Narrowly spaced steel louvres wrap around the exterior of this extension to a house in Beijing, providing privacy and creating linear patterns of light and shadow throughout the minimal white interior (+ slideshow). More about Remix Studio's Shunyi House extension features louvred cladding and an all-white interior
Tel Aviv architect Kedem Shinar drew on Israel's Bauhaus architecture and her training in Japan to create the clean lines of this bright white house in Carmey Yossef (+ movie). More about Kedem Shinar bases boxy Israel home on Bauhaus architecture
Windows are dotted across the facades of this photographer's house in Brittany, France, allowing sunlight to illuminate different parts of the interior through the day (+ slideshow). More about Square windows puncture Alireza Razavi's monolithic House for a Photographer in Brittany
A spiral staircase provides an eye-catching feature inside this minimal white house completed by Swedish designer Jonas Lindvall in a seaside town outside Malmö (+ slideshow). More about Sculptural staircase features inside minimal Swedish house by Jonas Lindvall
A sculptural white staircase lit by a skylight connects an open-plan living space to a mezzanine floor inside this house in Finland by Avanto Architects (+ slideshow). More about Villa Lumi by Avanto Architects has a curving white concrete staircase
This pool house nestled among trees on the estate of a farmhouse in Spain's Sierra Nevada region is flanked by dry stone walls and has a turf roof that helps it merge with the landscape (+ slideshow). More about Roz Barr's pool house in the Sierra Nevada is surrounded by stone walls and olive trees
A spindly crucifix-like frame supports a huge window overlooking a patio inside this Mexican residence by architect Abraham Cota Paredes (+ slideshow). More about Grand window fronts peaceful courtyard inside Abraham Cota Paredes' V House
This house near the French town of Caen spirals around an internal courtyard to provide privacy for the owners in an area surrounded by new homes (+ slideshow). More about Maison Spirale wraps around a central courtyard to offer residents privacy and light
A water-filled patio with a slatted roof cuts into one corner of this L-shaped house near Córdoba, Argentina, which was designed by Agustín Lozada for a young family (+ slideshow). More about Glass walls and terraces frame views from bright white house in Argentina
This house near Hamilton, Ontario, relies on a combination of fireplaces and straw walls to keep it warm, with a rooftop meadow adding to its green credentials (+ slideshow). More about Straw bales insulate monochrome house in Ontario by Nicolas Koff
A white-rendered concrete screen extends from the upper floor of this house near Guadalajara, Mexico, blocking views to the street but framing a perspective of the garden and sky (+ slideshow). More about Abraham Cota Paredes completes introspective white house in Mexico
This family house in Shiga, Japan, is made up of two structures – a simple two-storey block set on a patio, and a small timber pavilion that opens out to a landscaped garden (+ slideshow). More about Maibara House by Alts Design Office combines a windowless block and a small garden pavilion
The rooflines of this house and coffee shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand, are slanted at different angles to ensure all rooms offer clear views of a canal in front (+ slideshow). More about Ekar Architects completes canal-side house in Thailand with adjoining cafe and music room
The roof of this house in Japan is tilted above a band of glazing, allowing light to permeate the interior while also making the structure look like a box with a lifted lid (+ slideshow). More about SYAP's House in Yokkaichi has a roof angled upwards like the lid of an open box
Aamodt Plumb Architects divided this prefabricated house in Texas into two wings to avoid felling a group of trees, covering one half in black-charred timber and the other in bright white stucco. More about Lakefront Austin home by Aamodt Plumb Architects is split into two wings
White concrete volumes protrude from this house in central Italy, which features a bamboo-filled courtyard and a subterranean swimming pool (+ slideshow). More about Architettura Matassoni uses dislocated volumes to form white villa in Tuscany
Oak joinery, white-painted bricks, and concrete flooring were used to make the interior of this new house in Suffolk, England, more contemporary than its traditional pitched-roof exterior (+ slideshow). More about West Stow Lodge by Project Orange features a traditional exterior and a pared-back interior
Stark white walls frame vistas of the Ionian Sea from a bright white house by Brussels-based architect Olivier Dwek, which is perched above the coastline of Zante (+ slideshow). More about Silver House by Olivier Dwek stands on the forested hillside of the Greek island Zante
Japanese studio Niji Architects has squeezed two homes into its Town House in Takaban, which features a steeply pitched roof, windowless gables and strips of horizontal steel cladding (+ slideshow). More about Gabled townhouse in Tokyo by Niji Architects is clad in strips of white steel
The minimal interior of this house in Japan's Hyogo prefecture features a basic palette of white walls and wood surfaces aimed at providing a calm and comfortable environment for its elderly residents. More about Tsubasa Iwahashi converts a family home into a stripped-back dwelling for empty nesters