Japanese stationery company Postalco's spiral-bound notebooks (seen here in Size A6) have a water-resistant, starch-pressed cotton fabric cover, so rest assured, they will outlast any great adventures that you embark on. Available in red, light blue, and navy blue. $25

John Briscella, “UGNB (Urban Gridded Notebook)” (detail), 2009. On display as part of UNPLANNED: Research and Experiments at the Urban Scale.

Upon his first visit to Tasmania, an island south of the Australian mainland, resident David Burns was immediately smitten with its varied, pristine landscape. Working with architecture firm Misho+Associates, he built a self-sustaining, 818-square-foot retreat that would allow him to completely unplug from urban life.

The Element House by MOS Architects stands on pylons, creating the illusion of it hovering over the desert floor. Nine thermal chimneys, one of which can be seen right, channel hot air out from the interior living areas.

Moleskine has debuted a new white notebook in its online store. Inspired by the concept of a black canvas, as well as icons like the Beatles' The White Album, Le Corbusier’s white blocks, and Malevich’s pivotal White on White canvases, this fresh twist on the classic 192 acid-free page notebook is sure to be an instant classic.

A small airspace separates the building's aluminum skin from the wall underneath. The aluminum acts like a heat sink during the day: it absorbs heat but remains thermally separated (by the narrow gap) from the Element House walls.

Sunlight permeates the interior thanks to skylights within the thermal chimneys. A single common area, comprising a kitchen, dining, and living area, links all the three bedrooms.

The Element House stands on pylons, creating the illusion of it hovering over the desert floor. Nine thermal chimneys, one of which can be seen right, channel hot air out from the interior living areas.

The Element House is powered by solar panels, seen right.

McMinn and Janzen's kitchen opens onto a double-height living and dining area.

How the Pandemic May Reshape the World as We Know It: The crisis reveals how our homes, offices, and communities need to respond to a rapidly changing reality.

While the house is invisible from the main street, a short five-minute walk connects the residents to the town center and every community amenity.

Our tranquil excursion would require this bundle of camping-themed notebooks by Subtle Acts for jotting down nature-induced inspirations. $28. Photo by James Ransom.

The unfinished sketches that populate the pages of Geary's Elevated Journal leave space for your own artistic expressions.

The utility and durability of the Spiral Journal, which features discarded watercolors, make it perfect for producing colorful creations of your own.

Linda Geary is cofounder of the Painting Expanded Symposium, a program that promotes discussions around contemporary painting. Her series of vibrant notebooks aims to continue that conversation. The Stack Book contains 32 color swatches that formed the basis of one of Geary’s collaborative art projects and encourage you to get creative, too.

The Archimetric Notebook and Drawing Tool Set is an elegant notebook designed for architects, designers, or anyone who is interested in scaled drafting. The pages of the notebook are ruled at a scale of 1/100° and 1/50° for precision drafting, and the book also includes blank pages for notes or freehand sketches. The grey pages are lined with white, making the graphs almost appear to fade away from the pages. The result is a surface that sets drawings apart form the lines, letting them stand on their own. The Arhimetric set also includes drawing instruments, including a scale ruler, protractor and t-square, and a bookmark.

The Fake-Jacket Journal, also by Russell, comes with two reversible jackets, which allow you to present four different faces to the world depending on your mood.

Russell's Drawn to Music notebook, which features a built-in record sleeve, encourages you to doodle while listening to your favorite tunes. A line at the bottom of each page prompts you to note what you’re listening to as you draw.

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.

The sofa is from Cantoni, the rug is from Restoration Hardware, and the Tolomeo floor lamp is by Michele De Lucchi for Artemide. The large windows in the background and throughout the house are from Western Window Systems.

A basic box that’s as tall as it is wide (28 feet) and 16 feet long, this Portland, Oregon house consists of rooms stacked vertically: an unfinished basement on the bottom, a kitchen-living area and a bathroom in the middle, and a bedroom on top, with the stairwell hinged onto the front of the home. The only interior doors are those to the bathroom, basement, and root cellar, leaving the rest of the space open and unfettered. At just 704 square feet, Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick's home is a great lesson in making the most out of every inch. Click here to see the interior.

The kitchen island, also Douglas fir, showcases the material’s rich striations and color variations. Behind the kitchen are two bedrooms and a single bathroom. A large open air pavilion, built concurrently with the cabin, can be seen from the windows on the right.

Outside, a gridded trellis with sheet-punched panels overlays the structure and extends into the landscape, providing shade in the warm desert climate.

GRID, Carter Williamson Architects, 2012 Envisioned as emergency housing for after tsunamis, this steel prefab from Australia arrives flat-packed and can be assembled in four hours. With solar panels and rainwater tanks, it's possible for it to house up to 10 people in a pinch.

B&B Italia Outdoor’s Canasta sofa, by Patricia Urquiola, shares a shady patch in the ground-floor Carnegie Hill garden with three ginkgo biloba trees, an existing fountain with an Italian marble spout designed by Thomas Woltz, and bluestone pavers. The terrace is filled with woodland greenery: Leucothoe, ostrich ferns, and lady ferns.

The thin Corrugated Notebook from Nomess Copenhagen is available in white, black, and brown, and features contrast binding and a bookmark ribbon. With a cover made of corrugated cardboard, the notebook has a pleasant, tactile feel, and the slim silhouette makes it a good choice for commuting.

The perennial plants on the green wall were plotted out as a piece of verdant abstract art. Edibles, like strawberry, thyme, and rosemary, are planted within children’s reach.

A sofa from Sutherland’s Poolside collection is covered in fabric from Perennials; the illuminated side tables are by Porcuatro for Tango Lighting. The screens are constructed from FSC-certified teak.

Public Supply’s Dot Paper Notebook is designed with simplicity in mind. The five- by eight-inch notebook includes 96 pages of dot paper, inviting just enough order to focus penmanship, but enough open space for users to feel free to sketch or create their own note-taking system.

Jason Polan, known for his ambitious project to draw every person in New York City, has created a series of journals that help people take note of the world around them. The ultra-portable Observation Notebook features eye-shaped cutouts on the back cover, making it ideal for conducting covert surveillance.

When it comes to inspiring great work, look no further than Charles and Ray Eames. This bold notebook features a numerical pattern made famous by the pair, and includes an interior pocket, bookmark, and elastic band for keeping the notebook secure.

A view of the interior pages of the Archimetric Notebook, showing one of the drafting tools.