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Guest House on a Lake in Mercer Island, Washington

The home’s geometric silhouette echoes the classic typology of the region’s gable roof barns. “We took our inspiration from this vernacular architecture and re-interpreted it with a contemporary twist,” Dworkind says.

Set in a beautiful stretch of fjord country about 250 miles northwest of Oslo, the Juvet Landscape Hotel is the kind of place you could not even dream up. The minimalist design of the Juvet's rooms bring guests into close contact with the Valldola River and the sublime valley beyond it.

At night, the quiet drama of the shed roof's angles glows against the darkened forest.

A wooden home nestled amongst a cluster of Japanese larch trees offers a perfect sanctuary from nearby Tokyo. Chubu, Japan. By Koji Tsutsui & Associates from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.

Waechter Architecture reimagined a traditional gabled home in southeast Portland without significantly altering the original building. A simple coat of red paint abstracts the century-old structure, creating a residential work of art.

“The home is quite small, but designed in such a way that you don’t feel it,” Herrin says. Lift-slide openings by Quantum Windows & Doors, which were fabricated fewer than 50 miles from the house, make the main living space seem larger.

Natural light and fresh air pours in through the six windows (each three feet wide by six and a half feet tall) that pattern both sides of the home. “We picked out this size because it’s the biggest you could buy and still be standard,” says Boardman, mindful that custom windows cost a whole lot more. Photo on left by Sally Schoolmaster; photo on right, courtesy Atelier Waechter.