Lanscape with a pool by B & B Pool and Spa

Whether your backyard is used for formal get-togethers or rowdy pool parties, B & B Pool and Spa will landscape a haven to suite your style. This transcendent garden retreat is the perfect hide-away to spend endless hours in. Bright pink lilies accent the lush greeneries composed of ground cover, shrubs and trees. An avid gardener will appreciate the mulch that is used to complement the landscaping. While it adds more interest to the gardens, it also helps contain moisture and prevent weed and grass growth. Flecks of yellow and brown in the gray-toned flagstone patio are highlighted with splashes of yellow perennials in the surroundings, while encasing the azure-colored, Gunite, free-form pool. The sounds from the natural-looking waterfall add even more luxury to this vista. Indulge all your senses in the essence of serenity with a backyard from B & B Pool and Spa Center.

Invisible Street Light - subtle and beautiful urban design

Now you can light up trees with the subtle and beautiful Invisible Street Light, without the hassle of decorative Christmas lights. The modern and chic design of the light blends into the tree creating an “invisible” element. The light conserves energy from the sunlight during the day to produce light in the evening. Since the Invisible Streetlight does not need support, it is wrapper around tree branches adding to the “invisible” factor. Streets can be lined with these lights adding a romantic lighting to the surroundings. Whether you’re looking for lighting for residential (light up the path on your secluded driveway), commercial or industrial (add some lighting around the entranceway to your business) – the lights are non-obtrusive and will create an added touch of panache to the outdoors.

Underground House by EM2N

How does one accommodate a growing family and a much-needed home extension without going to the trouble of getting neighbors’ permission? The architects at EM2N found their answer underground. Haus Gross in Greifensee, Switzerland, looks like a typical house by all accounts. But this modern and inventive design proves that looks can be deceiving. This understated, low-profile house holds a buried treasure in the form of an underground living space. The 721-sq.-ft. sub-grade home addition includes two sunken open-air courtyards leading into the three children’s bedrooms, a bathroom and a state-of-the-art home theater for private film screenings. A two-storey glazed façade lets light flood every corner, above ground and below. And while you’d think this design would mean a lot of stair climbing, the architects let their fun side out to play in this funky design, incorporating a slide to take the kids from the upper ground level down the slope and to the lower deck, which leads inside.

Underground House in Spain by Hidalgo Hartmann Architects

This unique, almost underground house in Vall de Bianya, La Garrotxa in Spain was designed by Hidalgo Hartmann Architects with a spirit of freedom and a connection to nature. The home sits at the heart of an agricultural valley, surrounded by mountains – two very influential factors when it comes to the house contemporary design. The structure sinks right into the earth, with strategically placed windows and doorways framing the carefully chosen views. A cool, concrete facade encloses a completely contradictory, contemporary interior that highlights the designer’s affinity for modern finishes and minimalist details. A living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, a powder room and laundry area are separated from the master bedroom by a patio. A large window in the home studio offers views of the landscape, while adjacent is a ramp that leads residents and visitors down to the home's covert entranceway.

Portugal Architect Takes Charge - build your own dunes!

You know the old adage, “if Muhammad can’t come to the mountain…” Well, architect Luis Pereira Miguel of Lisbon-based Pereira Miguel Arquitectos brought the mountain to Muhammad. His vision for this amazing modern house was a design undulating among the sand dunes. The problem was that there were no dunes in this Grandola, Portugal location. So the architect built two crescent-shaped dunes, and Casa Monte na Comporta was incorporated beneath them, its hard angular facade of concrete, wood and glass protruding from under the soft sand. Despite being new construction, the house (and the dunes) looks like it’s been there forever and a day, with an ancient, organic yet modern cave-like aesthetic. This low-profile single-storey house is configured in a skewed X shape, with each wing occupied by a separate function affording privacy and organization. Step outside the door and your feet hit the warm sand, making you feel like you’re stepping out onto your own private beach.

Underground House by Polish Architecture Firm

As curious as it is cool, the underground design for OUTrial House by Polish architecture firm KWK Promes reveals a secret in this quiet country field in Ksiazenice, Poland. Carved into the earth and concealed beneath a lush layer of grass, this innovative hideaway house peeks through only with a sliver of windows. An underground atrium was created by slicing into the design, opening it up to the sky while remaining “underground.” But perhaps most interesting feature about this unique design is that the landscaped roof is only accessible from inside the house, by ascending the grass-covered stairs. Beneath the camouflaged facade, the house boasts all the traditional goods: living rooms, functional spaces, and even a sound studio.

Glass Roof House to Love the Earth, and You

The Beach Valley glass roof house presents a balance between nature and architecture. This underground home design, created by Japan’s Sambuichi Architects, plays up natural aesthetics, modern minimalist interiors and sustainable technologies that usher this simple hill house straight into the future. “A close examination on how changing wind directions and intensities in daylight influences the site, enables me to understand what kind of architecture is really needed on each location,” according to Sambuichi. Set adjacent to a vast river plane and mountains, this eco friendly architecture makes an understated impression, with its contemporary glazed roof visible among the grassy surface. Beneath it, carved into the earth, four bedrooms and ironically, an underground sunroom, are an unexpected discovery. The earth becomes a means for passive climate control in the house, maintaining a comfortable temperature year-round, off the grid. Like the cooling and heating system, lighting is passive, thanks to the glass roof. Natural stone and richly finished woods complement the home’s natural surroundings. Sambuichi Architects