Nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, this 200-year-old home inspired one former copywriter to delve into architecture as a living. Inside, renovator and owner Tom Givone mixes vintage and industrial decor. Photo by Mark Mahaney.

"It only cost about $48,000 to build, which was incredibly cheap," says Turner of the Stealth Barn. "We got the Timber Frame Company to supply the shell, then we clad it and fitted out the interior and windows ourselves. The idea was to take the archetypal black tar-painted agricultural building and make an almost childlike icon of that."

Tom Givone's current weekend abode, nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, is—so far—his capstone project, a synthesis of personal taste, material experimentation, and historically sensitive restoration: a living laboratory for how to bring the vernacular past into the present.

Adrian Jones and Allison Silverman sit at their reclaimed wood dining table. Eco-mindedness is a matter-of-fact part of everyday life for the couple and the designer, Garrick Jones. “Sustainability comes from flexibility and planning for the long term,” Garrick says. “This is not a glammed-up loft.”

A sidewalk view.

Wrapped in Anne Sacks tile, the master bathroom is outfitted with fixtures by Kohler.

Envisioned as "an apartment within an apartment," the master suite is secluded from the rest of the home, accessible via the steel-and-glass catwalk. The owner's sanctuary features a built-in bed and credenza by City.

A tiny outbuilding offers a cozy living space inside a simple shell.

The core in the middle of the apartment contains the staircase, two bathrooms, and a laundry area on the lower floor, and a small workspace upstairs.

Living small is par for the course in New York City, but accommodating a family of four in under 700 square feet rarely looks as effortless as in this storage-smart renovation. Scott Oliver and Margarita McGrath of noroof architects created many clever built-ins and transformable furniture in this apartment. Photo by Raimund Koch. See how the rooms transform in this extended slideshow.

As the facade of a Bates Masi-designed home in Water Mill, New York, rises from eight to 14 feet high, the mahogany planks subtly widen. “It was quite a demand to make of the contractor,” architect Paul Masi says. “But the design was so much about traveling through the site and weaving [the house] together with the deck.”

Tanya Wexler and Amy Zimmerman linger in the breezeway designed to draw eyes, and footsteps, from the driveway through the house to the gently sloping backyard and swimming pool beyond.

"I think an architect’s job is to celebrate what people really care about and simplify and streamline the rest.” —Page Goolrick

Alan Orenbuch and Bryan O’Rourke bought a house and shed, both designed by John M. Johansen, north of New York City in 2009. The shed became a refuge for their many houseguests after an extensive renovation that trimmed the structure to 385 square feet.

The New York City subway crisscrosses the five boroughs, linking all but Staten Island.

Drew/McManus Residence Floor Plan A Bedroom B Bathroom C Kitchen D Living-Dining Area

Hutchins and Montague worked with Samuel H. Williamson Associates Landscape Architecture on the garden, which is planted with sword ferns, vine maple, and wild ginger. “When we look at it from the bedroom, it’s our private little forest,” Montague says.

The 1967 beach house—which underwent a meticulous renovation by Bates Masi, the original architect’s firm—is listed as an exclusive holiday rental along the coast of Long Island in New York.

A 17-foot-tall freestanding play structure that designer Sharon Davis designed for her family in upstate New York can only be entered by climbing taut netting and entering through a trap door. Descending requires sliding down two structural-columns-turned-fire-poles.

In the kitchen, the cabinetry is walnut veneer with a weathered finish applied by cabinetmaker David Rogers. “The process involved sanding and rubbing in stain as well as adding a clear finish,” project architect Eero Puurunen says.

Despite the economic downturn, the city is still booming with construction—as evidenced by the fleet of cranes on the horizon.

New York City, population 20,300,000. New York City was the world's first megacity and remains America's largest.

The wood-frame residence and studio are clad in vertical cedar siding—back then, a daring competitor to clapboard—instead of concrete to save costs. The effect is equally seamless, however: “If you drive by it fast enough,” Charles Gwathmey once said, “you still might mistake it for a concrete house.” Photo by Norman McGrath.

Mojo Stumer Associates Architects and landscape architects Town & Gardens partnered to rejuventate an overlooked outdoor area at a Manhattan penthouse. Their objective was to elevate the terrace to match the inviting, modern interiors.

View of the High Line public park, a former elevated New York Central Railroad spur, or branch line.

One of the pleasures of New York City is people-watching, especially in the golden glow of late afternoon.

The exterior mixes pale gray wood on the vertical volume, and fiber cement and black brick on the horiztonal volume. The three trees in the front yard were maintained during the renovation process.

“I love this low-level stair window. It’s at head height when you’re at the bottom of the stairs; it gives you a glimpse of, and connection to, the garden outside. Most of the windows capture what I’d call ‘hero shots,’ but some, like this one, are completely unexpected.”

These no-fuss landscaping ideas yield gardens that practically take care of themselves.

The great room in the 2,800-square-foot house that architect Drew Lang designed for his family in the Hudson Woods development north of New York City features generous amounts of white oak, which he says is his favorite material.

The Langs use an outbuilding as a rec room of sorts. "We call that the Grace Studio," Lang says. "It's designed so a car can pull in there, but we use it as more of a rec room and work space."

Houldin, 10, curls up in the playroom nook which is directly under a side skylight that Pulltab added in order to make the interior rooms inhabitable, as per New York City building code. The custom millwork around the window seat is painted in Rainy Day by Fine Paints of Europe.

A yellow Pedestal filing cabinet by USM is tucked under a built-in desk in the guest bedroom. The leather-back chair was designed by Michael Robbins, a furniture designer based in New York's Hudson Valley.

The master bathroom features a cedar screen and quartzite tiles by Walker Zanger.

White oak makes a return appearance on the ceiling in the master bedroom.

The home is embedded in a hillside with five feet of soil above it. In addition to blending the structure into the landscape, the surrounding earth provides natural insulation.