Cabin

The ground floor’s adjoining staircase, as well as the kitchen cabinets and tables, can be adjusted depending the homeowner's preferences. “The design of the house is an attempt to respond to [French novelist] Georges Perec’s question, ‘We should learn to live more on staircases. But how?’” Simpson says.

The bach, which is rented as a vacation home when not being used by its owners, gives a range of spaces to escape to within its walls. The end of the house farthest from the road contains the secluded master bedroom with en suite, which has its own entrance and is separated by the covered deck. Each bedroom has a sheltered outdoor space with a translucent screen that acts as a kind of lightwell, offering total privacy while allowing light to permeate the interior. The height of the screens was lowered slightly to give a clear view of the silhouette of the nearby mountain. “You don’t want to be opening and closing curtains all the time,” says Lance Herbst. “We wanted it to be the kind of house you can walk around in after your swim and have a high level of privacy.”

One of the building challenges was transportation through the steep and windy roads to the isolated site, which is 0.5km away from Cornwall, one of Connecticut's smallest towns.

A palette of wood, concrete, and painted brick forms a neutral backdrop for Kathryn Tyler’s vintage treasures, including a $30 dining table, $3 poster, and a set of 1950s Carl Jacobs Jason chairs she snagged on eBay for $400.

This quaint cabin operates completely off the grid with no internet access.

“We’re here for almost three months every summer—and it works so well that you never feel it’s a small space. The separation and steps between each perfect little box create a great flow.”—Nadja van Praag

Naked Naust | Vega Island, Norway A dramatic cabin by Swedish architect Erik Kolman Janouch on Norway's wild Vega Island.

Context and Contrast in the Alps | Austria An Austrian vacation home’s design references its mountainside setting and expansive views across the valley. By Tom Lechner / LP Architektur

Architecture, Made On Site | Vancouver Island, Canada The husband-and-wife founders of Scott and Scott Architects design-built their own off-grid cabin with the adventurous spirit of the powder boarders they both are.

A small wood-burning stove anchors a corner of the living room that offers straight-on views of the snow-capped volcanoes.

Polished concrete floors with integrated radiant heating are used throughout the home, while the walls are lined with white-painted wood planks.