Country Modernism

"We had the walls painted a moss green to give it a breath of life," Stephen Sills says of the living room of a house in the hills of Westchester County, New York, which he decorated with his partner, James Huniford. They designed the center table. Pierre Frey sofa fabric.

At Ease in Fort Sheridan

Family Car , a 1982 folk sculpture by Ed Larson, rests on a circa 1840 jelly cupboard in the dining room. On the wall is a circa 1920 penny pitch game board.

Mid-Atlantic Tree House

Fabricated cedar trees reaching up to the skylight form a Gothic-style canopy in the library/ sitting room of the guest wing. A secret door leads to the bunk room. Sofas and club chairs from Newel. Charles Edwards cupboard. Table lamps from John Rosselli.

Distilling the Cottage

Near the terrace, boxwoods help direct the eye toward the oceanfront site's most picturesque attributes. Terrace chairs, Janus et Cie.

Aspen Elevation

A house designed by Marc Appleton and Paul Williger in Aspen for Bob and Linda Gersh is a variation on the local vernacular. "We didn't want it just to be a huge pile of logs," says Appleton, who used barn siding, from Conklin's Authentic Antique Barnwood, and a cedar shake roof.

New York Thoroughbred

A Colonial-style residence, designed by architect Rebecca Rasmussen, is set on a rise at Stonewall Farm, Sheryl and Barry Schwartz's 750-acre working horse farm in Westchester County, New York.

Design Notebook: All in the Family

The dining room houses Andrew B. Carlin's 1845 portrait of Mary Louisa Royal. The Amish wood figures and the chairs hail from the Paris flea market.

Private Reserve

"The main living space is a single pavilion with living, dining and kitchen areas flowing together under one roof," Backen points out. "Large glass doors open every room to covered porches." A collection of old mortars and pestles rests on the long Irish baking table.