Cabin

The homeowners were impressed by the way Salmela conflated the indoor/outdoor continuum. “We really needed that contact with the lake and the woods even when inside,” says Golob. All outdoor seating by Kartell.

Roberts found the Montauk black slate, which he continued in a second bath.

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.

Sævik compares her house to a contemplative hideout. “It’s very quiet,” she says. “You can concentrate and let thoughts fly.” Her favorite summer pastimes include reading, painting, drawing, yoga, and “just sitting and feeling the forest,” she says.

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.

Light breaks through the bedroom's north wall through a vertical window that cuts from the floor up past the second floor mezzanine to the roof's ridgeline. The bed is custom.

The entrance is immediately flanked on its left by a mudroom for hiking gear and the bathroom.

The site needed a path that would let residents easily ascend from the bank to the house. The architects created one by simply replicating the way they had naturally walked up the site the first time they visited. The result is a meandering trail that directs visitors to the landscape’s different features — whether a majestic Arbutus tree, a private stone beach, or a wildflower clearing.

Norwegian architect Marianne Borge.

A section of the roof reaches over a rock outcropping—a detail that visually connects the house to the landscape and offers a handy way to climb up to the roof deck without using a ladder.

Designed by Cal Poly Pomona students, this factory-built Wedge cabin prototype features plywood interiors for a raw and rustic vibe.

Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).