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Scattered about are modern classics like TK furniture and statement pieces like Wurlitzer baby grand by Russell Wright. TK something about 1970s interior.

The cabin and back deck are cantilevered over a slope in the property.

“When I do a headboard, people will say ‘We want to put a shelf here or a sconce will attach here,’” says Yoshimoto. “And I'm like, don't do that because then it is only a headboard. If it’s not, then it's a sculptural thing that is acting as a headboard. As soon as you put a sconce on it, put wiring in—it is a headboard and it's lost its artistic ability to be a sculpture. If you don't want this to be a headboard, you could just hang it on the wall, and it's a sculpture. You could lean it on the wall on its side and it's still a sculpture.”

Design firm Studio AHEAD and wood sculptor Ido Yoshimoto created a fireplace mantel and a threshold for a couple's Berkeley home.

A perpendicular wing houses the garage. The house has no air conditioning, relying on lake breezes and cross-ventilation for cooling. Each bedroom has a screened door that opens to the deck and an adjustable transom above the hallway door to encourage the circulation of air.

Vince and Adrienne Murphy’s rural retreat is clad in gray shingles and gray-stained pine. “They wanted the cottage to meld into the woods and be visually quiet,” says architect Kelly Doran, who worked with Portico Timber Frames to build the 2,500-square-foot home.

Expansive glazing frames views of pastures and distant hills, as well as the rocky terrain right outside the window.

The original yellow pine walls and metal handrail were refinished.

The bathroom is enclosed in pink vinyl sheets, creating what appears to be an art installation from the outside.

The chairs in the Izquierdo family’s dining room were designed by Cristián’s father, who is also an architect.

The complex is set in an area zoned for low-level, high-density housing and is surrounded by greenery.

The traditional wood-fired oven acts as both a stove and a way to warm the home. “It’s really important because it has this presence of the history of the rural world. But we designed it and it’s made with rammed earth, which is a new thing [compared to] other traditional ovens,” says Tavares.