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The cabin’s concept was simple: To create a cabin that is small and sparse yet spatially rich. The 55-square-meter (592-square-foot) cabin, commissioned by a private client and completed in 2016, comprises a large living room, bedroom, ski room, and small annex with a utility room. It functions off the water and electricity grids.

A blackened-timber pergola extends from the modern barn that architect Greg Scott designed for Jody and Deirdre Aufrichtig in the Elgin Valley, an apple- and grape-growing region near Cape Town. Made of narrow slats stabilized with randomly scattered blocks of wood, it covers roughly half of the outdoor deck.

Joel Loblaw, a landscape designer, created "a series of outdoor rooms," including an alfresco kitchen that is sheltered beneath a cedar trellis. The Butterfly chairs are from Fresh Home and Garden in Toronto.

The Babat residence in Nashville is blessed with a big backyard; however, the blistering Tennessee sun once made it feel more like a broiler than a place to kick back and relax. Enter architect Michael Goorevich—then on staff at Manuel Zeitlin Architects—who devised a wood-and-steel trellis to cover part of the space.

Fields of native grasses connect the main residence, situated at the top of the slope, to the new structures scattered below. A pergola extends from the post-and-beam structure that was maintained during the remodel of the midcentury home.

Taking cues from this home's Japanese-influenced slatted screen, Hufft Projects applied a ring of ipe wood around the perimeter of this outdoor fire pit.

Direct sunlight pounding down on traditional wood decks can cause previously absorbed water to evaporate quickly, making the boards crack and splinter, which is not only a maintenance headache, but also a worry for bare feet. For the Magalhaeses, who love gathering friends and family in the backyard, choosing a material that would be safe for kids to run around on was top of mind.

Kelly Milford helps son Adam out of the hot tub nestled on a wood deck in back of the house. The exterior paint is Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore.

The dreamy rooftop looks out over Noe Valley. Built-in redwood benches surround a concrete fire pit; the bluestone pavers are part of a Bison deck system. An oversize, barrel-like teak hot tub from Roberts Hot Tubs allows for a soak in the garden-like setting, which features plants selected and installed by Danielle Coulter of Collecting Flowers.

I’ve been in places where it didn’t feel like I could try and fail. Here, you can bring over a friend and say, ‘Take a hammer and nail. No one’s around. Give it a go,'

An upcoming visit from a friend who needed a break from wedding planning gave the couple the incentive to finish the tree deck, which has a wood-fired hot tub on the lower level.

Henrybuilt's thoughtfully designed storage pieces are made to inspire organization.

"I wanted to see what it felt like to use the very best materials on this small, originally very modest house,

A result of a small gap between appliances, the Vertical Bar Block has since become a signature example of how Henrybuilt systems are architecturally integrated to maximize every bit of usable space—and is the perfect spot to store cutting boards.

The Ridge House was designed "to emphasize a feeling of refined shack

A sunken courtyard at the front of the home provides a private lounge space that connects to the dining room.

Two new structures were also built in the backyard, and connected to the main house via the landscape plan by Lilyvilla Gardens. One is a 485-square-foot guest house, and the other is a 375-square-foot workshop for the owner, who’s a bike builder. They have the same exterior siding as the main house: rough-sawn tongue and groove cedar.