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Located on a windswept site, this one-bedroom retreat is built to withstand the rigors of rural life, and it can be adapted to sleep up to six guests.

The sod roof is angled to create a sweeping elevation on approach and is planted with grass tussocks cut from the hillside during construction. “The tussocks camouflage the house, melting it into the landscape,” explains architect Kate Brown.

The kitchen cabinets were made with cabinet boxes set into framing, then a primed drywall shell covered with a textural Roman Clay finish, and sealed.

Husband-and-wife team Elaine and Stanley Yang of real estate and development firm Mini Inno discovered this 2,000-square-foot ranch home, and set about transforming it into an idyllic weekend retreat. Built in 1966, the home sits on 3.6 acres and, while the bones were good, it was a bit outdated in terms of style. The revitalized, Moroccan-inspired retreat is a sanctuary worthy of its soothing surroundings.

Bowick says the shingles were at first a golden honey hue. “As it patinated, they became this beautiful silver-gray. It’s similar to the decks and railings, which are hemlock. They also have a nice patina,” he says.

The owners built the house as a place to gather with their three adult children on Loon Lake, where they had vacationed at the husband’s family home for years. The modern Adirondack chairs are by Loll Designs.

Mixing the old with the new in the master bedroom ensuite.

Vertical wood slats at the upper floor, with its gabled roof, play with transparency and continue motifs found on other floors.

The bedroom and study is crowned by a vaulted ceiling inspired by the classic Catalan vault. Today, this traditional solution of covering a vault with flat terracotta bricks has evolved into prefabricated pieces of ceramic-filled block. It not only provides structural strength for the concrete slab, but also improves its acoustic and thermal qualities.

Michele Karpé and her husband, John Andrews, spent years dreaming about building a retreat on their remote Santa Ynez property.

A Deep Thoughts Chaise by Blu Dot occupies a sunny spot by the new windows. The firm chose leather for its durability with regards to the owners’ two cats.

Now available to rent on Airbnb, the revamped 1950s dwelling, known as The Surf Cabin, features airy interiors with laid-back vibes for a breezy weekend getaway.

A bridge links the living area to the kitchen.

The kitchen now occupies the addition, and the island was detailed to look like a piece of furniture to better meld with the living room. The cabinet colors are Farrow & Ball’s Skimming Stone and Sherwin-Williams’s Garden Gate, and were handpainted instead of spray-finished, so as "not to have something too slick or sterile," says VW. "We wanted them to be warm and have personality."