Each of Aoki’s pitchers is one of a kind.

Seen from a distance, the farmhouse has a time-honored quality, though it’s still clearly a product of the 21st century.

The picture wall is adorned with images collected from family, colleagues, and estate sales. ”I kill plants, so cacti are our friends,” Peter says of the succulents along the low table behind the Design Within Reach sofa, just over which an Established & Sons Font clock keeps time.

The slightly below-ground kitchen sits inside a boxy extension, clad in recycled timber and stained kettle black. A wildflower garden grows on its pitched roof.

The two wings of the addition are connected by a central “void space.” The glass walls visually draw the garden and greenery into the living space. Both East Coast transplants, the couple wanted to more easily take advantage of favorable gardening conditions in the mild Northern California climate. With this in mind, they used the renovation to bring the outdoors in, as well as encourage easy and direct exterior access for gardening.

Architect Stefano Girodo explains the building has a “completely prefabricated and modular structure.” It was built using recyclable and environmentally friendly materials and designed to ensure easy mechanical assembly once on site.

The owners of this home selected a geometric-patterned glass tile backsplash by Island Stone. The glass tile keeps the space bright, and the pattern adds interest.

Delivering a modern look, concrete serves as a long-lasting, hardwearing material.

Just as the barn was extended and cantilevered over the sloped site, so too was the deck off the kitchen, which juts out toward the oak grove. “There are 125 coast live oaks on the property,” says Walker. “They’re beautiful trees, so why not exploit that?” See more ways to use oak in your home.

The house architects Teresa Sarmiento and Nicolas Tovo designed for their family—including 1-year-old Clara, for whom the structure is named—is a celebration of recycled materials.

The cedar-and-glass structure rises over an expansive rear patio. Although it is larger than some of its neighbors, the home nearly matches the height line of the surrounding houses due to its flat, modern roof.

The architect brought the solid walls of certain rooms down to 7’ 8”, filling the remaining 4’ 2” with glass. This defining feature allows sunlight penetrate deep into the core of the space. The clients say the bright reds, oranges, and yellows of sunsets race across the ceiling and white walls.

Adding 290 square feet to this already small (just 566 square feet) black A-frame in Brecht, Belgium, was all the local building ordinances allowed, but the architects at dmvA found that a single wing extended out to the side gave resident Rini van Beek all the storage and living space that she needs.

“Before, the house turned its back on the landscape,” said Parish. “This renovation and addition really animates the garden.” Sliding glass doors match those of the living room beyond the deck, and both can be completely open to the yard.

The master bedroom is defined on the north side by a series of indoor louvers, which allow the couple to frame and manage their views.

In the hall, the designer allowed the original details to resonate. “The old building has a lot to tell us,” she says.

The resident, a Tokyo transplant, commissioned architect Tadashi Murai to create a fully-equipped structure that comes with its own power, heating and cooling, water, and waste-disposal systems.

Conceived as a glass wall or window that could swing open rather than a typical door, the resulting glass-and-metal piece is so heavy that it required its own foundation! Thanks to clever engineering by Sand Studios, even seven-year-old Macy can operate the 2,000-pound door.