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Jari and Anna furnished their patio and backyard with pieces from their furniture line, Skargaarden.

The tub backdrop is composed of bamboo-cut textured marble tile. “When the lights are on, it casts a really beautiful waterfall effect of light across the texture,” says Watts.

The kitchen, located on the top floor, is open and bright. Concrete countertops by Anomal echo the flooring beneath, while the pale blue Moda Vetro glass tiles from Pental offset the neutral color palette. The Kungsbacka cabinetry are from IKEA.

A concrete walkway connects the living and dining rooms to the exterior, and concrete forms a built-in bench for lounging by the Solo Stove fire pit.

The showpiece in the new bathroom is the floating vanity with an integrated sink carved from a block of Nero Marquina marble.

Assembled in just two weeks, this cedar-wrapped passive house near Woodstock, New York, designed by BriggsKnowles A+D, realized a couple's dream of rural living.

Guess used inexpensive graded pine plywood so that he would get heavy grain patterns on the surfaces. One of the main goals in the kitchen was simplicity. To that end, he opted for a poured-in-place concrete island. "We didn’t know if we could afford to do that, but we found a great subcontractor [Nate Francis of Countertop Creations] here who had never really built anything like that," Guess says. "Because he was interested in giving it a shot and adding it to his portfolio, he didn’t charge an exorbitant amount of money because it was sort of an experiment for him as well." The kitchen features a GE Profile refrigerator and KitchenAid range, microwave, and dishwasher. The sink and faucet are from Kohler. The project's builder was Joe Doherty with Custom Homecrafters of Austin.

On the opposite end of the kitchen is a cozy, wood-clad eating nook with direct outdoor access.

The complexity of the very steep, rock-studded site was a big challenge for the architects. Here is an image of the west side of the house, where the service areas, garage, and entrance are located.

Custom leather cushions sit atop extra-deep benches.

Marble counters, custom white oak cabinetry, and terrazzo tile flooring from Ann Sacks brighten up the kitchen. "Their light tones were the right balance of Southern California modernism with the warmer, highly crafted wood carpentry that the Puget Sound region is known for," says Wittman.

The home’s concrete plinth was inspired by the many gray granite outcroppings on the site. The lower level is sunk into the hillside to reduce the visual mass of the home.

The kitchen, dining room, and living room form one open space with views through large glazed walls on both sides.

Frameless bedroom windows extend beyond the floor and ceiling. "Since it's such a small house, it was really important to have this connection between the interior and exterior," says the couple.

Delighted with the result, they requested additional structures, including a pool house with a dining area that opens to the outdoors. Rising from the edge of the pool deck, a planted overhang shelters a gym and sauna below.

The house was fully assembled in just 32 working days. “It was a wonderful, emotional thing to be able to put ourselves in the shoes of our clients,” describes Meelena.

“It’s really beautiful, the way light moves across the space,” says Dunin. “The high-level triangular window catches light in the morning and acts as a sundial.”

The updated fireplace, now painted white, retains the original floating hearth.

The sunken living room features a built-in sofa and loveseat.