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“It’s like being on a tropical island where you can take a shower under the trees, except you’re actually in Warsaw,” says Karol.

Each unit comes with a private terrace, a design feature inspired by original bungalow-style homes.

Boston architecture firm French 2D designed the Bay State Cohousing building outside Boston for 30 families to share. Three stories wrap around a central courtyard, which is enlivened by a range of pastel colors spread across railings, windows, doors, and walls.

The home went through an 18-month renovation period.

“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.

Kanuka Valley House by WireDog Architecture

Sliding glass doors and a deck connect the minimalist dwelling to the lush backyard with a giant oak tree. The structure, known as Menlo Park Connect2, was built by Connect Homes.

Why Now, More Than Ever, the ADU Is the Future of Home: Whether it serves as an investment, backyard office, or intergenerational housing, the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) has never made more sense.

Elevation of Church Point House by CHROFI.

The home takes the form of two volumes that slide past each other. The front door leads directly to the center of the home, which connects to the both the entrance courtyard and the rear pool area, dissolving the boundaries between interior and exterior space.

Friends Lab floor plan

All the living spaces and bedrooms enjoy access to outdoor terraces on the north and south sides. The terrace floors are made of bush-hammered Pergaminho limestone to emphasize a seamless indoor/outdoor connection.

A wall of chestnut lends warmth to the east-facing bedroom that extends into the landscape with a “meditation space.” The tatami bed structure and beside tables were designed by the architects in Spanish walnut.

The half bay where the dining space is located opens up to views of the southern fields and provides access to raised vegetable beds.

An open-plan living/dining/kitchen area occupies the heart of the home and opens up to the outdoors on the north and south sides. Chestnut lines both gabled end walls.

Pictured is a rendering of a 570-square-foot 2X lightHouse with a one-bedroom unit stacked atop a two-car garage.

Edgar referred to several precedents when working on the renovation. "I love Chad Randl’s book on the A-frame typology, which allowed me to understand what I had on my hands with its copious illustrations and drawing documentation," he says. "The lovable architect Andrew Geller did at least two seminal A-frame homes during the midcentury in the Hamptons, the Betty Reese houses I and II. I took the catwalk notion from Reese house II."