Architects: Kirsten Murray, Tom Kundig

Photo via Hughesumbanhowar Architects

This 3,200-square-foot structure was assembled with a prefabricated foundation, concrete panel siding, and efficient built-ins, minimizing construction debris and toxins—such as concrete foundation tar—on the site.

Two Black Sheds incorporates all the conventional aspects of a weekend retreat in a rather unconventional way.

This dwelling joins a number of structures—such as a boathouse and guesthouse—owned by one family and used for vacations. They needed a new house to accommodate new generations at the reatreat.

Designer Christiane Hogner, Bruxelles

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.

One of the main goals of the construction was to do as little harm as possible to the existing environment, which includes waterways that salmon depend upon. Herrin and his team created a garden roof that covers the full extent of the home to meet this objective. “This helps control storm water runoff and also replaces lost insect habitat—insects being a critical food source for juvenile salmon,” he says.

Wood from the property’s felled trees was incorporated into every room in the 3,000-square-foot house.

Located in California’s Sugar Bowl neighborhood, this shadowy lair by Mork-Ulnes Architects looks like something out of fairy tale. "We call the house Troll Hus, with a reference to the otherworldly beings in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore that are said to dwell in remote mountains," architect Casper Mork-Ulnes says.

Erin Moore of FLOAT Architectural Research and Design, based in Tucson, Arizona, designed a 70-square-foot writer’s retreat in Wren, Oregon, for her mother, Kathleen Dean Moore, a nature writer and professor of philosophy at nearby Oregon State University. The elder Moore wanted a small studio in which to work and observe the delicate wetland ecosystem on the banks of the Marys River. Enlisting her daughter’s design expertise, her professor husband’s carpentry savoir faire, the aid of friends, and a front loader, Kathleen and her crew erected the structure in September 2007. Photo by Gary Tarleton. Totally off the grid—–Kathleen forgoes the computer and writes by hand when there—–the Watershed was designed to tread as lightly on the fragile ecosystem as the wild turkeys and Western pond turtles that live nearby. “

The material was gathered from soil with high sand content on the property as well as a second site in the vicinity. Certain volumes of the home consist of a concrete structure and brick masonry.

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 thrill of a home renovation can quickly be diminished by unforeseen circumstances, stretched budgets, and other unexpected issues. The good news is that most of the time these problems can be mitigated, if not avoided entirely, by keeping an eye out for warning signals. Read on as we go through essential home renovation tips to consider before kicking off your own revamp.

A flat roof and all-white interior unifies the home's three volumes.

“From the street, it appears as a rectangular building with sloping shed roofs, but this is actually an illusion,” Hutchison notes. “The floor plan is actually U-shaped, wrapping around an entry courtyard that is contained by the continuous west facade.” A standing seam metal roof by Custom Bilt Metals blends in with the cedar siding.

Girodo describes LEAPfactory’s architecture as being “molded according to the needs and stresses imposed by context.” In this setting, strong winds and snow loads are serious concerns. The shell’s composite sandwich panels and aluminum shingles ensure that the school can withstand the elements.

Volvo's commitment to sport is displayed with a ski helmet and goggles by POC.

A sofa from Design Within Reach opposes a Hi Turn chair by Bensen in the living room.

“Consistent with the lakefront cabin charm, the owners liked the idea of accessing much of the house from outdoor porches and walkways,” says architect Ted Flato. Supplies from Dynamic Architectural Windows and Doors bring light in to the home’s covered spaces.

Custom-designed furniture outfits the interior of a bunker-turned-vacation retreat in the Netherlands.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

Lassen designed all the furniture with the exception of a few items, like the vintage Chairman armchair by Henrik Tengler and white IKEA sofas. “To keep it simple, we only used natural colors from wood inside, with everything else being white,” Lassen says.

Turin designed the bed, console, and side tables in the master bedroom. The room gets plenty of illumination through the windows, which she had remade to match the 1925 detailing and covered in translucent Trevira fabric curtains by Rogers and Goffigon. “They provide privacy but lots of light comes through.”

For the snowy season, a Rais stove provides extra warmth.

Designed by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, this house is located in the outer region of the Stockholm archipelago. To keep expenses low, the architects opted for a simple gabled design and simple materials—the sheet metal facade and OSB walls within, for instance.

Architect Bruno Despierre built a deck for outdoor activities from pine wood.

Low-impact materials were also used for the interior design, which is comprised primarily of concrete, glass, stone, wood, and steel. A palette of mostly light and neutral shades puts the attention on the views.

Konishi and Gaffney's bedroom is fairly austere, though a pair of dormers let in lovely natural light.

The interior showcases the roof's laminated wood beams. A Panton chair takes the seat of honor at the dining table.

A red print by Cris Gianakos accents a well-lit stairwell leading to a laundry area, library, and rec room on the full basement floor.

The Courmayeur Ski & Snowboard School's home is part of a cluster of buildings located in the ski area of Plan Checrouit, at the foot of Mont Blanc. LEAPfactory’s design for the facility, while crisp and contemporary, echoes the design of its neighbors, particularly their asymmetrical gables.

The kitchen island, also Douglas fir, showcases the material’s rich striations and color variations. Behind the kitchen are two bedrooms and a single bathroom. A large open air pavilion, built concurrently with the cabin, can be seen from the windows on the right.

Machnik's final design on the season finale, airing Sunday, May 25, 2014 on NBC, is a beach house with a black exterior and a white interior. While controversial to the other designers, the result is very European and modern. "I don't like fluffy decorations," says Machnik. Photo courtesy of Lukas Machnik.

When homeowners of an off-the-grid property in the Bay Area needed to add a home office, they added a custom deck to their Studio Shed to take advantage of the landscape.

This Nordic kitchen shows why white spaces aren't all the same. Frosted glass and veiny marble offset the milky Eames shell chairs in this photo from @tinashome.