Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

On an island 20 miles off the coast of Maine, a writer, with the help of his daughter, built not only a room, but an entire green getaway of his own.

The design eschews right angles on the exterior and interior, which was one of the most challenging aspects of the design for Kallesø.

"We felt it was important to create continuity with nature, rather than compete with it," Soranno stated. "The connection with nature is what makes this place special."

To complement the white-washed custom cabinetry in her kitchen, architect Julie Salles Schaffer has designed a tile backsplash to resemble "melting butter in a white pan." Daltile arranged her two-color AutoCAD design—white and off-white—onto a mesh backing for a small fee. To soften the edges of the cabinets’ drawers and doors, Schaffer requested radial edging.

“The liberal use of wood roots the structure in the landscape and provides the owners with an experience strongly connected with location,” Herrin says. The exterior’s Western red cedar shingle siding has a semi-transparent stain, half Fieldstone and half Burnt Hickory from Cabot.

One of the early challenges of building the house was defining the property lines of the lot, which had come to be known as "the floating acre" among the local fishermen.

The modest bedroom looks towards the yard and part of the owner’s garden. The table, by Jayson Home, holds a vintage lamp and is flanked by a Spring Lounge chair by Cappellini.

+Farm is based in upstate New York, where land can be cheap but new housing prohibitively expensive: when a resident breaks ground on a waterfront site, their taxes can dramatically increase. What if new housing didn't need to technically break ground? "Our thought," says +Farm Director William Haskas, was "let's discuss ideas for a new type of dwelling....one that could potential help the people that actually live in the area."

Completed in 2013, the roughly 1,500-square-foot cabin provides an open living area framed by white trusses and concrete floors. The dining table was acquired by the owner from a local inn, and is surrounded by the Eames molded plastic Eiffel side chairs from Design Within Reach. The kitchen features a Grohe faucet, a wood bowl from a shop in Harbert, and an Ikea vase.

Buyers should cast as wide a net as possible in terms of location and amenities.

At a home renovation in Connecticut, cabinet fabricator Michael Madore experimented with what he calls an "aggressive" metal-sanding process to pull out the grain from the whitewashed oak plywood. For the hardware-free cabinets, Julie Salles Schaffer looked to a drawer pull detail derived from Giò Ponti’s work—though she admits the radial edging is an effect entirely her own.

Danish architects John Lassen and Joanna Tench renovated the interior of this quaint 1960s thatched-roof cottage in North Jutland, giving it a clean, modern face-lift.

A lofted sleeping space furnished with a king size Design Within Reach American Modern bed was made possible when the architects raised the ceiling to create a triangular skylight. The move carved out enough headroom to make the second-floor space usable, while still keeping the cottage in compliance with strict local zoning rules for “accessory” buildings.

Alex devised a system that takes advantage of ocean views while protecting the cottage from that same northeasterly orientation. The large windows and doors can be shuttered with corrugated aluminum panels.

The view from Bruce's cabin is a sight for sore eyes. One of the outermost inhabited islands on the American eastern seaboard, Criehaven (technically Ragged Island) is located 20 miles off the Maine coast and one mile south of Matinicus Island.

To integrate the former postman’s cottage with the new design, architect David Sheppard added a concrete column adjacent to an existing stone chimney and a new slate chimney “at the heart of the composition.” From this, the roof structure fans out; the small structure now serves as an anteroom.

Mary Henning and Ann Wansbrough's renovation of a semidetached cottage enables them to use 75 percent less town water than the average two-person home.

Themis Mobile Designed by Clara Von Zweigberk for Artecnica via Dwell Store $37.00 Inspired from the polyedra, designer Clara von Zweigbergk created this suspended graphic and delicate mobile to add a playful touch of vibrant color to any room.

Eccentric mobile by Jamie Mclellan for Resident.

White plaster walls and a curved ceiling play up natural lighting, while minimalist decor and furnishings (many of which they designed themselves) make the small space feel larger.

“When you’re doing a second home, a lot of the character of the design is defined by what it isn’t,” says architect Greg Howe, as a way of explaining the minimalistic approach that was taken on this Michigan weekend home. “If you think of it as cold, you have to remember, the setting, and accessing nature, is the point.”

Schmidt selected Oeuf’s Robin crib for Finn’s soon-to-be sibling. The bird mobile is by Tamar Mogendorff.

The kitchen cabinets and fixtures are all sourced from Swan Cuisines. The trashcan is by Vipp. The architects opted to install only a small stove with no oven, as the garden already has a fireplace.

Lassen says the biggest key for designing a small space is to keep things as minimalist as possible. “Don’t try to make anything bigger or build an addition. Just remove all bad architecture and create clean, simple rooms.”

The basic idea for the house is a simple wooden box which Schaffer "manipulated to the maximum degree,” creating "solid and void where light and views of the rocky shoreline of the Long Island Sound could be drawn inside.” Large windows are installed flush to the siding for a seamless effect.

Key to the space-efficient floor plan is a strategically placed set of recessed areas, includingthe sleeping nook and writing desk.

With a dazzling array of kaleidoscopic color, this modern mobile by Stockholm designer Clara von Zweigbergk is a playful look at geometry.

Of their team’s differing viewpoints, DIGSAU says “the dialogue that forms in disagreements drives projects.” Here, the firm’s Corn Mobile. 2008. Photo by John Egly-Russell.

An orange front door add a bold splash of color to the otherwise monochromatic exterior.

Low-maintenance, sustainable materials were favored throughout the house. Striking orange Pirelli studded rubber floors were chosen for the main bathroom. Clean white fixtures and black shower cladding complete the graphic space.

Lyne Pedneault and Stéphane Rousseau turned to Montreal's Blouin Tardif Architecture-Environnement to design a 1,900-square-foot getaway in Sainte-Adèle, Quebec, northwest of Montreal. By tucking three bedrooms and a full bath on the ground floor, the architects were able to preserve the second level as an open space for living, cooking, dining, and working.

The kitchen is tucked away behind one of the cedar volumes, adjacent to the porch.

Solatube's tubular skylights make a discrete rooftop addition. At this idyllic cottage, their presence is barely noticeable from the outside.

Most of the windows are on the eastern side, offering an expansive view of the rolling hills below.

The porch off the kitchen helps the family connect with its surroundings.