Secretly Modern: Low-Profile Houses

It can be tough fitting in, but these clever, unobtrusive homes manage to fit a dose of modernism into the nooks and crannies left over from piecemeal urban expansion, or by gently settling into their scenic locales. Slideshow

When converting a 93 square-foot boiler room in San Francisco into a guesthouse, architect Christi Azevedo had nowhere to go but up. The living and dining area takes up the ground floor of the three-level space. A ladder accessed mezzanine contains the bathroom and closet, and a small but comfortable sleeping area tops off the home. Photo by Cesar Rubio.