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The first of three separate buildings on the property, the Glass House, dates to 1975 .

“We wanted to respect the nature of the site,” the architects from kt814 say. “We wanted the planar landscape to feel like it was traveling through the home—letting the outside in, and back out again.”

Wapiti House in Wyoming

An outdoor kitchen is the perfect spot for entertaining poolside. Here, black granite countertops are paired with stainles- steel cabinets; in place of a cooking range, there's a a Wolf grill.

AbleNook is a Florida-based prefabricated, flat-pack home kit made from aircraft-grade aluminum framing and structural insulated panels (SIPs). Although it started out as an architecture school project, it was later patented through the University of South Florida and makes for an affordable ADU starting at $75,000. Use it as a main residence, eco-friendly second home, or Airbnb. They’re also designed to be potential disaster relief, as they’re ready for just about any terrain or weather conditions, including Florida’s hurricane winds. It’s also expandable to accommodate a range of sizes.

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.

Pathways meander around the property, which is filled with oak and fruit trees. In fact, the expansive, gently sloped hillside would be an ideal spot for a future vineyard or olive trees grove.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

The home hovers above the ground on concrete bases, so as not to intrude too heavily on the natural landscape. Note the red hatch door from the loft bedroom that can be lowered.

From a distance, the grass-covered roof disappears into the native landscape.

To blur the line between indoors and outdoors, San Francisco–based Klopf Architecture integrated glass doors that organically separate the living area from the patio.

DS House provides its inhabitants with a relaxed, private atmosphere. Planned Living Architects' extensive use of timber complements the raw, tactile character of the in situ concrete walls.