Chalets

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.

Vince and Adrienne Murphy’s rural retreat is clad in gray shingles and gray-stained pine. “They wanted the cottage to meld into the woods and be visually quiet,” says architect Kelly Doran, who worked with Portico Timber Frames to build the 2,500-square-foot home.

Structural engineering firm Robert Silman Associates was key in helping the couple execute their design, particularly the cantilevered standing-seam aluminum roof.

Although strikingly different from its traditional farmhouse exterior, the interiors reference the outer appearance with an exposed solid granite wall in the living room and exposed roof trusses with black plated junctions that recall the artisanal joinery and construction techniques found in traditional Japanese homes.

In the kitchen, both the timber frame and cabinetry are made of Douglas fir. “We wanted to keep the material palette limited,” says architect and homeowner Sherry Scott. A ladder leads to a loft that doubles as an office and extra sleeping space. The custom sectional in the living area is by Bimma Loft.

Cedar, glass, and concrete combine in this minimalist pool house that draws inspiration from Mies van der Rohe’s 1929 Barcelona Pavilion. The pool house, built into a mountainside west of Montreal and designed by Halifax–based MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, employs board-formed concrete for the home's expressive exterior.

The existing stone walls of Candlewood Lake House were painted a deep black and matched with a new standing-seam roof.

The house sits within a field of trees.

Cabin at Longbranch site plan.