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A bed built into the bathroom wall pulls down to replace the sofa. An Olio teapot designed by Barber Osgerby sits on the counter.

Architect Gonçalo Marrote of Madeiguincho walks the perimeter of the tree house.

The tree house features a rooftop deck and a steel slide beside the entrance staircase.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing and a linear skylight help welcome the landscape within the cabin’s small footprint.

"It's not close to highways,

The floors are Doug fir, and the framing and rest of the wood inside is redwood. The french doors and lower window were made by Mike York at Ocean Sash & Door Company, while the upper windows were made by Jeff and Molly.

After renting in San Francisco for a decade, DIY couple Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the pair and their friends built a cabin compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, and an outdoor shower. The cabin is made from locally sourced, rough-sawn redwood, which the couple stained with nontoxic Eco Wood Treatment to give the panels an aged appearance and a dark patina.

In search of a Bay Area retreat, Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer purchased a piece of land on which to experiment and gain new skills, one task at a time.

The LED lighting is encased in translucent poly-carbonate panels on top and bottom. Daylight streams through from the roof when the lights aren't on.

This eco-friendly escape is powered by solar panels and a wind turbine—and it even includes a full bath.

The exterior is clad in corrugated, galvanized metal. “We just spray it off with a water house,” says Mark.

On a garden plot they lease just 20 minutes from their apartment in Warsaw, Poland, Magda Grabowska-Wacławek and Grzegorz Wacławek built a tiny house in a striking red-blue colorway.

The couple finished the exterior siding with shingles made of Hardie board and painted a deep purple. "We wanted an exterior cladding that was durable, low-maintenance, and relatively DIY-friendly," says Michael. "When looking at our options at the local hardware store, the fish-scale shape popped because it was unique, quirky, and not super serious—and yet could create a contemporary look through uniformly using it with woven corners and minimal detailing."

This 195-square-foot, shingled studio includes a library, reading nook, and workstation—and it’s totally DIY. Creative couple Michael and Christina Hara built the retreat just steps away from their back door, in order to carve out "space for creativity and respite from our chaotic, toddler-filled house," as Michael explains. The project, called the Fish Scale Studio, took eight months to complete, with Haras doing all of the design and construction themselves—for just $18,275.

The window perfectly frames the landscape outside, a protected natural area.

The garden retreat was constructed mostly over weekends and holidays, and when Ed had saved up free time as well as a budget for materials.

Ed found the desk chairs outside in a dumpster outside the Department of Cambridge.