A small terrace outfitted with an H55 easy chair by Björn Hultén offers a view of the San Francisco Bay.

Twenty-foot-wide doors from Solar Innovations offer easy access to the deck. “Solar Innovations was the only manufacturer at that time that had a pocket multi-slider with a good ADA threshold,” says architect Erick Mikiten. “They almost look like steel, but are thermally broken aluminum.”

A PK 22 Easy Chair by Poul Kjaerholm for Fritz Hansen adds a dash of yellow to the breakfast room.

Shope and his wife carefully designed an eco-friendly landscape: For instance, they did not fell any tree with holes that could support an owl’s nest. They also planted flower species that feed hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. Shope laid out the pathway of reclaimed granite slabs that leads toward the Hudson River below.

Unlike its next-door neighbor, R-House, TED wasn’t originally planned to meet the exacting Passive House standard. The building’s green bona fides came largely from four roof-mounted thermal solar panels and a 120-gallon water storage tank that architect Tim McDonald attests would have met nearly all of the home’s heat and hot-water needs. After submitting the proposal, though, he completed a course in the Passive House standard. Inspired, McDonald modified the original approach, ditching the tank and thermal panels in favor of a highly insulated, airtight envelope—the equivalent, he says, of shielding the house from the harsh Syracuse winter with a fur coat instead of a windbreaker.

A door next to the bed drops down, opening the room to its surroundings. "It's a fantastic way to ventilate the space, but also makes sleeping in the loft feel like camping when it's down," Eerkes says.

Eco-Dough, $20 at oompa.com Unlike other comparable products, Eco-Dough is colored with natural extacts from fruits, vegetables, and plants instead of dyes. Rosemary and Vitamin E oils keep the dough soft and workable, even producing a pleasant aroma in the process. Eco-Dough even comes in a gluten-free variety for $25.

The new Spruce clothes tree ($410) comes in ivory or black steel. Says Paul: "Spruce is a design that has such a simple, graphic silhouette that it fits well in almost any architectural setting. From a functionality standpoint, it can earn its keep nearly anywhere in your house. We recommend entryway, bedroom, office, and bathrooms."

Drawing from Croatia’s rich—and only recently acknowledged—tradition of socialist design, Numen / For Use's Polygon chair is small, comfortable and easy to move.

The pitched facade has a sculptural play of spruce siding and triple-glazed windows that reflect the surrounding treetops.

The house sits on a corner lot, which makes the side yard (shown here) also a front yard. Five-and-a-half-year-old Maya (left) and two-and-a-half-year-old Yumi (right) play on the gravel while Mayuko, David, and Shota sit on the bench.

Spruce clads the interior walls and ceilings.

The company is also on its way to make their brushes become 100% biodegradable. Read about their process here.

Modernism Week in Palm Springs.

Silhouetted partygoers enjoying the atmosphere.

Loris Lora’s paintings, from her new book Eventually Everything Connects, reference icons like Charles and Ray Eames.

Another Lora piece from Eventually Everything Connects.

A comprehensive timeline traces growing global environmental awareness. Photo by Pat McElnea. Images provided courtesy The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Archive of The Cooper Union.

With its easy access, the flat roof is never hard to maintain.

Big Walnut Bowl Handmade in Canada and finished with a natural oil/beeswax mixture, this serving bowl is a handsome addition to any tablescape.

Delightfully simple, yet wonderfully functional, the rainbow-hued trivet offers an attractive way to protect tabletops from hot pots. $20 from areaware.com.

It requires roughly ten hours for a craftsman to weave paper cord across the curved frame of this oak Easy Chair (1950) before it’s complete. Another example of Wegner melding design and material without unnecessary fuss or adornment. Photo courtesy Carl Hansen & Son.

Built-in shelving crafted by local carpenters distinguish the living area from the service zone, where appliances and utilities are stored. "Because of the integrated shelving, no additional furniture is needed for storage," Matt says.

A solar array (on the left-hand side of the photo) powers the lights and outlets (and laptops) during the day.

Choosing your living room's go-to lounging piece just got easier with these editor-approved easy chairs.

Michael tends to his capons in a Big Green Egg.

Plaster walls mixed with gray marble powder dominate the interior of the bottom floor, complementing its spruce wood carpentry.

Spruce wood also lines the floor, walls, and ceiling in the bedrooms. The residents must climb a ladder to access the loft above.

The small, angular guesthouse that architect Todd Saunders designed for Steinar Jørgensen is defined by a patio that appears to sit in a cutaway in the spruce-clad volume. The red PS VÅGÖ chair is from Ikea.

A concrete wall between the garage and the main house is fortified with external insulation and covered with wood cladding and plaster. The additional protection prevents heat transfer between the concrete floor and heated living space.

Blair McCary addresses the crowd at SXSW Eco. Bill Reed and Paula Vaughan are seated.

Look no further than online shop Rodale's for a well-edited selection of eco-friendly items. Products span clothing to kitchenware to bedding, all selected because they're manufactured in a responsible manner. Rodale publishes some of the world's best-known lifestyle magazines, including Runner's World, Bicycling, Running Times, and Organic Gardening, and its e-commerce venture fits with its mission to promote healthy living. We've gathered a handful of items from the site to give you an idea of the wealth of designs available. Vintage Patchwork Blanket ($625–675)

Guests mingled around the pool. Hello Again welcomed partygoers to rethink the typical dinner party.

Another work from Turnham. The show opens February 21 and is up through March 1. For more information, visit the Gallery Nucleus site.

The 25 models were built for the exhibit. Photo by Pat McElnea. Images provided courtesy The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Archive of The Cooper Union.