nature

At 74 square meters (797 square feet), this variation of the Vinkelhuset line by Danish modular cabin designer Møn Huset is L-shaped in plan and hits all the right notes, boasting clean lines, a practical gabled roof, and simple, attractive detailing on the interior.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

In Washington’s Methow Valley, a modern cabin with an outdoor living room allows views of the surrounding woodland and meadow to perforate its volume. By day, the Chechaquo Lot 6 cabin gives the impression of floating in a forest clearing; by night, its windows glow against the wooded darkness. From all vantage points, the landscape permeates this 1,000-square-foot cabin, designed for two outdoor enthusiasts and tucked at the toe of a dramatic slope in Winthrop, Washington.

Planning regulations required a gable roof, which the architects split into four shed roofs carefully designed to respond to heavy snow and meet spatial and aesthetic wishes.

The Desert House located in Desert Hot Springs is a steel structure designed with large expansive windows, and concrete flooring.

Inspired by the surrounding landscape of chestnut trees, rocky hillside, and bubbling stream, Portuguese architecture firm 3r Ernesto Pereira chose to blend into, and take advantage of, the local geography rather than fight against it at this sleek, modern home near the coastal city of Porto. At a cost of €100,000 (approximately $125,000) and measuring about 140 square meters, this stunning, wood-and-glass retreat took about four months to construct.

Main Terrace

The linens by Matteo Los Angeles in the master bedroom were among the fabrics that Mirjana Munetic of Boora selected for the Finleys. The idea was to find neutral tones that would not upstage the views.

Kitchen and Dinning Room

Case Inlet Retreat

Glass Farmhouse | Olson Kundig

This 191-square-foot cabin near Vancouver and its glass facades "forces you to engage with the bigger landscape," architect Tom Kundig says, but it seals up tight when its owner is away. The unfinished steel cladding slides over the windows, turning it into a protected bunker. Read the full story here.

Studhorse | Olson Kundig