CAPTAIN’S MIRROR There is no denying the style and quality of this distressed leather framed mirror lined with wood and a cast bronze hanging pull.

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 home’s kitchen features stainless steel counters and appliances, and a Carrara backsplash that offers visual cohesion with the main level's floors. Warm Pink Trumpet wood cabinets include mirrored fronts that reflect light and make the open space feel even larger. The dining area includes a custom reclaimed wood table, HAY About a Stool 32 seats, and glossy Komplot Design Calabash pendant lamps.

Opposite the inner courtyard and master bedroom, the bathroom enjoys a view of the lush garden space. Polished concrete floors and walls, and white Carrara counters offer cohesion with the rest of the home. American Standard plumbing fixtures and reclaimed midcentury pendant lamps round out the space.

The emphasis on natural materials continues in the home’s bedrooms. Laminated bamboo flooring and polished concrete walls and ceiling are favored here. A focal point of the room is the the glass-enclosed interior garden, a private extension of the bedroom bordered by a simple cinder block wall.

Several courtyards help bring greenery in. On the west side of the home, plants absorb sunlight and create another passive cooling feature. Crushed limestone pebbles and an exposed stone wall complete the lush space.

Mirror by MAP for Sabi, $160 Not only is it irresistibly cute, Sabi’s mirror is also designed for universal use. Installation is a breeze: Punch out the to-scale template from the packaging and hang it with the included adhesive or easy-mount screw.

The open-concept main living area, which connects to the dining room and kitchen, is the residents’ favorite part of the home. Soaring ceilings, black aluminum-clad windows, and Carrara marble floors make this central gathering place feel vast. Warm, natural textures are brought in through the Eames molded plywood chairs, brown Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs, and natural wooden slab table on steel legs.

The Raw mirror from Stanley Ruiz combines buttery birch plywood with a masculine leather strap, $175.

The brutalist council estate to the rear is viewed as a found-object artwork through a new cast-concrete and stark white frame.

Island countertop and mirrored backsplash are the decorative elements in the minimally ornamented space.

Polished concrete floors provides beneficial thermal mass in wintertime.

Antonio Forteleoni, who is based in Milan, Italy, created Mirror! Mirror! which is a sculptural collection comprised of evenly spaced glass.

Images by Raw Color hang in a room upstairs.

A glimpse of the 010-020 exhibition in Ventura Lambrate featuring Mae Engelgeer, Studio WM, and more.

For architect Stephen Chung, the design of his Wayland, Massachusetts, home was all about blending into the natural environment. The first floor is a serene composition of white and wood. The demand for a domestic office space inspired him to build up, adding a second floor for him to "experiment." In a departure from the Cape Cod aesthetic that rules his block, he was able to give the addition a modernist take, while also literally reflecting the existing landscape of the neighborhood. The entire 1,100-square-foot adjunct that encompasses his second story office-studio, master suite, and fort for his two young sons is swathed in mirrored siding and plate-glass windows.

The apartment's built-in closets are deep and have mirrors on one side. Spotlights set flush overhead provide light and also allow the maximum amount of storage, all the way to the ceiling. For more of Schönning's dark, cozy-meets-modern interiors, visit his website. Photo by Per Magnus Persson.

The bedroom and bath share a glass wall.

In the bathroom, a chrome waterfall faucet by LightInTheBox tops a 12.6-inch-square Mini Nova basin by Barclay; a retractable Ikea mirror is the only concession to vanity.

Not only do built-in appliances keep kitchens tidy, but they also improve coherence between it and the rest of your home, creating a more fluid experience.

Mirror Mirror by Maria Bruun is a design that questions human reflection. A series of angled mirrors clings onto corners, ceilings, edges, and surfaces, reflecting multiple sides of both the space and the beholder. The mirror is made of high polished stainless steel and oak.

The firm enlarged the opening to the courtyard to create better flow between inside and out.

The narrow entrance hall faces another door, which opens seaward. Built-in cabinets serve as both storage and display. The porthole mirror is by Jacques Adnet.

Line Mirror by Bower, from $6,500 The curvilinear stripes of this mirror lend eye-popping dimension and a groovy Op Art vibe to an otherwise flat surface—without creating any unbecoming distortion effects.

For their ArchiBlox prefab, modular house, the owners chose blue and orange joinery that was inspired by the sea and sand around their coastal home.

Transience mirrors by Dutch design collaborators David Derksen and Lex Pott is a groovy geometric piece that exhibits the absolute beauty of the oxidation process, resulting in a an elegant formation of hues and pattern.

The Standard Collection was inspired by how users interact with the objects around them. Knauf & Brown describe the three objects, a stool, a lamp, and a mirror, as “manual versions of their automatic counterparts.”