Another day, another tiny house for us to enjoy. This one is built as a true retreat away from the world, with no running water or electricity. It’s in the middle of a clump of large redwoods, and designed to look as if it was built into the trees (it’s not).

“No water and no lights?” you might think. “Did the owner spend all the money on land and run out?” Rest assured, the owner is a former airline executive, and could probably well afford any number of luxuries. Sometimes a tiny house is beautiful for its on sake.

Images courtesy of Treehugger.

Sometimes a staircase may be necessary to get from floor to floor. And sometimes it can be an architectural marvel. We found a round-up on MSN Real Estate that caught our fancy. Here are two of our favorites. Check out the rest here.

If you have an abundance of books and limited space to store them, why not include them in your stairs?

It can’t be denied that these stairs, seemingly supported by nothing, are chic and modern. Our concern would be safety–how do you prevent falls not only down the stairs but off the stairs?

What are the most interesting stairs you’ve ever seen? Let us know in the comments!

Images courtesy of MSN Real Estate.

Ceilings: they don’t matter until they do. People give much more attention to the ceiling’s flashier sister, the wall — so many choices for colors and decor! But the ceiling is just sort of… there.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot of room for a decorating statement on the ceiling and MSN Real Estate runs through various ceiling types. Here are our favorites:

• Panel ceiling: This wood ceiling might scream 70s basement, but with beautiful wood, it can give off a rustic woodsy vibe.
• Tin ceiling: These ceilings are gorgeous and intricate and add a lot of detail to a room. The downside is that they can cause extra noise.
• Cathedral ceiling: This soaring ceiling can add space and light to a room (it looks especially great with large windows!). If you’re going for a cozy look though, this might not be the best choice.

What kind of ceilings do you like?

Image courtesy of MSN Real Estate

Real People, Real Kitchens: 15 Small Cool Kitchens You Won’t Want to Miss
The Kitchn
Check out The Kitchn’s roundup of little kitchens with big style.

Boulder Tiny House: Colo. Couple Build Simple, Sustainable 125 Square Foot Home
Huffington Post
“Could you live in only 125 square feet? That’s exactly what a Boulder, Colo. couple are doing now that they have completed building their brand new, tiny home from scratch.”

Death to the McMansion
Slate
“Add it all up, and the National Association of Realtors estimates that—today—56 percent of Americans want the attributes of this new American dream in their next housing purchase. Yet only 2 percent of new units being built today fit these attributes. That’s a massive pool of pent-up demand, locked away by federal policy still supporting suburban growth at the expense of all other types of communities. Change the policy—without having to spend a dime—and we’re off to the races with new jobs in construction and infrastructure, plus homes and communities that reflect the way we want to live today. And they happen to be good for the planet, reducing energy, water, and waste by at least one-third.”

How To Live Well in 1oo Square Feet
Apartment Therapy
“Recently, at SXSW 2012, we had the pleasure of hearing Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company extol the virtues of living in a small space. While he admits that living in 100 square feet might not be for everyone, his talk contained plenty of tips that apply to anyone looking to live efficiently.”

A while ago, we asked you if you could only change one thing in your kitchen, what would it be? Let’s expand that to asking what one thing in your entire house would you change? Here are some ideas:

• Have you always wanted a fireplace for cozy winter evenings?
• Maybe your “vintage” kitchen doesn’t have a dishwasher
• Are your white walls bothering you?
• Would new windows make your house sparkle? (Hey, we know who can do that!)
• Do you want to rip out your old carpets and install gleaming hardwood floors?
• Does the thought of an additional bedroom or bathroom make your mouth water?
• Or maybe a walk-in closet or finished basement would be the way to go

Tell us in the comments what one thing you’d change in your house if could. And maybe search around this site for some ideas and tips, like in our remodeling category.

Excellence in design and energy efficiency has long been the M.O. for architects based in the Pacific Northwest. Year after year, the region produces some of the  most innovative homes which feature sustainable materials and generous use of natural elements.

For that very reason, we sent some questions along to Eric Drivdahl, a Seattle-based architect who specializes in custom residential design, historic buildings and religious facilities. Drivdahl is a senior project manager for Gelotte Hommas Architecture.

What’s your favorite design trend right now? 
While the work in our office has historically been very diverse in style, I am seeing a larger trend in both the production and semi-custom markets towards a greater diversity in style. Here in the Pacific Northwest, craftsman style spec homes have been extremely popular. However, that seems to be changing.

I’ve seen several projects in the last 24 months locally that have branched out and have included other traditional and contemporary styles such as traditional farm house, Santa Barbara/Mediterranean, English Tudor and other historical reinterpretations as well as what we affectionately refer to here in Seattle as Northwest Contemporary. Consumers are seeking out great design in the things they buy, and I’ve observed this trend is impacting housing as well.

The floor plan for modern homes continues to open up each year and designated rooms are going the way of the dinosaur. As an architect, how do you feel about creating more livable homes with multifunctional spaces? Do you miss designated rooms? 
I think designing in flexibility to a home is essential. A home generally far outlasts the initial family it is built for. Some homes live on long beyond the third, fourth or fifth family that occupies the brick and mortar structure. It’s interesting that, historically, designated rooms were really the result of the common person trying to imitate the elite. Drawing rooms, libraries, studies…all were initially developed for the well-to-do aristocracy in Europe. When we started building homes for the middle class in America, we somehow thought adding these rooms would elevate the status of the common man…and perhaps it did in the eyes of the world. Winston Churchill even said, “We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.” However, the reality of the family today is that we rarely have the leisure time to ‘draw away’ to the drawing room for a good long sit or to spend our time studying linguistics in the study.

Modern families live busy lives of activity and generally want the most out of their time. Therefore, it makes sense that the ‘great room’ with the kitchen/living/dining/study all combined has caught on as a most popular design feature. All of these activities can happen at once and there is a sense of togetherness a family can share as well, even if the individual members of the family are engaged in the separate activities of cooking, resting or working on projects from work or school.

When budget and space allow, there are still good reasons to have designated spaces to keep either messy or intrusive activities from impinging on a family’s ability to enjoy the shared space. Exercise rooms, laundry rooms, and the like come to mind. However, when designing a new project, architects and builders should view even those spaces with an eye toward flexibility. Could the exercise room function as a guest room? Could the laundry be used as an art studio? While a client may not explicitly ask for this level of future flexibility, the one thing we ought to remember is what we design and build will eventually outlast the initial use for which it was designed.

A section of the Gelotte Hommas website explains the six components of quality design, including beauty, form, light, materials and rhythm. Perhaps this is like picking favorite child, but what do you see as the single most important component? Why? 
Truly magnificent design and architecture indeed incorporates all of these components. Can you imagine the Pantheon without its oculus casting radiant light into its perfectly proportioned floor plan? Or Fallingwater without its dramatic cantilevered materials cascading down the slope in delightful rhythm? If a client held a gun to my head and demanded to know which was most important, I suppose my architectural career would necessarily come to a speedy end. “Go ahead and shoot me…I just can’t decide…”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview originally appeared on the Builder Blog from Integrity Windows and Doors.

Jeff Murphy of Murphy & Co. Design meticulously restored a Minnesota barn for comfortable functionality. Inspired by an enthusiasm for historic outbuildings and barns found in mountain regions in the U.S. and Europe, converting this rustic barn into a masculine enclave seemed like the perfect fit. The design called for a classic study and hunting shop that appealed to the homeowner’s love for history as well as the outdoors.

A rusted steel roof over a reclaimed and battered stone exterior gives way to an inviting interior comprised of reclaimed barn boards and timbers with large pieces of Loon Lake flagstone for flooring. A desk alcove in the study is surrounded by large double hung windows and warmed by a large stone fireplace.

The hunting shop includes a track-mounted ceiling hoist for raising deer out of the back of a pickup, an ammo loading workbench, washer and dryer for hunting clothes and a modern-day outhouse.

Marvin wood windows (including double hungs and awning windows) were an easy choice because of the availability of fir to help maintain the authenticity of the exterior. This, along with the sash detailing and the ability to customize without complications, made Marvin the perfect fit for the project.

Images courtesy of Susan Gilmore.

Are you looking for a multi-person seating alternative to the couch? Have a dream of “swimming” in cushions? Do you really love birds? Then this seating option might be for you!

The Giant Birdsnest by O*GE is “a prototype for new and inspiring socializing space, which can be seen as a morph of furniture and playground.” It looks like it could be used as an unusual sleeping space in addition to seating. Think of the great conversations you could have while in this nest!

Would you ever put something like this in your family room?

Image courtesy of O*GE

5 kitchen design trends for 2012
Housing Zone
“Each year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) surveys its members to identify the latest design and specification trends in kitchen and bath design. This year, 350 NKBA members took part in the survey. Here are five emerging kitchen trends they identified.”

The Psychology of Colour in the Home
Home Renovation Guide
“Given the bold hues chosen by the likes of Pantone (Tangerine Tango) and the Color Marketing Group (Boyz-N-Berry) as the 2012 Colours of the Year, some people will naturally question the impact of colour within their home and how it effects mood. Though there are differences of opinion based on things like culture and geography, there are general rules of thumb regarding colour’s psychological impact. Let’s begin with the Colours of the Year, and their more muted counterparts.”

Kitchen Workbook: 15 Elements of a Traditional Kitchen
Houzz.com
“Traditional kitchens are defined by their details, and creating eye-catching detail is not just as simple as putting legs on an island. But whether they’re Old World or Mediterranean flavor, traditional kitchens all share the same basic elements. Here are 15 details that help you create traditional kitchen style.”

Hardwood Floors for Every Mood
Home Design Find
An article full of eye-candy photos, this piece from HDF should give any hardwood-floor hunter what she’s looking for.