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A highlight of the overhaul is the floor-to-ceiling glass on the north side, which includes a five-panel bifold door. The door opens to the couple’s favorite area of the house, the backyard. The deck is shaded by the cantilevered roof, and Ren planted drought-resistant brush amid the existing oak trees.

The oil painting over the living room sofa is Labyrinth Garden, by Darby Milbrath

Velux skylights open the home's interior to natural light, and the couple cut a hole in the second level so that the sun's rays could reach all the way through the home.

Where the New Buffalo Residence now stands on a wooded lot by the shores of Lake Michigan, there used to be a serpentine ranch house with perplexingly small windows, none of which pointed toward the water. The homeowners had used it as a vacation retreat for over 30 years before an expanding family—and guest list—led them to approach architecture firm Booth Hansen for a fresh design.

In keeping with the Goodmans' desire for just enough subdivision for rooms to sleep and work in, Cohen inserted a two-story volume into one of the barn frame's side aisles. An additional small mezzanine over the kitchen serves as a play area for the grandchildren.

Connected to the main house by a narrow bridge, a three-story cedar tower with a sauna at its base recalls a tree house. The screened-in second level includes a table and chairs for enjoying an outdoor meal, while a swing on the tower’s top level provides a perch to take in the surrounding birch trees.

The open living-and-bedroom area of Ian Hague’s rural retreat can be divided by a wall that rises from within the master-suite platform. Interior designer Elaine Santos blended her client’s collection of vintage furniture with no-fuss pieces like a Shaker-style bench by Ilse Crawford for De La Espada.

Though the fire pit was “kind of an after-thought,” says Hannah, the family uses it year-round. “In the spring and fall, it warms you up on cool nights, and in the summer, it just adds ambience.”

The placement of the windows creates sight lines across the 4,770-square-foot structure. Northern Wide Plank sourced the reclaimed hemlock for the facade; Sherma Construction picked the specific boards to create a cohesive look. - North Hatley, Quebec Dwell Magazine : July / August 2017

“It was important to site the house in such a way that it had views to both the field and the forest, but it also wasn’t visible from the main road,” says Lewis. VELUX skylights bring extra light into the home.

A timber-framed screened porch gives guests a place to sit outside without being swarmed by mosquitos.

The breakfast area sits directly beneath the clerestory window pop-up, or scoop.