Headspace, a website and app for teaching self-care and mindfulness, has teamed with Californian architect duo Oyler Wu to design an experience that embodies the spirit of meditation and enhances its practices. What they came up is a simple pod, hollowed out with a curvilinear interior made of layered, machine-cut wood that rests on a steel frame.

Launching later this year, with price upon request, the Meditation Pod aims to trigger a reevaluation of how the built environment supports mental well-being. Learn more at Headspace.

Inside the Headspace Meditation Pod, a discreet built-in screen leads practitioners through the company's library of guided meditations via headphones. Its organic forms provide a comfortable position for repose.

The project addresses an age-old conundrum of meditation, says Headspace co-founder Rich Pierson: "How do you make an intangible exercise, tangible?" Oyler Wu responded with a characteristically forward-thinking concept, one that envelops users in undulating folds that were inspired by natural geological formations.

Using natural materials is one way of bringing nature indoors. Oiled white ash floors and ceilings, along with Italian poplar and Lawson cypress joinery, are found throughout architect Andrew Simpson’s 538-square-foot home outside Wellington, New Zealand.

Open enclosures and connections to adjacent living spaces keep the home inviting and airy rather than densely packed—a key feature for an owner of two dogs: Ben, a whippet, and Flynn, an Irish gypsy dog.

Large and small Natural Pod made from black ash and cassein paint. From $6,000

Oriented to absorb the afternoon sun, floor-to-ceiling doors comprise two-thirds of the home’s west-facing walls, which open to an elevated deck overlooking Island Bay. Combined with extra-thick building insulation, this passive element provides sufficient heating for the home, even during winter months—a true feat given the region’s cold seasonal winds.

Built-ins reduce the need for furniture.

Like a Murphy bed, the dining table tucks into the wall when not in use.

A red print by Cris Gianakos accents a well-lit stairwell leading to a laundry area, library, and rec room on the full basement floor.

A lofted sleeping pod offers a bit of privacy and helps maximize space. Beneath it is a zippy yellow bathroom.

The core in the middle of the apartment contains the staircase, two bathrooms, and a laundry area on the lower floor, and a small workspace upstairs.

Living small is par for the course in New York City, but accommodating a family of four in under 700 square feet rarely looks as effortless as in this storage-smart renovation. Scott Oliver and Margarita McGrath of noroof architects created many clever built-ins and transformable furniture in this apartment. Photo by Raimund Koch. See how the rooms transform in this extended slideshow.

Simpson runs his practice, WireDog Architecture, from his home study, where custom bookshelves line the perimeter of the mezzanine for a storage solution that doubles as railing.

The home also extends into outdoor panoramas, even—and especially—from the ground floor, where a westward-facing deck cantilevers out into the lush landscape.

“I suppose you could consider me part of a subculture who lived in various inner-city spaces,” says Simpson, whose previous homes include ad hoc spaces in industrial warehouses, floors of office buildings, and units above shops and bars. In designing his Island Bay home completely from scratch, he retained his experimental spirit: “We wanted a house that responded to our wider social, environmental, and economic concerns rather than something that blindly followed convention,” he says. Unassuming in sight, the home’s corrugated-metal cladding (above) recalls the tin shed, a vernacular housing type in the region.

Davor (with his wife, Abbe, and son, August) designed the main living and dining pavilion as a double-height space to increase its perceived volume, and added high cubbies for extra storage.

For those who need design pieces to be multifunctional, the Pedal Pod boasts ample cubby space to stash odds and ends along with a rubber-lined roost that suspends your bike, freeing up desirable floor real estate.

Power Pod Convenience and functionality blend into elegant design with Coalesse’s PowerPod. Designed by Scott Wilson and MINIMAL, PowerPod delivers two functions in one. When needed, the PowerPod houses six power outlets with built-in surge-suppression. When not needed, the outlet is converted to a sleek pencil organizer and accessory tray. Energy-saving on/off switch reduces vampire power consumption.

Inspired by the small scale of Japanese residences—in particular, Makoto Masuzawa’s 1952 Minimum House—architect Andrew Simpson designed his own economical 538-square-foot home set into a wooded site in Island Bay, a coastal suburb outside Wellington, New Zealand.

In realizing their dream to build a country retreat in upstate New York, Sandy Chilewich and Joe Sultan—proprietors of the textiles firm Chilewich|Sultan—eschewed a mountainous view for an understated wooded plot. At 800 square feet, the flat-roofed home is a modest structure for the expansive 10-acre property.

“We sleep in a Murphy bed, but we never close it; it’s like living in a loft.”—Sandy Chilewich, resident

Alexander walks from the bedroom pod into the living room under her freeway-inspired sculpture, titled Run A Way.

Of the seven steps in Michael Pozner’s not-quite-500-square-foot aerie in Greenwich Village, five contain drawers. His small set of table and chairs is from CB2.

"Architecture helps influence the mood and set the scene," architect Jon Handley of Pulltab Design says. That mindset is quite evident in this 700-square-foot Manhattan apartment, where a young couple now maximizes their small space with a clever, fold-away dining table.

If sleek storage is what you're looking for, consider a long and low platform bed. At a New York apartment that's just over 500 square feet, the wood platform bed features storage panels under the mattress.

Custom built-ins were essential in defining and maximizing the 520-square-foot space. Greg Dufner designed the rift-cut white oak bookcase that separates the sleeping area from the rest of the studio.

Tom Givone's current weekend abode, nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, is—so far—his capstone project, a synthesis of personal taste, material experimentation, and historically sensitive restoration: a living laboratory for how to bring the vernacular past into the present.

Overhead cabinets now can be easily swung open for ease of access. The kitchens are priced at IKEA’s usual retails. A 10 by 10 foot kitchen fitted with Sektion cabinets will range from around $1,300 to $2,200, excluding appliances.

In Manhattan, where space is the ultimate luxury, a clever design workaround makes a dining table disappear after supper.

Black and white kitchen tiles add visual interest to this stunning modern kitchen by IKEA.

The state of consciousness shop

A custom-designed chairlift system from Versicor allows Matthew access to the tower. “The new house has really liberated Matthew. My goal is that he will have access to everything by one means or another,” says Ed Slattery.

The former dining room is now home to Russell and Fontanez’s custom kitchen, designed by LOT-EK and fabricated by Chef Restaurant Supplies. “We love to entertain,” Russell says. “Before, the galley kitchen was in the hallway; now we can cook and still be a part of the party.” The space-saving setup, which adjoins the living room, features stainless steel–paneled cabinets, DuPont Corian countertops, Onda stools by Jesus Gasca for Stua, and fixtures and appliances by Grohe, Liebherr, and Miele. To maximize space, the designers specified that the cabinets be built around a former fireplace in the kitchen. “Because there’s a bump out where the chimney is, we turned the sink lengthwise,” Lignano says. “The cabinet directly overhead is only four inches deep, so it’s just a huge spice rack.” The island provides ample additional storage.

The family room is situated at the apex of the house, with picturesque views that extend up the meticulously landscaped north slope. The concrete floor sits just low enough that the main elements of the scene—the succulent garden and large limestone ledges—are at eye level. A bank of NanaWall folding windows breaks up the fourth wall.