MODERN HOUSE DESIGNS

Carol Richard of the Atlanta-based architecture firm Richard Wittschiebe Hand designed a passive solar home design in Madison, Wisconsin, which she calls her castle. Also known as Ross Street House, this modern sustainable architecture project was a collaborative effort with her mechanical engineer husband, Fred Berg, and was recognized as Wisconsin’s first LEED for Homes Platinum-rated residence in July 2009. Set in a neighborhood of post-war Cape-Cod-style homes peppered with some “modern” 1960s homes, this residence was actually designed to ... Continue >

Perched on a mountainside with Kanagawa unfolding at its feet, this modern mountain cabin home has two things in its favor – a breathtaking view outside, and even more so inside. Designed by Japanese architecture firm Shun Hirayama Architecture, this wood clad slope cabin takes its place on a hillside – a fine vantage point for the endless view of city and country. On first setting foot on site, architect likens the experience to walking in a forest, and he ... Continue >

Architect Jaak Kangro of Nordicasa Design & Construction sent us some amazing photos of his latest architectural endeavor – a gorgeous timber home design located in the Valdelineares ski resort in Spain. Built almost entirely from 165 mm laminated pinewood, this wood clad house boasts a rustic mountain cottage feel both inside and out. But this mountain house isn't without its modern touches, like the tiny peek-a-boo window slots peppering the front facade, and a stone-finished front entrance flanked by ... Continue >

Casa 205 in Barcelona is an unusual mountain home idea by Spanish architecture firm H Arquitectes, created to minimize environmental impact while maximizing the striking surrounding nature views. The site’s steep incline sets the tone for this slope house, which hangs precariously off the hillside edge overlooking the forest and the mountains on the horizon. In keeping with the region’s rustic countryside flair, this timber house is clad in wood both inside and out. An airy softwood facade features pine ... Continue >

Slovenian architecture firm Superform, known for their progressive architecture, furniture and interior design, has delivered on all these expectations (and then some!) with a progressive timber home design in the town of Ljubno ob Savinji, about 70 kilometers from Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana. A combination of two houses, this unusual house separates the living and socializing areas in two very different buildings, each designed to respond to its specific purpose. Tending toward the more traditional side, a timber and stone ... Continue >

When Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects took to creating this stunning timber wood Home in Glenbrook, Nevada, it was “wooded” bliss from the start. Located on the eastern edge of Lake Tahoe, this timber home is even surrounded by tall pine and fir trees. At the foot of a wooded hill rising in the background, the main house and guest house sit on a tree-sheltered courtyard, peacefully protected and private in its natural setting. This country home facade boasts log ... Continue >

Described by Australian architect Dane Richardson as “sophistication and elegance on the beach,” this modern waterfront home is making some waves in Dunsborough, Western Australia. Refining traditional beach-hut architecture, this stunning timber home is framed and clad in wood with extensive glazing which connects it to nature while giving it a cool, contemporary edge. The home’s northern facade is a full glass wall, which floods interiors with natural light and creates a direct connection to the waterfront. Even within the ... Continue >

To work and play, Archipod is your all-in-one luxury garden shed design. Tucked quietly in a corner of your existing home’s property or as an independent structure all its own, this compact garden shed is an insulated sphere measuring three meters in diameter. The small design lets you isolate the intended function of a space, so whether you use it as a home office, an artist’s studio, a guest house, a kids’ play room or an adult retreat, this cool ... Continue >

Marcio Kogan Architects have a few amazing beach home designs under their belt, but this stunning Brazil beach home located in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro boasts a distinct cottage-style feel that puts comfortable, casual living and a coastal cottage character at the forefront. Pier House was designed to house a sailboat during the week and its users on weekends. This gorgeous beach house was designed in two levels, to accommodate the sloped site. The first volume, a solid box clad ... Continue >

Charged with bringing new life to an older 1950s ranch style house, m.o. daby design worked their magic on the Burke Residence, located in Portland, OR. Clad in wood from the outside in, this ranch house was in need of a complementary receiving area so an entrance foyer was added to its existing footprint. Continuing through to the main living areas, a family room, kitchen and dining room were given the open concept treatment for a space suited to socializing ... Continue >

Architecture firm RPA designed this luxury tree house that’ll have you on cloud nine! Located in Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, CA, Banyan Treehouse is a compact home design blending an art studio and recreational getaway overlooking downtown Los Angeles. This inspiring – and inspired! – tree house of wood and glass is a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of everyday. The wood structure is raised 12 ft. up on steel pillars, and nestled into the base of a large ... Continue >

This unique home design was created by architect Veronica Arcos as a wood clad house in Santiago, Chile with mountain views. This unusual home features four volumes framed in metal and finished in wood, three of which cantilever over a ground-level terrace below, and sandwich sheltered outdoor entertaining areas between them, ideal for napping in a lounger under a parasol. Another unique feature of this wood and steel house is that there are no windows facing the street, providing privacy ... Continue >

Architects Lauren and Eric Wendlandt with Kansas City based Framework Design architecture firm are the brains behind this 6,500-sq.-ft. sustainable home that encompasses residential, commercial and workshop space in one. This Kansas City urban architecture has character, inside and out. The wood clad house combines a natural appeal with industrial-chic elements, artfully blending a home atmosphere with an inspired and equally inspiring workspace. The warm wood that gives this urban house its rustic style was salvaged from local barns and ... Continue >

When Netherlands architecture firm Grosfeld van der Velde Architecten designed this striking forest home in Teteringen, near Breda, they took into account some important must-haves for the homeowners, namely an eco house design. The move toward sustainable architectural design sets the tone for this project among the trees; a wood clad house that is "green" in more ways than one. A square-shaped volume covered in black-stained wood and large expanses of glass leads you through the home's interior while maintaining ... Continue >

OBRA Architects had some circular logic for their stunning wood country home design in Southampton, New York. Among the grass and trees of this five-acre property, this wonderful wood clad house features an unusual floor plan with a hollow center, “as if the heart of the house had somehow fallen outside its body,” according to OBRA Architects. But that’s not to say this country home doesn’t have heart! A linear layout of living spaces leads you from one part of ... Continue >

Courtyard house architecture offers a cool blend on nature and contemporary design. This concrete and wood house by Korean architects IROJE KHM artfully incorporates indoors and out into its layered levels for living. With one level below ground and two levels rising above, this courtyard architecture in Goyang, Korea puts a modern spin on the home, with a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. The structure’s concrete base anchors the design, and is topped by a wood and glass ... Continue >

Norwegian architects Jarmund/Vigsnaes AS Architects MNAL designed this contemporary wood clad house in Nesodden, Norway. Tucked between the sea and a pine forest, this peaceful location sets the tone for this rustic house style. The modern Norwegian house boasts a triangular shape that really sets this design apart. Wood panels alternate between horizontal and vertical, defining each of the home’s three storeys. Lots of windows ensure plenty of natural light and natural views in every direction. Inside, this unusual house ... Continue >

Muelle House is an all wood home made entirely of timber and is one of the last of its kind among Chile architecture in its home town of Chiloe. This unusual house plan designed by Jonas Retamal sits on a 28-degree slope, and is made to weather the region’s unstable climate. Come rain, come wind, come fire, this awesome wood clad house can stand up to anything. Stilts bring it up off its hillside, and the house extends onto a ... Continue >

House Bierings is a wood home design of a most unique shape. This interesting home in Utrecht, Netherlands stands out in its rural setting. The countryside wood home by Netherlands Architects Rocha Tombal features protruding windows of varying shapes and sizes, also clad in wood, dotting the unconventional home’s exterior. The sleek roof is clad in wood as well, with roof edges being flash with the walls. “From a basic form, defined by the municipal urban plan, sculptural ‘eyes’ emerge ... Continue >

The kings of compact home design – Chaewon Kim and Beat Schenk of design/build company UNI – created XS House in Cambridge, MA. This compact house is composed of three 16-by-22-ft. boxes, stacked and rotated for a most unusual profile. Finished in marine plywood, this wood clad house design highlights the material’s bold and prominent grain, which makes its way inside onto walls, floors and a central staircase that leads residents through the home’s three levels. Each level of this ... Continue >

Vandeventer + Carlander Architects are the brains behind this striking urban home design – the Madrona residence located in Seattle, Washington. This chic urban home is situated on a narrow, 35-ft. lot, so the architect created a long and lean house design to suit these dimensions. Sun-soaked interiors are flooded with natural light via tall windows spanning from ground to roof. This south facade of glass is clad in a cedar sun screen, for privacy’s sake as well as for ... Continue >

It may be nestled on “Mount Misery” in Sag Harbor, NY, but this rustic eco home is wooden bliss. Designed by the architects at Jendretzki Design and Planning Consultant, this wooden clad house renovation served to open the indoors to the outside environment. Outdoor living rooms expand the home’s square footage beyond its conventional walls. The surrounding gardens and forest become a part of the house by opening up the walls and incorporating parches and terraces that are connected by ... Continue >

Set in the suburbs of Bersee, France, this modern multi level house plan by TANK Architects is set on a narrow and sloping plot – not ideal conditions, but this is where the architect’s creativity kicks in, and the results are functional and aesthetically appealing. To accommodate the lay of the land, this slope house plan is designed in three semi levels. At street level, this unusual house plan is occupied by functional spaces – the foyer, a play room, ... Continue >

Farmhouse style homes have a warm, understated appeal, but this is one wooden house addition that takes center stage! Designed by award-winning, Belgium-based firm Wim Goes Architectuur, this Flemish countryside home in the city of Gent, surrounded by blankets of green grass and lush gardens, fittingly has a weathered wood extension that adds to the rustic house style. An exterior of naturally graying wood encloses a living area that extends onto an outdoor patio, creating an outdoor living room. Walls ... Continue >

This stilt house, the Froschkonig Treehouse by treehouse architects Baumraum, sits among the treetops of this private garden in Munster, Germany. Steps lead residents and guests through the lily pad-covered pool to the base of this stilt house, where a wood and steel staircase leads up to a tatajuba-wood terrace. This contemporary wood clad house in the sky features a modern, curved shape. A large picture window on each end of the home and a skylight brighten interiors while lending ... Continue >

Skybox sounds more like an amusement park ride than it does a residence, but this simple small house design by Danish architecture firm Primus is just as thrilling if you’re into contemporary and unusual homes. At 75m2, this modern wood clad house on the coast of Zealand in Denmark, crams all the good stuff into a deceivingly small footprint. “The main focus has been to add spatiality and experience of light,” according to the architect. The simple floor plan of ... Continue >

The architects at TYIN Tegnestue – a non-profit group of student architects – designed these unusual wood prefab houses, Soe Ker Tie Hias, which translates to “Butterfly Houses,” in Noh Bo, Tak, Thailand. These eco-friendly prefab homes are named for their innovative flip-up roof design that enables effective natural ventilation while collecting rainwater for re-use. These compact wood houses are clad in locally harvested bamboo, and the material is woven using a traditional method on the front and rear facades ... Continue >

Packed onto a 24-by-28-ft. footprint, the Lobster Boat Residence by Seattle's Chadbourne + Doss Architects takes an unusual inspiration for its equally unusual style. This 2,380-sq.-ft. waterfront house design on Portage Bay in Seattle is fittingly situated within a condominium community of four detached homes and a pair of houseboats, all sharing waterfront access, parking, utilities and a garden. This house strong vertical appeal is presented in a rustic looking, cedar-clad design of 5 floors topped by a rooftop deck ... Continue >

The dark facade of Somers House with courtyard in the middle was designed to blend into the shadowy background of the Australian outback. Melbourne-based Rowan Opat Architects designed this house with a low, inconspicuous profile, a flat roof and clad it with dark wood and windows, bringing it into its surroundings with subtlety. Inside, this modern house is anything but subtle, understated or humble. Rich wood ceilings and floors finished in radial-sawed timber give interiors a rustic-chic style which is ... Continue >

A pair of unusual Balsa wood tea houses with a curious name, “I am so sorry. Goodbye.”, by Heather and Ivan Morison will whet your appetite for ultra-modern architecture, with a spot of tea on the side. Two geodesic domes take organic shape, clad in Balsa wood and topped with a futuristic, hemispherical skylight that softly and naturally illuminates interiors. Inside, a minimalist, contemporary style lends an atmosphere of rest and relaxation. This artful interpretation of the traditional tea house ... Continue >

Sebastian Mariscal Architecture Studio came up with this cool couple of homes in La Jolla, California. Dubbed 2inns, the contemporary pair of identical stilted houses is made for outdoor living. The unique stilt design affords the luxury of outdoor spaces incorporated on all levels of the house, including on the ground floor, where a fabulous covered deck invites al fresco living and entertaining. The facade of these block-like structures boasts the balance of concrete on the sub-level, a glass-enclosed main ... Continue >

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• Home Additions
• Japanese Homes
• Lake Homes
• Luxury Homes
• Mountain Homes
• Prefab Homes
• Slope Houses
• Sustainable Homes
• Tree Houses
• Underground Homes
• Wood Homes

• Passive Solar Home Design Conserves Energy, Exudes Style
• Mountain Cabin Home Plan for breathtaking views
• Amazing Travertine House by A-Cero Architecture Firm with water features
• Laminated Pinewood House by Nordicasa Design & Construction. We love it!
• Raised Home Design – Renovated Guest Homes at Russian Resort
• Modern Zen House Design in Madrid, Spain
• Mountain Home Ideas – Hillside Home in Barcelona
• Progressive Architecture - Timber and Stone Two-homes-in-one Design
• Riverfront Architecture – Contemporary Concrete House Overlooking River Views
• Timber Wood Home in Natural Courtyard Setting
• Colorado Mountain House is a Lesson in Luxury, for sale!
• Modern Waterfront Home - Timber Design in Australia
• Italian Countryside House Makes a Modern Statement
• Future Home Designs – Australia Architecture with Flow
• Concrete Home Designs - minimalist in Germany
• Luxury Garden Shed Designs – compact sheds for work and play
• Waterfront House Plans - Luxury Waterfront Home for Sale on Bainbridge Island, WA
• Recycled Houses - Repurposed Steel and Concrete from the I-93
• Rustic Home Design Ideas - Baraboo, Wisconsin Home by Bruns Architecture
• Panoramic House Plan on Australian Coast