Architects draw their inspiration from all kinds of different sources, but the shape of this home in Stuttgart was influenced by the site on which it sits. The Haus am Weinberg, designed by Dutch firm UNStudio, shares a border with a vineyard. The steps of that vineyard inspired the architects to repeat their shape in the home.

The house boasts three levels, each of which is a different shape. The top level is the largest, featuring a visually stunning bit that overhangs the second-story dining room.

The home’s interior is full of curves and light, with double-height windows letting in vast amounts of sunshine. From the huge column-free windows, one can enjoy the sights of the vineyard to one side and the city to the other.

According to the architects, the design of the home is based on a simple "twist" motion. The offset rooms, gently spiraling staircase and overall flow of the entire interior draw their inspiration from the idea of this gesture.

There is, however, a single room which eschews the bright, curving femininity of the rest of the home: the owner’s hunting lounge. Being a fan of music and hunting, the owner has one room which is all about masculinity and the thrill of the hunt.

Located in the heart of busy Stockholm, this penthouse is eye candy for bibliophiles and lovers of great design alike. It is perched at the top of an historic building and offers an artful refuge from the bustling streets below.

The home’s interior was designed by its owner, Swedish artist Carouschka Streijffert, and featured in the magazine Skönahem. Two sunken reading areas form the focal point of the luxurious space, although they have stiff competition from a stunning spiral staircase leading up to a luxurious second floor bathroom.

Make no mistake about it – this is not a kid-friendly, soft-cornered, baby-proofed home. This penthouse is all grown up, as evidenced by the open stairs and stunning open fireplace.

The abode is shaped like a “U” with one elongated side, allowing the resident to look into her own windows from an entirely different part of the home.

In addition to all of the fabulous features here, the abundance of natural light is one of the most compelling things about this penthouse home. Windows of all shapes and sizes adorn every wall, allowing sunlight to permeate the artist’s residence all day long.

Living in the midst of nature is one thing. Inviting nature into your home as a part of the living space is something entirely different. In the case of the Corallo House by PAZ Arquitectura, it is also something completely wonderful.

Residing in a heavily forested area of Guatemala City, the Corallo House incorporates the surrounding forest into its overall design. The home is in the forest, but the forest is also in the home.

One of the main goals of the project was to preserve the existing trees on the site and incorporate them into the home’s overall design.

The result is a home that uses both natural materials and nature itself – in the form of living, growing trees – to honor the beautiful piece of earth on which it sits.

The interior changes in level correspond with the natural topography changes of the site itself. The home hugs the natural contours of the landscape, connecting it even more firmly to the forest in which it resides.

Inside and out, the home’s materials reflect nature at every turn. Rich oiled wood, weathered timber, expansive glass, smooth pebbles and rough stones, shiny steel and exposed concrete – and, of course, the living trees – all combine to form a gentle conversation with the forest.

While the entire house is amazing and truly an unforgettable architectural treat, it seems likely that the residents would have a hard time enjoying the whole building. When you have a bedroom this spectacular, why would you ever want to leave it?

Its exterior shape is more than just an affection, though at first glance it almost looks to have been formed by natural elements – waterfront wind and waves.

However, these contortions translate into a series of spaces where convex and concave moments of glass inform remarkable views back out of this Lake Tahoe retreat by Mark Dziewulski Architect.

A stunning tapered oval glass staircase wraps up a central tower, dynamically depositing residence on different floors facing different ways back out onto the natural landscape.

Strategic overhangs in individual spaces provide daunting experiences in places like the bedroom, but a corresponding feeling of connection with the outdoors (as well as shade from the high and hot summer sun).