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The black trend from the main house continues in a guesthouse/studio and garage with a Rais woodburning stove. Simple plywood furniture and built-ins keep the space feeling efficient and functional for whoever may be visiting.

A detached garage and guesthouse/studio creates a buffer between a busy street and the rest of the property, which includes the main house as well as a pool, sauna, and pond, so that life in the residence can feel more private and secluded.

The nine-acre property provides plenty of space for the couple’s two labradoodles, Jack and Leo, to roam

Atelier Oslo overcame nature’s challenges when they designed Cabin Norderhov, a seasonal, eco-friendly retreat on a steep hillside overlooking Lake Steinsfjorden. The home’s layout revolves around a central glass and metal "campfire" that burns beneath a suspended mantel. Since it’s located at the access level, the fireplace's flickering warmth can be enjoyed throughout the house. The surrounding floor is covered with hexagon tiles cut from marble, which transition into tiles made of birch log in the rest of the house.

The concept of this Scandinavian getaway was simple: To create a cabin that is small and sparse yet spatially rich. The 55-quare-meter (592-square-foot) cabin, commissioned by a private client and completed in 2016, comprises a large living room, bedroom, ski room, and small annex with a utility room. It functions off the water and electricity grids.

Architect Line Solgaard, founder of the eponymous Oslo- and Fredrikstad-based firm, designed a getaway for her family in the place where she grew up. Untreated, exposed concrete pairs with cedar cladding; custom, oak-paneled ceilings; and a glass roof in the center of the home that opens like a sunroof for natural ventilation.

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Photo by Tom Bies

Tiny homes have officially become a thing—and these woodsy getaways will make you want to downsize ASAP.

Sunken Living Room with Conversation Pit

Rocks dug up during construction were saved and incorporated into the poured-concrete floors and walls. Hydronic heating coils in the floor are augmented by a wood stove during the damp winters.

Tasked with renovating a 1950s ranch in Northern California, Ogawa Fisher Architects revived an existing Japanese garden at the center of the home as a central organizing element. Low-slung, wide decks (inspired by the Japanese “engawa,” or elevated walkway) and deep roof soffits expand the living spaces, frame views, and blur the boundaries between inside and outside. The garden is the second of three courtyards that orients the various wings of the home from front to back, creating a vast sense of openness while also maintaining privacy from other areas of the house and the street.

The prefab compact cabins that Summary designed for Syntony Hotels in Paradinha, Alvarenga, Arouca, Portugal, are made from concrete, pine, and glass.

The interiors of the cabins showcases a concrete ceiling and walls and wood flooring.

In the backyard, Umerani and Fashandi decided to limit the lawn to minimize water consumption.

In the new living area, a brick plinth is positioned at just the right height for sitting. It extrudes out into the garden to serve as an outdoor bench.

A look at the couple's adjoining bathroom.