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Large sliding glass doors allow daylight to fill the living room. Smaller windows are placed in the kitchen area and the sleeping loft. The exterior is clad in heart pine which needs very little up-keep and is known for its strength and hardness.

The simple massing consists of two blocks, which have been connected via an outdoor patio that wraps around the home. Here, outdoor spaces become one with the indoor elements.

Clad in black-washed decking, the simple structure makes a quiet statement in the natural setting. While its thoughtful layout provides plenty of space for family gatherings, the cabin is also an idlliic setting for a private hideaway.

Twilight Photo of the front of the cabin. As you drive up, you are met by a dramatic black cabin with an expansive cedar deck. The warm string lights are a precursor to the cozy home you are about to enter.

Built as a live/work space for a sculptor, Indigo by Dutch practice Woonpioniers is an eco-friendly, prefabricated cabin with bent wooden walls.

Minimod Curucaca floor plan

Dubbed Small But Fine, a student-built 280-square-foot cabin in Finland connects with the outdoors and features a minimal footprint. Not pictured is a detached outhouse with a composting toilet.

Located in Lavia in southwest Finland with nary a neighbor in sight, the remote cabin is set close to a lake and surrounded by a swamp and an old forest. The site was selected for its lake views and close connection to nature. "On some days you can see moose, deer, and traces of lynx," say the designers, who use the cabin as a retreat from city life.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

Located in the hamlet of Giethmen, the prefabricated dwelling features an open-plan and minimalist interior to create a seamless connection with the landscape.

Topped with solar panels, the gabled prefab is equipped with 12-foot-tall aluminum security gates that keep the dwelling secure when not in use.

Comprising 11 modules, this green-roofed prefab was built in 90 days in a factory near São Paulo and then transported to the site in three shipments on flatbed trucks.

Natural materials and the raw, exposed structure will patina over time, denoting the passage of time along with the house.

Pine and gravel sleepers follow the site’s natural slope, weaving through the existing pine trees until reaching the home’s entrance.

The couple love the home’s privacy and the way it interacts with the environment. They describe certain rooms as feeling like being inside a treehouse with views out to the surrounding forest canopy.