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On Bainbridge Island, Jim and Hannah Cutler created a cabin for reading and working. Sited just steps from the main house, it’s a welcoming retreat that the father and daughter share.

The sunken living room allows for delineation of space while keeping an open-plan environment

Vintage furniture looks right at home in the refurbished mid-century space.

The yellow hydraulic panels lift to expose a sill filled with plantings. The colorful building material contrasts with the charred shiplap exterior siding and the traditional gable roof.

The ceiling height in the central hall was raised, and mechanical equipment and ducting were relocated to the roof. The double sliding pocket doors on the left side, which were part of the original design, were replaced with new doors and hardware as well as custom pocket covers.

In the living room and kitchen, soft-but-tough Expanko cork flooring provides comfort and stands up to dings and scuffs. While the kitchen was designed primarily with Surendra and a caregiver’s needs in mind, it also accommodates the five-foot-radius of a wheelchair.

The goal was to turn the space into a guest suite that “feels like an out of body experience; a Willy Wonka vacation hideaway,” says the designer, who now lives in the ADU

Because of its semi-opaque envelope, the building takes on a life of its own: It glows in the evenings and its framing casts shadows that dance throughout the interior during the day.

Architect Indra Janda hand-cut sheets of polycarbonate into 15¾-inch square shingles and clad the entire timber structure—a gabled roof and walls—with them.

The architects worked closely with the clients to match the aesthetic of the vintage furniture they collect. The midcentury modern Danish chair, seen right, has been refurbished and reupholstered.

The studio occupies the corner of a backyard filled with carefully-tended plants. They positioned the studio at the yard’s far corner, diagonal from the main house’s back door, to create a path through the garden that would engage visitors in landscape.

The sauna door handle is a simple piece of driftwood. “One principle rule I followed,” says Kiehl, “was: Don’t build on outdoor space if it can work as outdoor living space. Norwegian summers are short. We want to be outdoors as much as possible.”

Rocky Knob Sauna @ dusk

The renovated house is outfitted with a sauna.

Naturally sleek, this wooden sauna by Salmela Architect is both simple and honest.

This Beverly Hills kitHAUS is comprised of modernist prefab modules that can accommodate a variety of uses: from yoga studios to home offices, and from weekend retreats to pop-up kiosks and guest rooms.

The KitHaus K3 can serve as a backyard studio, home office, pool house, or playroom.

The Road-Haus’s 250 square feet hold a one-bedroom, one-bathroom layout that can sleep up to two adults

Click here to read more about Linda Bergroth's prefabricated summer retreat in Finland.