To highlight the existing architecture of the home, Hill retained the dark polish of the casement windows, which she finds enhances period details instead of undermining them. In the rear sunroom, the vintage Case Study furniture pieces with Plexiglas bases are from Metro Retro in Houston. A Bourgie lamp by Kartell is atop an old marble end table by Knoll, and the Gan kilim rug pictures a branch motif echoed in the kitchen and breakfast room.

Purple thistles, California poppies, clover, and dandelions have all taken root in the roughly 10-inch-deep, lightweight humus and grape-husk soil in this 580-square-foot green roof. Designer Peter Liang says that he "wanted to plant a green roof for its thermal mass, but I wanted it to be as natural as possible."

For a family in Lima, a team from local firm 51-1 Arquitectos built Casa Serpiente, which meanders around 25 existing trees. Husband Irzio’s study is among the few ground-level rooms in the 4,300-square-foot house.

A 2009 Cedric desk by Kay + Stemmer occupies the study.

In the top floor study area, a pair of Copenhague Desks by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for HAY are stationed below a Sax hanging light by Vertigo Bird.

Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

The owners toured this home, which surrounds a mature tipu tipu tree, while visiting relatives for the day. The brick is original to the 1947 construction.

Sliding doors by Quantum were made to look like the original panes that couldn't be saved, and they lead to a fire pit outside.

They used a deep-black hue for the room’s cabinetry and built-in desk.

One of the bedrooms became a guest room and study, where a portrait of Green’s mother by Evelyn Spence-Reeve hangs above a vintage table.

Reeve's partner, Michela Meazza, uses built-in closets for her home office. The imposing gunmetal gray doors can simply be swung shut at the end of a long day's work.

Hachigian and Day in the living room/screening room, which opens onto a terrace above a reconstructed garage. The living-room table with a resin-and-acrylic top was designed by Hachigian’s brother, Garo.

The view!

At the top of the stairwell, a sitting area is outfitted with a vintage Eames lounge, a large Jack Goldstein painting, and a 1970s light fixture found by Marcovitz in Paris.

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.

When JAC Interiors was commissioned to revive an old 1,200-square-foot Hollywood home, the clients—a young couple who the designers call "fun and quirky"—requested the firm find a way to transform the space with as little construction as possible. The fireplace is a custom-made, three-dimensional feature that stands in stark contrast to the soft woods and white walls that make up the rest of the room.

The Balancing Barn in Suffolk: On the edge of a nature reserve a few miles from the Suffolk coast, the MVRDV-designed Balancing Barn cantilevers over the surrounding meadow.

With its sloped Douglas fir ceiling, expansive glass, and elm built-ins crafted by Wolf Melian, the upstairs study resembles a Crestwood Hills classic. Case Study sofas that double as guest beds meet the client’s request for convertible space. The rug from Amadi Carpets, pillows sewn from vintage Swedish fabric, and painting by Sylvan Lionni inject red into the earthy palette.

A pressed-steel Parallel shelving system by Terence Woodgate holds books and mementos.

New interior finishes, furniture, and a guesthouse were part of the restoration/renovation of John Lautner's Chemosphere, a 1960s house that makes frequent cameos in film and television.

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

Take a look at some of the most exciting, sustainable buildings around the world, and you may notice something they have in common: green roofs, or rooftops covered with a thin layer of soil to allow for grasses and other low-lying plants to grow.

New Depths Inspired by a local winery, George Kyprianou wanted a glass top on his subterranean wine cellar. The interior is lit, casting soft light into the living space at night and revealing the 132-year-old stone foundation. The three-quarter-inch glass lid sits flush with the floorboards; it opens with an ingenious device that Kyprianou devised using a 12-volt air compressor and a remote-controlled switch. When you push the button, the glass lifts just enough to be removed by hand.

Light Box Peter created a simple uplight at the top of the wood box by wiring together energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures typically used under cabinets and countertops. “The cheaper magnetic models hum unacceptably loudly, so make sure you get the electronic ballast types,” he warns. He then painted the cavity white to reflect light and covered them with quarter-inch-thick acrylic from TAP Plastics. homedepot.com tapplastics.com

The view of Kapiti Island is fully revealed from the tower.

There's a dedicated workspace between the kitchen and front door for use as needed.

The study, also located at the back of the building, is private and calm, and has French doors that bring the light in. The wool rug, with its monochrome lines, echoes an image of a tattered curtain in a Himalayan monastery that Nunnerley was particularly drawn to. A contemporary Chinese ink painting by Lui Dan hangs above the sofa.

Lara's home office consists of a MacBook Air and Ferruccio Laviani Abat-Jour lamp for Kartell.

Choosing not to make a big to-do of itself, this cottage blends in with its surroundings. A wall of glass on one end allows a merger of the outdoors with the interiors, while white trim leaves the appearance of a snow-kissed façade year-round. Berlin, Germany. By Atelier st Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.

“The studio is designed to give you vistas and sight lines across the whole garden,” Andrew says.

Transformer or beach hut? Positioned in a coastal erosion zone, this holiday retreat for a family of five is completely capable of being relocated. An oversized shutter allows for protection from the elements when not in use and opens to allow sun in during the winter or provide shade on hot summer days. Waikato, New Zealand. By Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects, from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.

“For me, architecture is pragmatic yet joyful,” Andrew says. “The entrance cut away allows for a deep cantilevering overhang that gives shelter when it's raining, and the 1400mm-wide pivot door is pure theatrics.”

The exterior of the Eames House in Pacific Palisades, California.

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 ever-changing, lush wooded surroundings of Minnesota, such as those experienced at this 8,000-square-foot Type Variant House outside of Minneapolis designed by Coen and Partners, are right near the small town of New Richland.