Bath

The two-sided stove is installed in the heart of the house, elevated slightly to bring the fire closer to eye-level. The stove marks the meeting of the new concrete floor with the old wooden floor. Photo by Laura Stamer.

"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."

BLAIR NICHE PROJECT At just $167 per square foot, this high-design, low-cost barn in rural Wisconsin is an American idyll.

While the owners really liked the idea of shou sugi ban, they opted for a more cost-effective black stain. The random-width, reverse board-and-batten siding reflects the wabi-sabi concept. “The builder said the math for the random siding was torturous,” the wife said. “We didn’t know how hard it was to make things look simple.” DeNiord planted hay-scented fern and lowbush blueberry sod around the house. “We didn't want any side of the house to feel unconsidered,” he says. As for the local boulders he placed around the house and terrace, he says, “They give the feeling that the house grew up around the outcroppings.”

Louvers protecting from the burning sun.

A careful conversion of an old stone farmhouse, this luxury estate marries the beauty of the home’s original masonry with new elements of glass and Corten steel. While working with the existing stone envelope, the new home was opened up on all sides to highlight views of the expansive oak forest, and Mediterranean Sea beyond.

The site is located in the Vredefort Dome near Parys, just ninety minutes from Johannesburg. The Vredefort Dome has a dramatic landscape that is characterised by complex meteorite impact structure phenomena.

SOA Soler Orozco Arquitectos . Casa Molina

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.

“This time around, we have a house that was actually built for its surroundings,” Buttons says.

The master bathroom is a calming oasis of marble. The couple often relax here for a moment of tranquility.