As summer approaches our thoughts drift towards the sea, with fantasies of lazy days at our own retreat on the beach.

Dutch houses are renowned for their large windows which maximise sunlight in their often deep and narrow interiors and which also reflects the Dutch people's spirit of openness and transparency.

Plywood is often seen as a cheap and cheerful material, beloved of design students and a staple of DIY projects. 

They say people who live in glass houses should not throw stones, even though glass used in modern buildings can probably withstand a fair few rocks given advances in material technology. 

Container houses are not uncommon but few are as stylish as the RDP House in Pichincha, Ecuador.

The architects at Marc&Co have designed a bijou studio nestled in a sub-tropical garden in Brisbane which shows how to combine the work environment with the great outdoors.

Many houses promise green living but few live up to expectations; the Hillside House just outside San Francisco, designed by SB Architects, is a rare exception.

India is a kaleidoscope of colours, shapes and patterns.

Small can be exquisitely beautiful, as this writer's cottage at the end of a suburban garden shows.

On a quiet residential street in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya sits an unexpected house.

Architectural practice Mima has designed a modular house which is truly at one with nature.

Nestled in the woods outside Austin in Texas, not too far from the Colorado River, is a stunning house remarkable as much for its sculptural presence as for its eco-credentials.