For those wooden furnishings fans out there, I have something for you. The Ocho House in the Santa Lucia Mountains, California, doesn’t look like a lodge but thanks to its extremely cozy arrangements it does make you feel like living in one. The interior seems large because of the large windows and the tall ceilings, but comfortable at the same time thanks to the materials and colors used : butter beige, white, natural wood, dark brown and black.

What I like most? The wooden staircases, the huge door and the living room view down the valley. You?

But more than the wooden inspiration this is a highly sustainable house that uses overhanging green walls and a smart solar roof. That’s the reason it got the green Energy and Sustainability Honor award from the American Institute of Architects. - via decojournal

I will have to be honest and say that I never thought a barn could be turned into such a beautiful home. It happened in Belgium where architect Rita Huys from Buro2, got her hands on a an old barn in the rolling hills of Central West Flanders, kept its rustic touch but transformed it into a modern home with an elegant and luxurious living space, at the countryside.

The exterior looks simple with an unique character that blends well with the scenery, while at the interior where artist Wim Delvoye worked his magic, style is king. With large glasses that let the light get in easily, with modern furniture, well defined shapes and high quality materials, the verdict is clear. That’s the most beautiful barn I’ve ever seen, and the one I’d sleep in without thinking. - via Wallpaper

What are those things that make a house modern? Is it the furniture or the interior furnishings? Not always. Just take a look at the Dupli.Casa in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where architect Jürgen Mayer H worked on the footprint of a 1984 house to create this beautiful shaped spatial villa. I still can’t decide what looks best. Is it the sophisticated large spaces interior or the stunning contrast at the exterior between the white walls and the black windows? Or the fact that it avoids detailing using homogeneous transitions? Maybe all of them.

I’m not yet sure if these are simple renderings, hybrid renderings (reality enhanced) or just real images but I’d love to live there. Would you? - via Architect

Who would have thought that something as junky as an old rusty car hood could be transformed into a sleek and desirable coffee table?  Well, Joel Hester did. He is definitely a modern steel furniture master with an environmentally conscious approach to design. No two cars age and rust quite the same way so his tables are unique with their distinctive mottled effects.  The before and after photos show how startling the transformation can be in his hands.

The steel tubing legs though are new and equipped with adjustable feet to allow for uneven floors. That’s a good feature to have for coffee tables, plasma TV tables and so forth. His sheet metal tables cost upwards of $850. - Via

Do you know what a BMW M series is? A highly tuned car that not only looks very sporty but also is. Well I guess that’s exactly what Mark Koehler Architects wanted when they built the M House (really has an M shape) in 2005 in Almere, the Netherlands, for the privacy of its residents and its street presence. Talking of privacy, the house must be using special wood to keep noise on the outside and also, the architects designed it closed on the street side and opened in the back where’s a garden.

I really enjoy the big glass windows that let natural light invade the whole living space, but my honest opinion is that if these guys want to have a modern house they should into buying different type of furniture. Don’t get me wrong, nothing ugly, but it does look a bit classy to me. And one last thing … when you say garden, you really expect more green stuff in there considering that it’s built more than 3 years ago. Right?