Favorites

An outdoor fireplace and courtyard create what Twohill calls a distinct “territory” between the main house (right) and the new addition while maintaining privacy for both dwellings. “The courtyard is particularly important because the family loves being on the ground,” he says. The stools are from Martin’s furniture company.

Enter their latest project: a sleek, airy, 10x12-foot A-frame mini-cabin, which the couple built earlier this year over a period of two weekends, and all out of easily sourced materials. The cost? A relatively miniscule $2,500. On their website Elevated Spaces, which the couple launched shortly after the 2020 fire, Waldman and Fiffer are selling plans to enable even a DIY novice to build their own version of the A-frame cabin.

“None of this was part of my plan,” says architect Dani Serrano of creating a home out of the Pastime Camper he bought for $1,500 in 2019. A passionate surfer and traveler, Dani only knew one thing when he started out on the Pan-American Highway in Oregon: that he was taking four months off from work to drive down the Pacific Coast toward South America in search of the perfect wave. In Aposentillo, Nicaragua, he found a break that fit the bill, a legendary spot known as The Boom.

Camper House

After a wildfire ripped through Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer’s 10-acre retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains in August of 2020, the couple was determined to build a new home. They were hesitant about investing too much money, though, as they knew that California was only getting drier and more prone to fires.

A small attic loft was tucked above the second bedroom, so Claudia and Ivan's kids could bring their friends.

Although The Goat Heads are mostly clad in metal, it’s the plastic panel walls at the entries that really shine. “In the evening they act like lanterns and animate the courtyards,” says Rogers. Their glow is tempered by the concrete breeze-block walls. “It was important that the units weren’t too bright—part of the beauty out here is the sky at night.”

becomes this wood cocoon with ambient light coming through the clear wall panel. You don’t need to even turn on a light.”

Monica and Antony's cat feels right at home in their new accommodations.