Composed of primarily steel, this prefab home has sufficient outdoor space. Photo by: Daniel Hennessy

The back of the home glows at night as the giant, two-story glass doors swing open to remove the barrier between inside and out. A polished concrete patio deck and pool, along with a simple block perimeter wall, make smart use of available materials. The pool acts as a passive conditioning tool, cooling air before it enters the house. The block wall is positioned 31 inches from the house, creating a gap or "air chimney" that allows air to circulate up and away from the home, while simultaneously letting light filter down.

The residents decided to convert a koi pond on the property into a petite pool. Next steps for the renovators are updating the kitchen and increasing its size by expanding it into the mudroom and laundry room.

Melanie Maher sunbathes beneath the lattice of a pool house, which is clad in Cor-Ten steel.

The pool feels as laterally finite as the house feels spacious—but the view goes up forever.

Masi also turned the miniscule guest quarters into a pool house.

Yellow Brook Farm Poolside and Pool/Guest House

In Palm Springs, Sander Architects created an energy-efficient hybrid prefab home that’s designed to stay naturally cool in the desert heat, which often climbs to triple digits in the summer.

Across the path is the resident's favorite spot from which to take in the aquatic tableau: a rock garden and sitting area created by landscape designer Tory Polone. Chairs rest near the a hidden grade-level gas fire pit—an on-demand campfire.

Cassidy used the pool as an anchor for an overarching backyard master plan that pulled the parts together.

Wright Feldhusen Architects designed this house for a client that loves to swim. A lap pool connects the home to the ocean that lies beyond the property in Maroubra, Australia, a suburb of Sydney.

A 40 foot by 10 foot pool is designed to echo the house’s tower with an almost reflection-like alignment.

Visitors learn about energy and water conservation as they climb outdoor staircases that lead from the forest floor to the 125-foot-high rooftop rising above the leaf canopy.

A prefab pool- and guesthouse designed by LABhaus frames views of a Massachusetts property’s original structure, a Dillman model Sears, Roebuck kit house from 1928.

Before the addition of the approximately 750-square-foot pool (and its 65-square-foot hot tub), the lot was a scramble of structures: the house in one corner and the guesthouse and the office each occupying another.

Though a stylistic break from the white-sided New England farmhouses that dot the forests and pastures of Western Massachusetts, the pool house’s simple, rustic exterior is a modern descendant of the local vernacular. With the area under snow for a quarter of the year, it also prevents Didier from having to join the local Polar Bear Club.

The resulting effect is a backyard with a pool at the center that is as nice to look at as to be in.

Ziger/Snead Architects constructed this ode to rowing in rural Virginia for a Baltimore couple who share a love of sculling. “Everywhere in the house you can see the moment where land meets water,” says Douglas Bothner, an associate at the firm.

Once in the pool, however, it feels more like the ocean. As with a shelf, the bottom drops quickly from three feet to the nine-foot deep end. A set of three long, shallow steps sits above the middle depth like a sandbar at high tide, the top tread covered with just a few inches of water.

An angled 26-foot by 64-foot roof dominates the guest house, situated between a 1930s farmhouse and the Rappahannock River in King George, Virginia, approximately 60 miles from Washington, DC.

Ryan Anderson of RAD Furniture designed the stools as well as the table and benches on the pool deck.

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

In New South Wales, an L-shaped prefab designed by ArchiBlox draws in northern light and captures views of the ocean. The residents of the Byron Bay House can judge the surf conditions from their bedroom before heading out to the beach.

The pool house stands separate and adjacent to the main home. It is outfitted with a bar area, small living room, and one bedroom with foldable Murphy bed.

Located on a sloped wooded site, the 7,500-square-foot Bridge House encompasses two stories and a finished basement. The multigenerational abode by Höweler + Yoon Architecture embraces its sylvan setting through floor-to-ceiling glass walls and generously sized terraces on the first and second stories.

Furnishings inside the home reflect a minimalist sensibility. A Chiva Functional coffee table by BoConcept, a Monti sofa by Dellarobbia, and Hans Wegner Shell chairs by Carl Hansen & Søn outfit the living room.

The Byron Bay House lies within 100 meters of the beach. Archiblox designed a transportable structure that’s able to relocate in case of flooding or erosion.

Equipped with an LG refrigerator and Thermador wall oven, the eat-in kitchen also boasts custom cabinets faced with an oak veneer and a natural stone island.

The kids’ bedrooms are located on the second story. Karis’s room is furnished with a Fatboy beanbag chair.

CCS Architecture designed this 5,800-square-foot home for a family of five in Palo Alto, California. The home’s bent, linear configuration divides the site; the public-facing, street sides wrap the corner, creating a more private interior. A breezeway leads to the entry and the yard beyond, while also separating the main house from the garage and guest studio, which opens directly out to the garden with large sliding doors.

Along the side of the home, parallel to the pool, is an expansive glass wall that maximizes the feeling of openness in the first floor living space. The pool is heated by a repeated energy air-conditioning system, which conserves energy expenditure.

The rooms, featuring sloped ceilings, feel small and intimate. In the guest bedroom, there is a custom bed and a Swedish school desk found on eBay.

New pine and spruce wood from the Pyrenees (both recyclable and PEFC certified) were selected for the façade of the 1,000-square-foot prefab. Smart blinds cover the windows, rigged to open and close depending on the weather forecast.

The pool juts out perpendicularly from the main house; the land was bulldozed to become level with the concrete pavers.

The inner courtyard is the core of the home.

Large family gatherings are common so the dining table by Moon Custom Millwork comfortably seats 12; it’s made from wood that resident Sam Chung salvaged himself.