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Seattle firm Wittman Estes designed this 1,300-square-foot cabin, which floats above a meadow on Whidbey Island.

In 2020, Isabel and David Yahng bought their Portland house, which was originally designed by architect Saul Zaik in 1963.

The home's L shape is about taking in views in both directions, be it the Andes Mountains to the south or Ranco Lake to the north.

The original layout was very much of the time: a perfect midcentury modern flow, with a closed-off kitchen and a fire put in the floor. “They were cool but impractical spaces,” says Schaer.

The homeowners spent $125,000 refreshing the ’70s home with finishes and decor that make it feel like a beloved family retreat.

Solar panels line the roof to soak up the Australian sun. The home doesn’t use any gas—the cooktop is induction, and heating and hot water come from a heat pump.

Derek Gray of Bay West Builders made the entry bench from wood earmarked for an unbuilt breakfast bar. Radiant-heated concrete floors offer a polished counterpoint to the board-formed walls outside.

“From anywhere in the house, you have a sense of the outdoors,” says Melonie, “and yet it’s very private.” Ikegami agrees. “The building was really about the landscape—it can dissolve into the background,” he says. In the master bedroom, Japanese Tansu chests from the couple’s previous home flank a Duxiana bed. The full-height windows and swing door are from Western Window Systems.

Steps lead from the master bedroom balcony to a spacious deck. Situating the deck away from the house gives it the feel of a getaway, says Trainor, who worked on the project with colleague David LeRoy. “We liked the idea of going further into the garden amid plantings for privacy,” adds Trainor. Granite boulders and persimmon, Japanese maple, and oak trees lend what he calls “a California-Japanese feel.”

A 100-year-old oak shades the front of the house, which is clad in weathering yellow cedar.

Walnut and Formica cabinetry, Neolith basalt counters, and concrete floors make up the kitchen’s minimal palette; a large clerestory ushers in natural light.

Recently retired and ready to downsize, Paul and Melonie Brophy found a lot in Palo Alto that gave them the chance to start fresh. Their glass, concrete, and wood house, designed by Feldman Architecture, seems to float above a landscape by Bernard Trainor. Of the board-formed concrete wall, architect Taisuke Ikegami says, "It connects the building to the ground plane while allowing the house to be a landscape element."

“The tent-like shape resembles a mountain. When the snow falls, the triangle becomes embedded in the landscape,” Tham says.