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When Marieken Verheyen and Martin Hansen found a dilapidated vicarage after three years of searching for the right property, their friends warned them against purchasing it. Dating back to 1870, the farm—a home, barn, and two stables situated at the edge of a national park—featured overgrown gardens, derelict buildings, and haphazard repair work done by inexperienced builders. The artist couple from Amsterdam, however, were determined to realize their dream of creating a sustainable holiday destination that would celebrate simplicity and modern architecture. It took another three years for the couple to transform the complex into Re:hof Rutenberg. There are eight accommodations dotting the property in addition to a multipurpose barn, sauna, and farm shop. There are plenty of playful touches—a hammock hung between beams, accessible from the mezzanine, provides a sunny spot to lounge.

Full of bohemian soul, the heritage neighborhood of Fitzroy in Melbourne is known as a real estate hot spot. But rather than capitalize on their block and exploit a vacant garden east of their property, the family of four who own King Bill decided to create a new pocket park to bring more greenery to the streetscape. When it came time to renovate their double-story terrace home, the owners sought out local studio Austin Maynard Architects—a firm known for its sustainable ethos—who incorporated the empty garden to the east, and an old stable at the rear, to the new floor plan. A large, curved, sliding wall separates the master bathroom from an open net lounge area above the study.

If sun, surf, and socializing are part of your vacation agenda, then put Casa Comunal at the top of your list for places to visit. Situated on an idyllic Caribbean shoreline on Isla Colon, the largest and northernmost island in the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama, the modern vacation house enjoys a private beachfront with ample access to the outdoors. “It was important to me to unite travelers, the locals, and nature, and that was the triumvirate behind Casa Comunal,” says Jordan Christopher, the surfer, traveler, and self-taught architect who rallied a team of co-designers and friends to realize the project. Above the beds in Casa Norte (a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit), a net provides additional lounge space for guests to enjoy a book or listen to a record.

Woods & Water northwest view

After renting in San Francisco for a decade, DIY couple Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the pair and their friends built a cabin compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, and an outdoor shower. The cabin is made from locally sourced, rough-sawn redwood, which the couple stained with nontoxic Eco Wood Treatment to give the panels an aged appearance and a dark patina.

"We imagined how six people would use the space and developed the shape accordingly," says Hello Wood cofounder Dávid Ráday. "We took inspiration from the design of space capsules, and the cabin was refined step by step before reaching its final form."

The Nook exterior features shiplap cypress siding, a reclaimed oak deck, and an entranceway of oak blackened in the traditional Japanese method.

Reilly, pictured here, deleted the original front door in order to create an expanse of uninterrupted wall in the living room. The existing slider is now the main entry point. She clad the exterior with planks marketed as a shou sugi ban product that reads as burned, knotty cedar. A new, corrugated metal roof replaced asphalt shingles.

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

Christie Schoepp's main goals for building a cabin on her family's land in Alberta, Canada, were to maximize the views and make the project as cheap as possible.

Inspired by the Ice Age rock formations found throughout the region, the Meteorite, so named for obvious reasons, is a faceted dwelling designed by Kivi and Tuuli Sotamaa, the brother-and-sister team behind Ateljé Sotamaa.

The far end of Hammock Haven includes a covered deck with two hammocks.

A built-in couch provides an additional perch to enjoy the surroundings.

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.