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“Opening the house to the southwest also gave the best chance of hearing the ocean noises in the house at night,” says Sabbeth. A Malm Firedrum 3 fireplace anchors the corner, with a cream Piero Lissoni sofa, coffee table by Andrianna Shamaris and leather Cassina chairs placed before it.

A guest bedroom, with furniture from Room & Board, overlooks the bridge above the dining courtyard. The home’s landscape architecture is by Ventura, California–based Jack Kiesel. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

A wall on the second level features a built-in bookcase with a reading nook.

A wood-burning stove from Harvia, of Finland, heats the sauna. The pavilion’s rough-cut pine walls are treated with tar, a preservative that yields a time-worn aesthetic.

This revamped Montreal flat includes a rooftop sauna lined with torrified, or dried, cedar. Outfitted with glass paneling and oriented to capture views of Mount Royal, it is the ideal haven for this hardworking homeowner.

The two tiny homes were designed by CAST Architecture.

Noticing a void in the market, he partnered with renowned Australian architect and champion of sustainability, Peter Stutchbury, on Dimensions X, a start-up offering responsible, affordable, and architecturally-pleasing pre-crafted homes at the click of a button.

Weekend House, Schroeder, MN, 2009.

“We wanted to tackle the dream and challenge of designing our own house and create a space that would get us close to nature,” Alessandro says.

A third of the house and deck cantilever out toward the stream, and the void beneath the deck provides a place for wood storage. The cabin sits just 100 feet from the water, and with the windows open you can hear the ambient rush of the stream from throughout the house.

Now, a walk-in shower and soaking tub are tucked under the roof line.

The secluded location of the house at the edge of a retired shale bank allows the luxury of an open outdoor shower. Corrugated steel siding provides a durable, zero-maintenance exterior finish and captures the changing sun and woodland shadows.

The existing cottage has been on the site for “a long time” with various extensions and refurbishments taking place ad hoc between the 1930s and 1990s, including the garage and utility room at the rear that has been replaced by the newest extension. Like many typical cottages in the area, the cottage is built from local stone with timber shutter windows.

“We found Studio Weave’s work and instantly connected with their designs, feeling their playful, instinctive approach would neatly balance modern design in a natural setting,” say the clients, Tom Baker and Natalie Silk. “They worked closely with our builder, David Joyce, to bring the space to life.”

Almost every room in the extension has direct access to the outside so the relationship with the grounds is immediate. In addition, carefully considered windows frame views of the surrounding landscape—especially the large window facing the valley in the first-floor living space. “It’s incredibly joyful to see how the views, smells, and emotion of being in the extension changes throughout the different seasons,” says architect Je Ahn. “It’s very tranquil and a retreat in the true sense of the word.”

Deep window boxes double as cosy reading nooks and bench seats that immerse the residents in the landscape.