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The Hijau stone swimming pool finish from Palimanan.

Toronto architect Gregory Neudorf creates a pristine and practical 400-square-foot dwelling with nautical storage below deck.

The getaway protrudes like a sculpture from the hillside.

The double-height wall of windows in the living room looks out on the property and was a big draw on their first walk-through.

The exterior of the home showcases its measured simplicity. "It looks like it lands lightly on the ground,

The experience of the farm includes to the permaculture vegetable garden, fresh farm eggs, interactions with the goats and horses, and hiking through a landscape populated by giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and warthogs.

The sunken living room curves around a full-height stone fireplace.

Project 01, a 262-square-foot micro cabin imagined by Canada-based Instead is clad with black-stained pine that helps it to meld with the natural landscape.

Without propane, this dwelling in Big Sur would not have been able to take advantage of the stunning landscape.

“Watching the sunrise and moonrise from the living room is gobsmacking,” says James.

In October 2017, the catastrophic Nuns fire incinerated the ’70s-era A-frame in Napa County, California, that had served as a family retreat for 20 years and that the owners, who are mostly retired, were in the process of turning into their permanent home. (When the fire hit, the couple had already brought nearly all their family keepsakes and heirlooms, making the loss especially poignant.) Working with architectural designer Brandon Jørgensen, the couple turned the loss into a chance to build what is now their permanent home with fire resistance baked into the design.

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.

Layers of precision-cut cardboard mimic the shape of a particular stone found at one of three beaches near the designer’s studio in Seattle.

In the living room, spare Scandinavian design takes center stage. Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs surround an Essay dining table by Cecilie Manz for Fritz Hansen; a mostly wood palette is enhanced by slate-gray brick around the fireplace. The paper lanterns throughout the home are a mixture of classics by Isamu Noguchi alongside those picked up in Japan and France.

Designed by two renowned architecture firms, the two-structure property is located on a private, four-acre parcel just a short drive from the area’s artsy downtown.

The kitchen anchors the home as the central hub — cementing its importance in the family’s life. With light streaming in from the skylight above, a circular island includes recessed Bocci outlets at the perimeter to power dedicated workstations for Meera’s baking classes. “I love the kitchen. It’s probably my favorite spot,” she says. “Baking brings me joy.”