Cabin

The 4.9-foot overhanging eaves shelter the walkway and shade the interiors in the summer.

Panorama Lodge has the tagline “Where the sky is,” which perfectly suits this 248-square-foot cabin in Iceland.

Dubbed Small But Fine, a student-built 280-square-foot cabin in Finland connects with the outdoors and features a minimal footprint. Not pictured is a detached outhouse with a composting toilet.

Mirror Point Cottage, hovering on legs of steel, recasts the idea of the weathered Nova Scotia fisherman's shack.

When artist Birgitta Burling and her husband Staffan decided to build a house on the idyllic Swedish island of Gotland, they set their ambitions high. "The brief was to make a house that can do several things…to create a house with very little boundaries and infinite possibilities," says French architecture and landscape firm Collectif Encore.

From a different perspective, the home appears more transparent and open to the water.

Drawing inspiration from fire towers and Nordic folklore, the PAN Treetop Cabins are two 431-square-feet lofted A-frames that sleep six people each. Elevated 26 feet in the air by steel poles and clad in black oxidized zinc and steel, the structures blend into the forested landscape of Eastern Norway.

The house sits within a field of trees.

The 307-square-foot Sojourner by Häuslein Tiny House Co. can travel with you—or even expand when you’re ready to stake a claim.

A young Finnish designer bypasses building permits by creating an affordable tiny home under 100 square feet.

The simple black box is broken by operable glazing, drawing the outdoor elements in.