In the house’s front room Monkman relaxes on a stool from local retailer Andrew Richard Designs. A new window system draws in sunlight and views of the front courtyard designed by local landscape architect Terry McGlade, the building’s former owner.

“We’re here for almost three months every summer—and it works so well that you never feel it’s a small space. The separation and steps between each perfect little box create a great flow.”—Nadja van Praag

Architect Bruce Bolander made the most of a limited footprint in a house he designed in a Malibu canyon. With the small bedroom unable to accommodate any "normal" size desk, the architect designed a very thin custom steel desk where resident Heidi Wright works. The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors from Metal Window Corporation open the entire corner of the room up to the outdoors. “The mountains across the way are almost like another wall—they contain the space to the point that you feel like you’re in a much bigger space, that you’re part of the overall landscape,” says Bolander. Photo by J Bennett Fitts.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, complemented by a wood-burning stove from Jøtul, bring the outdoors in. “Movement throughout the house—down the hall, through a doorway, or across a room—is always toward a view of the outdoors, creating a connection between the inside and outside,” Hart says.

Floor-to-ceiling windows front each unit, with sections of container wall folded out and fixed in place as part of the shading strategy.

Concerned about the chemicals involved in laminate flooring, the couple chose to leave the concrete slab, the foundation of the home, exposed, almost eliminating flooring expenses. A local craftsman made the windows, using Texas pine for framing. The floor-to-ceiling windows, Pavonetti says, reduces the couple's need for lights.

Connecting the kitchen and laundry area is the dining area, enclosed with floor-to-ceiling glass panels. “Chris built the whole thing,” says Tanya.

The family is never far from the outdoors, as this lush view from the dining room attests.

The cavernous living room takes advantage of its height with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

The living room sports a panoply of wood: Douglas fir for the ceiling, hemlock for the walls, and stained oak for the floor. The sofa is the Neo model by Bensen and the rug is vintage.

A custom-tailored mechanism allows six floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors to open along the entire width of the living space, creating a seamless transition from indoors to out.

The hallway leading to the master bedroom is lined with an assortment of framed photos of family and friends and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the verdant James River Valley.

Light streams in through the kitchen from massive, floor-to-ceiling windows that offer peaceful views of the outside foliage.

Three afternoons a week, Wenes opens the gallery and “my private space belongs to the public,” she says. On the box is a piece by Tamara Van San.

Wenes chose to keep the original brick floors to tie the older building to its past.

Thanks to floor-to-ceiling glass, the home feels like it's part of the landscape.

Stuth and Shelton's bedroom.

If you're looking for the ultimate minimalist bed frame, a platform bed with edges that extend beyond the mattress allow it to double as a bedside table, eliminating the need for other furniture.

Ample floor-to-ceiling windows mean residents rarely have to turn on lights during the day. The living room flooring, seen here, also features oak but in warmer tones.

The bedroom and bathroom make up the private zones on the top floor.

The Parisian flat that American-born architect Michael Herrman shares with his wife, Cécile, and their 2-year-old daughter, Rose, had been nearly untouched since the 1790s, when it was built. “But I wanted to try and reveal some of its age in a fresh new context,” Herrman said.

The house’s Japanese inspiration manifests in many ways, including beams that extend outwards over the front door. Floor-to-ceiling windows around the entrance and continuous indoor-outdoor epoxy-pebble flooring blur the barrier between the interior and exterior.

Dulux Ferrodor 810 industrial paint in Mid Grey, dark formply timber ceiling cladding, and concrete floors give the interiors a brooding intensity.

Dixon inspects a drawing in the couple’s shared office on the home’s top floor. The space features a sloping ceiling that rises to ten feet at one end. The new wood of the inserted ceiling counterpoints the vintage pumpkin pine floorboards underfoot.

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Ciavarra used floor-to-ceiling glass for the master bedroom, which leads onto a deck.

The copper-covered volume proceeds to the second floor, where it forms a storage wall in Sherman’s home office

A Nelson sofa sits on a handmade Persian Mahi rug in the living room.

Floor-to-ceiling windows accentuate the home’s indoor-outdoor flow and connect the first-floor dining room to a patio. The vintage Russell Woodard dining set came from the Brooklyn Flea, and the Sterling II barbecue is by Tec.

The sofa and lights in the open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area are vintage.

The Parentesi Floor Lamp from Flos was designed in 1970 by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù. Now a design classic, the Parentesi blends the concept of a floor light and a ceiling lamp by including a ceiling mount and floor base. Although strong and stable, the Parentesi gives the illusion of lightness with its slender silhouette and cable that appears to float in space.

Kartheiser's courtyard also includes a dry sauna with a ceiling made from 2,500 pieces of wood.

The skylight in the kitchen keeps things quite bright.

The brass sculpture on the gray basalt tile floor is by André Bloc.

Always a pleasure to take in the outdoors from an executive chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.

A transparent balcony allows unobstructed views of the sea and Newcastle's skyline.