Barns

Mid-century designer Jens Risom's A-framed prefab family retreat, located on the northern portion of Block island, is bordered by a low stone wall, an aesthetic element that appears throughout the land.

Choosing not to make a big to-do of itself, this cottage blends in with its surroundings. A wall of glass on one end allows a merger of the outdoors with the interiors, while white trim leaves the appearance of a snow-kissed façade year-round. Berlin, Germany. By Atelier st Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH from the book Rock the Shack, Copyright Gestalten 2013.

With one side of the house closed off, views are directed through the glazed south and west facades to the grassy clearing beyond. "We planted tens of thousands of blue bells and lots of rhododendrons," Oostenbruggen says of the green space. "The setting developed over time."

Large sliding glass doors allow daylight to fill the living room. Smaller windows are placed in the kitchen area and the sleeping loft. The exterior is clad in heart pine which needs very little up-keep and is known for its strength and hardness.

The House for a Musher is all about taking advantage of its hilltop site. The courtyard in the front has vast views and the house itself is oriented toward the surrounding landscape.

The house may appear conventional at a glance, but a closer look shows how Oostenbruggen has pushed the boundaries of the traditional gabled typology. It has an asymmetrical roof, with slate shingles that extend down the eastern side to close it off completely.

Cabin Nordmarka, 2006.

"It only cost about $48,000 to build, which was incredibly cheap," says Turner of the Stealth Barn. "We got the Timber Frame Company to supply the shell, then we clad it and fitted out the interior and windows ourselves. The idea was to take the archetypal black tar-painted agricultural building and make an almost childlike icon of that."

Two hours north of New York City, an unusual barn emerges from a hill just off a country road. Its black siding and bright-red window frames hint at the imaginative playground inside. This space, with its rope-railed catwalk and indoor tent, is just one element of the multifaceted getaway architecture and design firm BarlisWedlick Architects designed for fund manager Ian Hague.

"We didn't want to diminish the openness and height and feeling of a great expanse of space," said the owner of this resurrected 19th-century barn house in Pine Plains, New York. Fortunately, the barn frame's horizontal beams perform a domestic function by creating the illusion of a lower ceiling. An abundance of furnishings in rich materials fills out the space. Photo by Raimund Koch.

Agricultural buildings inspire a remote getaway in eastern Canada.

Modern Barns is a 4,300-square-foot dwelling consisting of a series of timber volumes with pitched roofs.

A classic VW bus in vintage colors shows both the scale and scope of The Barn and its surrounding scenery.