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Douglas Fir wood floors, built-in cabinetry, and wrap-around shelving. A skylight illuminates the space from above.

The metal cladding, inspired by a nearby zinc mine, continues seamlessly onto the house’s roof for a minimalist shed effect. “The drip edge turns to make the wall,” explains architect Brandon Pace, “but changes above the window to accommodate a downspout. Any place where the metal contacts glass, or where you walk underneath, we have an internal gutter.”

The facade is clad with beveled siding, stained dark to meld into the forest.

Top 10 Black Gable Homes of 2020: A dramatic take on an archetypal shape, these pitch-roofed residences cut a striking figure.

Upper floor plan of Kahshe Lake Cottage by Solares Architecture

The home was built by the same carpenter who built the original bunkie on the site in the late 1980s. “He was in his early twenties back then, and now he’s nearly retired,” reveals architect Tom Knezic. “He does all the water access cottage builds there, because he’s just on the other side of the channel.” An external stair leads from the front, ground floor deck up to the deck overlooking the water.

“It’s only an hour and a half from the north edge of Toronto,” says Knezic. “But, because it’s water access only, it feels like you’re far away from everything—and you have a real sense of isolation.”

The spruce cladding that wraps around the Vilde tiny house model patinas and eventually turns a silvery-gray tone that blends into the Scandinavian landscape.

The Lily Pad is a 280-square-foot shipping container home located near Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio.

The home’s walls are clad in Oregon white oak reclaimed from a dismantled barn on the property. Jessica Helgerson chose to paint them white to create a bright, airy look, but she left the kitchen wall au naturel for a visual pop. With storage at a premium, the kitchen needed ample cabinetry as well as some ingenious solutions—including a pull-out cabinet hidden in one half of the range hood. A vintage cabinet on the left wall provides open storage for everyday dishes.

After finding paradise on a Hawaiian papaya farm, filmmaker Jess Bianchi and jewelry designer Malia Grace Mau tapped San Francisco artist Jay Nelson to design and build their dream home in just five weeks. Located just one block from the beach, the home takes inspiration from laid-back surf shacks and is mainly built with reclaimed wood.

"I wanted the bones of the house to be bold, strong and simple,

Hanson planted the green roof with succulents, grass, flowers and moss.

A quick 20-minute boat ride from Helsinki, this cliffside A-frame can be rented for $35 a night. Designed to have a minimal footprint, the plywood-clad Nolla Cabin has a triangular polycarbonate window overlooking the water and is simply yet comfortably furnished.

Another one of Panorama Glass Lodge Iceland’s stargazing cabins is just a quick 30-minute drive from Reykjavík at Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord). The glass-encased vacation rental includes a hot tub, so you can take your stargazing outside.

Even as the square footage of this cottage in Fayston, Vermont, shrank in response to budget constraints, architect Elizabeth Herrmann remained focused on making the space feel warm and functional for a family of four and their dog and cat. "I think the trick to making small spaces feel much larger is to design the experience of being there,