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"When we designed the layout, we took into account the average size of the user's body and the way they move and perceive the space,

Even as the square footage of this cottage in Fayston, Vermont, shrank in response to budget constraints, architect Elizabeth Herrmann remained focused on making the space feel warm and functional for a family of four and their dog and cat. "I think the trick to making small spaces feel much larger is to design the experience of being there,

Designed by the cofounder of New York’s iconic Dean & DeLuca, the serene residence sits on a secluded enclave with a pool and a meditation room.

"Radical sustainability

Multiple Hytte cabins can be clustered together to create a village layout.

“When I first got down to this site, the boulder that is now along the walkway blew me away, as did the one outside of our bedroom,” Peck says. “I knew immediately that’s where the house should be located.”

French builder Baluchon created Ala Köl for their clients’ life on the road.

Propel Studio’s Wedge ADU is a luminous respite, with built-in wood cabinetry and a massive skylight. Over the past decade, Portland, Oregon, has seen a wave of ADUs constructed—from detached backyard structures to dedicated basements dwellings and above-garage apartments that are part of an existing house. Portland isn’t the only city committed to ADUs, but in most places, regulations make them difficult. As of last year, there were only four American cities—Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Austin—that had built more than 1,000 units.

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.

Now available for less than $99,000, ANNA is a flat-pack retreat whose inner and outer shells glide along tracks.

Architect Johan Sundberg looked to Japanese architects like Kengo Kuma for inspiration for the design of a holiday home in southern Sweden. "We call it the Katsura typology, but that's probably sacrilegious," he says. The eaves of the gently sloped hipped roof extend generously in all directions, turning the deck into a covered retreat that’s part veranda, part engawa, the Japanese version of a porch.

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.

"We were interested in this idea of treading lightly on the site. Using a green roof is a logical extension of that. When you introduce a building that supplants a little piece of the forest floor, it's nice to replicate that on the roof as a return gesture to continue to create habitat for birds, animals, and plants, and to help manage the flow of storm water," explains McFarlane.

An enclosed porch with a fireplace sits between the living wing and the services wing, providing a pivotal point from which the home fans out.