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The Perch at sunset.

The architecture mixes Douglas fir beams and exposed steel framing, achieving its soaring spaces without pretentiousness.

The visible structural engineering is part of the beauty of the home’s design. At the roof corner, a double-channel steel hip beam and cantilevered wood rafters come together like pieces of a puzzle.

Angled beams are a fixture of the structure, both inside and out. The beams “are an expression of the design, so they’re reinforcing view lines,” Winkelman says, “but they’re also weaving together the different axes of the site."

The dining table is generally positioned like a desk at a picture window, but can also be rotated to seat a dinner party. The clients' top-shelf of whiskey takes pride of place on the open shelving above the doorway.

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.

Maclean opted to wrap the building in zincalume corrugate, or corrugated iron. “Dunedin is not the sunniest spot in the world. It rains a lot,” says Maclean. “So, having something that sort-of shimmed in the bush was quite attractive, rather than it being dark and stealth or another color that mimicked greenery.”

“We did a lot of things for us that some clients are hesitant to do, like shou sugi ban. Our idea is that the house and materials will weather over time. They will change, but that’s part of the beauty of it,” says Maria. Here, the double wall lamps are by DCW Editions. Real Good Chairs in copper line by Blu Dot surround the wooden table by Ethnicraft.

Seeking a private escape from busy Auckland life, Milton Henry and Mark Summerville purchased an “unbuildable” lot on Waiheke Island and then rehabbed it over 15 years.A clearing in the bush dictated the footprint,resulting in two stacked volumes that form a tower-like structure over four split levels. It took a customized trailer to bring materials to the steep site.

The four-season cabins are quiet and restorative in any weather. “It’s not near the town or highways, so at night it’s just perfect — very quiet. Our neighbors are either hunting land or farms, so there’s no light or sound pollution,” Jeff says. “During harvest season, you may hear the low grown of the combine. That sound travels five miles.”

A little cottage in North Carolina is furnished with a cluster of wood-stump end tables by Urbia, two Eames rockers, and a 16-H wood-burning stove by Stûv. Scaly Mountain, North Carolina Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

Uruguay’s beach towns dot the Atlantic coast northeast of the capital, Montevideo, becoming less crowded and developed the farther up you go. The second floor of Sticotti’s house floats above its neighbors to take in views of the ocean a couple of blocks away. It’s capped by a roof deck that the architect says is “great for watching fireworks.”

The home is nestled in a stand of cedar, pine, and Douglas fir trees. The family relocated a smaller cabin to make room for their new retreat, and they plan to convert the original structure into a game room for the kids.

The upper levels of the six-bedroom, four-bathroom Mountain House feature large picture windows that offer sweeping valley views.

The new, stepped decks run the length of the house, visually and physically connecting both sides of the building.

The house is hidden from the road and sits on a hilltop clearing that overlooks the rolling farmland of the Mississippi River bluffs in Western Wisconsin. From this vantage point, there is a 270-degree view, with dramatic sunsets over the distant hills.