Lightroom 1.0, a photography studio, is a freestanding structure on the property. “Together, they represent an autobiography of my career,” Carpenter says.

Fashion designer Josie and her husband Ken Natori are big fans of traditional Japanese architecture, so when Brooklyn-based practice Tsao & McKown Architects designed their home in Pound Ridge, New York, they used a heavy, exposed-timber structure, and included Japanese-style gardens and landscaping.

The owners of this 2,300-square-foot converted loft in SoHo have a penchant for color and collections. To make way for these elements, BC-OA kept new materials simple and desaturated with super white walls; oil-finished, white oak flooring; and white lacquered cabinetry. In the dining area, a custom designed, built-in, tufted banquette adds soft juxtaposition against the live edge dining table. The velvet upholstery is meant to provide contrast against the exposed, white-washed original brick in both texture and era. Overhead a brass chandelier with exposed Edison bulbs references the former Swan Incandescent Electric Light Co. which occupied the loft after construction was completed in 1897.

A look at the home's front facade. In a Melbourne suburb, Splinter Society Architecture designed the versatile home for Mark and Cara Harbottle and their three young children.

Inspired by modern Japanese minimalism, Hong Kong practice JAAK demolished the walls of this two-bedroom apartment and remodelled it into a studio with an

The living area boasts nearly 10-foot-high ceilings that impart a feeling of airiness and spaciousness. Discreet, built-in storage in the floor at the top of the steps prevents clutter from accumulating.

A g

"In this project, we got so much benefit out of this 'secret garden' for the master suite along with all of these environmental benefits that the residents were excited to embrace. It's one of the pieces we are happiest about," says architect Jonathan Feldman.

Living in between the woods

The kitchen features a concrete island topped with marble. Deja-Vu stools by Naoto Fukasawa surround the island. A print by Guy Gormley, as well as a painting bought during holiday in St. Tropez, hang on the walls.

In their concrete-walled courtyard, Yuka and Aaron watch as twins Emerson and Jasper, daughters Maude and Mirene, and Alfie the dog play. The house is painted in Black Bean Soup by Benjamin Moore, a color in keeping with the period of the original architecture. The garden was designed by Lauren Hall-Behrens of Lilyvilla Gardens.

Day takes a swim in a new lap pool framed by a lush Southern California garden. The lower wall next to the pool is made from stacked Pennsylvania bluestone, which was used for all exterior stone as well.

Niko Architect and landscape firm Ecopochva designed a Moscow home that doesn’t play by the rectilinear rules of conventional architecture. Vegetation blankets the home’s concrete form, and its walls sweep upward and outward to become roofs. Molded floor-to-ceiling windows curve to grant panoramic views of the backyard and swimming pool.

Homeowner Simon Doonan stands next to the front door. "We have flamboyance, and we’re not inhibited about anything. [Architect] Gray Organschi gave [the house] that intellectual rigor needed to make it beautiful. We were well matched."

Karen White, David MacNaughtan, and their sons, Griffin and Finlay, hang out on the front deck, which lines up next to the neighbors' porch.

The goal for the first floor was to embrace the shade provided by the mature trees, create a rich material moment, and incorporate all of the storage that the family would need.

Thanks to a robust solar panel array, the house is net-zero, with enough energy to charge the couple's electric car as well.

The materials, Japanese-style burnt wood, Canadian dark wood, and concrete, accentuate simplicity while simultaneously adding depth.

“We wanted to make each internal element of the Hytte feel considered and intentional,” explains Little. “Small spaces demand a high level of design consideration to ensure that we maximize every piece of space. We have been deliberate in designing the furniture to be crafted into the fabric of the cabin. Our bed, kitchen, storage and seating has all been imagined as an extension to the structure of the cabin.”

Set in the pine forests and beaches of Lubiatowo, these tiny cottages are an idyllic getaway.

This Southern Californian home by architect Sebastian Mariscal has a wabi-sabi spirit, and is built with shou sugi ban timber, has a koi pond, wand a protective overhang, and a tertiary space known in in traditional Japanese homes as the

"Neutra didn’t create the mountain. And the client bought wonderful land. If it didn't have mountains and the step down, it wouldn't be what it is," says owner of the Kaufmann House Brent Harris.

Designed by Studio B Architecture + Interiors, this modern farmhouse in Aspen allows a couple’s art collection to shine with understated finishes and materials. Views and natural light were maximized via large spans of glass to instill a sense of airiness while the same wood used throughout the home added warmth. The minimalist interiors provide a muted canvas for their artifacts collected from travels to Africa and Indonesia, and art which includes 8-foot wooden sculptures, baskets from around the world, and Native American pieces including from R.C. Gorman.

Architect Giles Bruce’s London house sits at the end of a Victorian terrace that was partially destroyed during World War II, filling the gap between the last building standing and a new park.

Villa Bio is situated a little over an hour outside of Barcelona in Llers, a green, hilly, sun-bathed sprawl near Figueres (hometown of everyone’s favorite mustachioed surrealist, Salvador Dali). The hydroponic rooftop garden grows out of volcanic stones. The home is conceived as a giant C-shaped spiral.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food scraps and yard waste make up 20 percent of what we throw away. Composting organic materials keeps them out of the landfill, which cuts down on greenhouse gases, and enriches the soil. To compost at home, make a pile in your backyard, or introduce an indoor bin for throwaways like apple peels and eggshells.

To keep the original street-level exterior view, the second-floor addition was set back from the building’s existing façade.

Holman's kitchen blends textures and rich hues with Waltz counter stools from McGee & Co and a Luna pendant from Schoolhouse.

Morten Bo Jensen, the chief designer at Vipp—whose headquarters are located in Islands Brygge—and his partner, graphic designer Kristina May Olsen, bought a loft space in the former Viking pencil factory in 2011. They bought the loft from its previous owner, one of five investors who purchased the circa-1910 factory building, roughly a decade ago, in a very raw state.

The roof deck is a place for entertaining, and offers scenic hillside views. During the design process, the team was challenged with preserving these views while adhering to the required 3.5-foot railing height mandated by building code, a height that would block all views while seated. As a solution, the team came up with open metal railings that would maintain safety while preserving the view.

On the lower roof, cedar decking and flower beds define one of several outdoor gardening spaces. Part of her ongoing research into the livability of cities, Fitzgerald aimed to create landscaped areas that were “aesthetic, aromatic, educational, and productive.” The deck is bordered by an expanded aluminum mesh railing and black metal corrugated panels.

For the kitchen, Conklin did an almost full demolition, adding in new flooring, tearing out cabinets, and adding an island, subway tile, and open shelving. The couple turned to Rejuvenation for the pendant lights and All Modern for the chairs.