“It’s a great skill to understand how to design a building in a landscape like this,” said Helena Webster of the sweeping Isle of Skye scenery that surrounds the home she and her partner sold through us earlier this year. Mary Arnold-Foster of local Dualchas Architects was more than up to the job, devising a “quiet and modest” pitched structure clad in corrugated aluminium, which borrowed from the island’s traditional blackhouses – and would withstand relentless wind and rain. “The combination of Mary with a local builder and furniture maker made for a really strong unit as they all understood the landscape and had local knowledge,” Helena added.

Here’s a listing that gives little away from the street. One in a row of handsome Victorian terraced houses on a quiet no-through road on Brixton Hill, south-west London, this family home breaks the formula, tempering traditional features with a modish approach to materials. It’s been cleverly refurbished without so little as a seam in sight, but a real consideration for maximising natural light. There’s lots to love here, but we think much of its magic lies in the lush rear garden, shaded by tropical banana palms, tree ferns and arum lilies.

“We wanted to show people that you can live a modern sophisticated life in an old house; that you can recycle, reuse and be sympathetic to the historic part of an old building while creating something new,” said architect Russell Jones. He was talking about the derelict cluster of farm buildings he and his partner, Duygu Kirisoglu Jones, restored together in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Not only did they ease its historic bones into the 21st century with an extension connected by a glazed corridor, but brought the outside in with it too. “The connection with nature here, we think, is quite unlike anywhere else,” added Dugyu.  

“I never throw a piece of wood away,” said Daniel Sanderson, the designer of this remarkable maisonette and a neighbouring house – both of which we sold this year. Here, on Evering Road, Daniel put his process on show, from the precision-cut oak louvres overhead to the end-grain butcher’s block in the kitchen, made with “all the left-over timber that was used for the cabinets”. Elsewhere, sandy London stock bricks that define the building’s original structure contrast pleasingly with striking black ones and amber-hued quarry tiles. Daniel’s favourite space, however, is the main bedroom. “The geometric parquet flooring is made from smoked oak,” he explained. “I hand-cut over 3,000 pieces individually, which took weeks to complete.” 

We see plenty of forward-thinking new builds at The Modern House, but the most effective homes just get all the fundamentals right. Tucked away on a residential road in Nunhead, south-east London, this Victorian terraced house feels particularly well-judged. The rooms are a good size and there’s lots of considered colour and a contemporary extension, with a picture window to frame the pretty garden. A superb example of what can be done with standard London housing stock, this was one of our greatest hits of the year – and it’s little wonder why. Bonus points for the garden studio, complete with its own kitchenette.

Originally converted and extended two decades ago by architect Doug Branson, this mews house just off Gray’s Inn Road has recently been reshaped by Stiff + Trevillion. It’s a brilliant example of what can happen when an architect passes the baton – and a reminder that every home has the potential to shift into something new. Deceptively spacious, this is an unapologetically minimalist space that feels more loft apartment than mews house. We particuarly love its almost fully glazed exterior that draws light deep into its corridors and stairwell.

The prospect of a remote Highlands escape has clearly resonated this year, as a second home on the Isle of Skye has earned a spot in our top ten. Also designed by the award-winning Dualchas Architects, this larch-clad home has been precisely oriented to maximise views across Loch Dunvegan and the low peaks of Macleod’s Tables. Taking its cue from what the Scandinavians do so well, its honestly crafted interior is centred around the warmth of a wood burner. Almost agricultural in its profile, the home’s simple silhouette holds its own in this rugged, elemental landscape.

You might mistake this characterful maisonette for a shop, were it not for the lack of signage on its racing-green façade. In fact, this Bethnal Green home occupies two floors of a former furniture factory, so it’s part of the rich creative heritage in this corner of east London. Having been reworked by Practice Architecture, it has an internal partition that sequesters an office from an open living area, while the bedrooms upstairs feature rough-hewn beams and bookend an offbeat, inky-hued bathroom. Bare bulbs and exposed piping? It’s all part of the charm.

A period conversion subject to the lightest touch, this home in Nunhead, south-east London, unfolds with a simple flow that stays true to its original floorplan. There’s a wonderful sense of separation and flex here – folding doors can close off the front reception from the family room behind, while a well-proportioned extension at the back turns what is often, in these homes, a pokey kitchen into a spacious cooking and dining hub, lifted by a tomato-red island. 

Nestled among more conventional neighbours, this unusual build will draw the eyes of those passing by. What was once a Victorian warehouse has been cleverly reworked and extended by Giles Pike Architects to create something altogether more ambitious. A boxy façade constructed in brick, glass and zinc houses two capacious open-plan living spaces – the result of removing several walls – which are crowned by a serene bedroom on the top floor. At the heart of it all is an industrial-looking open steel staircase, which splices the floorplan diagonally.