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Redwood walls and stairs lead to the pool area, which overlooks spectacular views of L.A.

David was a bibliophile, and there are bookcases everywhere. “We added the strip lighting,” notes Pete.

The plywood-lined dining room is a mix of greens. Stephanie and Pete kept the room intact, after considering opening it up to the living room. “My first instinct was to knock out the wall, make it all huge and cool and open,” says Pete, “and then I thought, Why would I ever screw with the original? This house is a piece of art.”

Live-edge siding feels fresh at this woodsy home in Dutchess County, New York.

The house floats out over the hillside, minimizing its impact on the landscape, while taking advantage of surrounding views. The design, which places the primary living spaces on the upper floor, leaves flexibility to add an additional bedroom underneath in the future.

The house sits on a parcel of land near Lake Buchanan. An integrated rainwater collection system in the roof harvests 2,510 gallons per inch of rain—a nearby 29,175-gallon tank is the property's sole water source.

The exterior cladding is locally sourced hemlock, installed on edge to create a distinctive texture. “It looks elegant, but it was an extraordinary amount of work,” Braithwaite says. “It’s like putting a lumber yard on your building.”

A concrete dining table with a waterfall edge extends from the kitchen.

Steel handrails and dark kitchen fixtures contrast white oak walls, all selected for how they’ll wear in. “It’s similar to the weathering steel on the entry deck or the hemlock,” Braithwaite explains. “These are materials that age gracefully and develop character.”

The lighting in the entry, and throughout the home, was designed and crafted by Braithwaite’s firm.

“We made the house more complicated by lifting it up on stilts, which is something our firm tends to do,” Braithwaite says.

Above the built-in daybed is a porthole—a recurring feature in Nelson’s work—that looks out into the surrounding forest.

An armchair crafted by Nelson’s longtime assistant, Max Schulz, and all the built-ins match. “I like to try to maintain a consistent aesthetic,” says Nelson. A wood stove by Cubic Mini Wood Stoves warms the enclosed, weather-tight section of the structure, and a ladder that mirrors the cant of the wall leads to a lofted nook.

Steel cables inserted into rope keep the suspension bridge taut. By primarily using salvaged redwood, Nelson achieved a visual continuity with the landscape.

Woven into a stand of redwoods on Jason Titus and Nerija Sinkevičiūtė-Titus’s property in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a tree house by San Francisco designer/artist Jay Nelson gives the couple and their three boys a new perspective on the forest.

The lofted bedroom creates a cozy feeling without sacrificing the inherent airiness of the space.

In the primary bedroom, privacy glass encloses the stairwell, allowing the owners to switch to translucent glass during the daytime to welcome daylight into the space.