After a 40-year-old pine tree fell over on a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles, the owner let it lie, and the continued to grow from its newfound horizontal position. He decided to incorporate it into a 172-square-foot office and guest house with the structure floating above the tree. Around the perimeter of the butterfly roof is a clerestory that gives the illusion that the roof is floating.

Pro and Con(crete) For Whitlock, using concrete for the first floor was an inexpensive alternative to stone, wood, or tile. “I just poured the foundation and it gave me my finished floor,” Whitlock says. “Way simpler!”

The glass-enclosed master bedroom floats above the corrugated, oxidized steel exterior.

Davor (with his wife, Abbe, and son, August) designed the main living and dining pavilion as a double-height space to increase its perceived volume, and added high cubbies for extra storage.

Of the seven steps in Michael Pozner’s not-quite-500-square-foot aerie in Greenwich Village, five contain drawers. His small set of table and chairs is from CB2.

Using natural materials is one way of bringing nature indoors. Oiled white ash floors and ceilings, along with Italian poplar and Lawson cypress joinery, are found throughout architect Andrew Simpson’s 538-square-foot home outside Wellington, New Zealand.

The former dining room is now home to Russell and Fontanez’s custom kitchen, designed by LOT-EK and fabricated by Chef Restaurant Supplies. “We love to entertain,” Russell says. “Before, the galley kitchen was in the hallway; now we can cook and still be a part of the party.” The space-saving setup, which adjoins the living room, features stainless steel–paneled cabinets, DuPont Corian countertops, Onda stools by Jesus Gasca for Stua, and fixtures and appliances by Grohe, Liebherr, and Miele. To maximize space, the designers specified that the cabinets be built around a former fireplace in the kitchen. “Because there’s a bump out where the chimney is, we turned the sink lengthwise,” Lignano says. “The cabinet directly overhead is only four inches deep, so it’s just a huge spice rack.” The island provides ample additional storage.

The floor tiles are close matches to the originals, which had to be replaced after a pipe burst.

The family room is situated at the apex of the house, with picturesque views that extend up the meticulously landscaped north slope. The concrete floor sits just low enough that the main elements of the scene—the succulent garden and large limestone ledges—are at eye level. A bank of NanaWall folding windows breaks up the fourth wall.

A sleek version of the traditional parrilla, or grill, handcrafted by Oficios Asociados, has pride of place on the patio counter. - Buenos Aires, Argentina Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

Kelly Milford helps son Adam out of the hot tub nestled on a wood deck in back of the house. The exterior paint is Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore.

Architect Tamira Sawatzky and artist Elle Flanders get an awfully good view of their busy Toronto street from their office and dining room.

The table is by Made, the sneaker-inspired Shoe Toss pendants are by Jeremy Hatch of Ricochet Studio, and the laser-cut photo on the wall is by the couple’s collective art and design practice, Public Studio.

Dunlop demonstrates the deck’s secondary use: as a launching pad into the concrete plunge pool on the first floor.

Classic butterfly chairs from Universal Patio Furniture are stationed by the pool. The mural is by street artist Morley, a close friend.

the house unfolds on one level around a central patio.

This three-bedroom villa in the commune of Noto in Sicily has a front portion that’s raised a few feet off the ground and supported by three concrete structures. It's louvered exterior skin can be closed or opened fully, so guests can enjoy views of the sea from a distance.

Expansive doors open to cozy sitting area outdoors.

In the living quarters of Lightroom 2.0, Carpenter’s daughter Esme chats with her boyfriend, who is seated on a Milo Baughman Case Sofa.

In a corner of the warehouse, the Heathrow limestone clads the walls.

Lightroom 2.0 was inspired by artists’ lofts and Decatur’s industrial past. The gallery floors are polished concrete and the exposed joists are Georgia-Pacific engineered lumber.

The designer at work.

Sasaki at work.

Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).

The end of the pool now provides a much sleeker view. A studio also now tops the garage and provides additional living space which currently has a pool table handed down from Joey's father and is sure to be a hang out for the couple's boys as they grow up.

Rolling Huts (Winthrop, United States) A series of six modernist huts created by Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig Architects, the Rolling Huts look like rustic case study homes, a herd of designer cabins that just may exemplify the term 'glamping.' Elevated on stilts, the 200-square-foot structures offer another level of outdoor accommodation. Photos by Chad Kirkpatrick

The kitchen cabinetry echoes the new blue ceiling. The brick tile is from Heath Ceramics, as is the dinnerware. Behind the Viking stove is powder-coated corrugated metal (“Very trailer,” says the designer). The refrigerator is from Big Chill. On the table is a bowl by Victoria Morris.

The backyard sports a sequence of raised flower and vegetable beds and two green roofs—one atop the workshop and other atop the back entrance.

Architect Joaquin Castillo blends inexpensive materials, the odd splurge, and a refined modernist sensibility to create an affordable weekend house for brothers Alfredo and Guillermo Oropeza. The facade is a juxtaposition of rough-hewn local stone, smooth concrete, glass, and steel—the material palette used throughout the structure.

More fragment pillows adorn the bed, which is covered in a reversible bedspread by artist Jane Kifer. To the left of the window is a painting by Shumate.

In a small seating area at the base of a two-story tower, Oslo chairs and sofas by Anderssen& Voll are paired with Around tables by Thomas Bentzen, all from Muuto. The lamp from Svenskt Tenn was designed by Josef Frank in 1938.

Another of our favorite home office ideas on a budget? Incorporate a basic office space in the upper level or attic of the house, like this small workstation on the upper level of this magnificent, midcentury, A-frame prefab home off the coast of Rhode Island. Here, an airy push-open window provides a refreshing ocean breeze for this sparse workspace.

The clients insisted that none of the trees on the property be disturbed, so Kevin Alter and his team at Alterstudio Architecture built a deck and an overhang around two of them.

Muennig’s Green House utilizes the western sun of the dramatic Big Sur coastline.

Shannon and his wife, Amy, take the air on a small patio in two Acapulco chairs.