The Leaf House is a lightweight, mobile trailer that was carefully engineered to weigh less than 5,000 pounds. The designer, Laird Herbert, used a metal-mesh, open-joint rainscreen as the cladding on the front end, and spruce pine at the back.

"I like the more boxy, modern look," Herbert says, "and I think it fits the small space better. You have more space in a box. As soon as you put a peak on a roof, you lose a lot of that usable space."

A super-insulated envelope and a heat-recovery ventilator help keep the Leaf House comfortably warm, even in the brutally cold Canadian winters.

The structure is super-insulated, making use of quad-paned windows and vacuum-insulated panels.

A selection of Samovar's loose-leaf teas is available for purchase by the cup.

A couple enlist Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to reimagine their home as a multigenerational meeting point. In 1963, landscape designer Lawrence Halprin devised a master plan for a community that would live in harmony with the natural environment. The resulting Sea Ranch, which stretches 10 miles along the Pacific coastline in Sonoma County, California, is characterized by timber-frame, wood-clad structures that are in dialogue with the local climate and terrain. Sited on a bluff within this pioneering community is the vacation home of a lawyer couple. After purchasing the residence in 2007, they lived in the home as it was for four years, even keeping the previous owners’ furniture. Envisioning a retreat that would accommodate their extended family and guests, they then recruited Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to help guide the project.

Herbert used laminate bamboo flooring inside the Leaf House. An inexpensive light fixture, which Herbert found in a thrift shop, hangs from the birch-plywood ceiling.

The shower, as seen through the main entrance. The metal-mesh open-joint rain screen is designed to rust over time.

A custom Murphy bed occupies the rear end of the trailer, next to a wall of cedar shingles. The wall at left, which Herbert painted white, is tongue-and-groove pine.

Herbert fashioned the custom kitchen countertop from a foam-core backer board, which he coated with a concrete microtopping. The wood is clear-grain cedar.

Burks has long been enamored by hand-craftsmanship, even early on in his career. After studying architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology and product at the university’s Institute of Design, he moved to New York and quickly began collaborating with noted brands such as Boffi and Cappellini. "Without knowing what I wanted to do, I knew that I wanted to make things." And from the start, despite his early interest in architecture, Burks wanted his work to have a human sensibility. "I was always more interested in the the scale of the body, of the living environment as opposed to the built environment—the things that we touch, sit on, and engage with as bodies are more fascinating to me." Clothing from the White Briefs, A Free Man printed underwear collection

Designer Christiane Hogner, Bruxelles

The addition’s two stories of cedar-framed sliding doors and window provide generous views of the house’s prized jacaranda tree. The addition’s polished concrete floor and white cladding extend into the garden, drawing occupants to the serene rear porch. There, they can relax on stools designed by Alvar Aalto and Charles Wilson while admiring the luscious greenery.

For most, city living means getting anything to your apartment over ten pounds is an annoyance at most and impossible at best. But, a charming Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree at your doorstep is a breeze. $250.

Giovanna de Uzin Fontecha relaxes in the master bedroom on a Leaf chaise by Claesson-Koivisto-Rune for Living Divani.

Foyer

Bull Head in White Gold Leaf A new piece that’s exclusive to A&G, these custom-made papier-mache heads provide a handmade touch and dramatic impact on a wall, and are light enough to hang with a single nail.