The House

A contemporary dwelling built on … logic! That’s right folks! It looks great but the secret to the success of this smart design is in its efficiently designed spaces. This 2,700-sq.-ft. house by Studio Twenty Seven Architecture is an open concept house plan with living areas connected by a series of hallways and bridges stretching across two-storey spaces – an industrial-chic element we love! The contemporary style complements this unconventional, unexpected layout. The home’s public and private spaces have a very deliberate flow, clearly a well thought-out floor plan. “The result is a contemporary dwelling designed using rigorous programming and critical logic to carefully evaluate the function and efficiency of every element within the home.” Studio Twenty Seven Architecture
via Arch Daily

This long and lean, modular desert house in California is clearly inspired by its backdrop – the straight, unending horizon. Designed by Marmol Radziner, this linear home seems to go on and on, a feeling enhanced by its straight roofline. Alternating among the 2,000 sq. ft. of indoor living areas is another 2,000 sq. ft. of sheltered outdoor living rooms and outdoor entertaining areas that make the most of these breathtaking mountains and San Jacinto peak. This modular house includes four “house” modules and six “deck” modules. These particular modules feature steel panels, but are also available in wood, metal and glass. The architects also make the most of another desert home best – the sun, with its passive solar technology. The L-shaped layout allows for private yet connected living areas while also creating a sheltered courtyard area – a veritable oasis in the desert, complete with a fire pit and a swimming pool. Swoon! Marmol Radziner
via Arch Daily
photo credit: Joe Fletcher Photography

This zero energy house design by German architects AMUNT stands out as much for its striking exterior as for its smart inner workings. This contemporary style home, designed for two adults and four kids (a full house indeed!) satisfies the owners’ desire for both fashion and function. Made mainly of wood, chosen both for its energy- and cost-efficient qualities, this sustainable house features three staggered floors with every living space designed to allow for multi-purpose use – yet another efficient element in this smart design! Natural-finish wood on floors, ceilings and walls adds a rustic yet refined aesthetic. Floor-to-ceiling windows and a glass wall facade promote passive solar heating and day-lighting throughout. This courtyard home plan includes a great outdoor entertaining area complete with an alfresco kitchen and barbecue area! AMUNT
via Yatzer
photo credit: shiela-hamri

This eco affordable home is “green” in more ways than one! Designed by Case Architects, the eco home dubbed “Columbia City Green” features a funky green facade made of high-recycled-content siding, paving the way for an eclectic, contemporary interior where nature and the outdoor views take center stage. Wood floors and exposed wood beams are a perfect complement to the sweeping vistas framed by expansive windows throughout. Set on a hillside, this slope house plan features a cantilevered volume that seems to launch you right into nature, visible through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. This open-concept house plan lets you enjoy the outdoors from any point in the home, but nothing beats the rooftop garden accessible through the bedroom’s sliding-glass doors – the best seat in the house, in our humble opinion. Featuring negative and edible landscaping, and organic plant beds, this is our idea of a “green” garden!

This cool canopy house design by Japanese architecture firm Yoshio Oono Architect & Associates is wrapped up in its roof – literally. The home’s brightly colored canopy encloses the interior, leaving triangular openings in its massive orange shell. Peek inside and you’ll discover the open concept house plan is bright and airy. Enter through sliding glass doors, which open the home to the outdoor entertaining areas – actually, they turn it into one! And thanks to the canopy, the house enjoys this open aesthetic yet still offers relative privacy. Full of character at every turn, this home certainly has its quirks. The wood ceilings give the main floor a warm, homey aesthetic, while upstairs the feeling is bright, airy and open.

Set on the scenic slope of Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, this perfect home design is a chic nature retreat. Designed by L.A.-based Assembledge, the renovation of Stoneridge transformed this estate house while preserving some of its characteristic features. The brick exterior is a warm, traditional contrast against the contemporary glass and steel. The glass walls are a must for this home, which overlooks the picturesque San Fernando Valley. Interiors are clean and contemporary, with a modern palette of white against natural materials like wood, marble and again, lots of glass. Not one to compete with nature, this perfect home incorporates rooms that open onto outdoor entertaining areas and magnificent landscaping. You could call the backyard "negative vegetation" – an Olympic-sized infinity edge pool taking center-stage and spilling into the valley below. Assembledge

If you're in search of an inspiring live work home – a forest book nook – try these digs on for size! The Scholar’s Library in Olive Bridge, New York by local architecture firm Gluck & Partners is an unusual raised house plan surrounded by lush, leafy woods. This simple but striking space sits perched among the treetops, with a study space enclosed in windows at the top, and the actual library – housing approximately 10,000 books – tucked in the windowless area below. At the very top, a wafer-thin roof appears to be floating in thin air. The glass panels supporting it slide open for an in-nature ambiance. Measuring 20 by 20 by 20 ft., this cube house in the trees is a true forest retreat. Gluck & Partners.
photo credits: Paul Warchol, Gluck & Partners