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The House for Booklovers and Cats by BFDO Architects

This 195-square-foot, shingled studio includes a library, reading nook, and workstation—and it’s totally DIY. Creative couple Michael and Christina Hara built the retreat just steps away from their back door, in order to carve out "space for creativity and respite from our chaotic, toddler-filled house," as Michael explains. The project, called the Fish Scale Studio, took eight months to complete, with Haras doing all of the design and construction themselves—for just $18,275.

Japanese-style joinery means that The Bed by Thuma can be set up in a flash.

While the owners really liked the idea of shou sugi ban, they opted for a more cost-effective black stain. The random-width, reverse board-and-batten siding reflects the wabi-sabi concept. “The builder said the math for the random siding was torturous,” the wife said. “We didn’t know how hard it was to make things look simple.” DeNiord planted hay-scented fern and lowbush blueberry sod around the house. “We didn't want any side of the house to feel unconsidered,” he says. As for the local boulders he placed around the house and terrace, he says, “They give the feeling that the house grew up around the outcroppings.”

The Fish Camp acts as the couple’s forest getaway, just a quarter mile from their main house.

Hudson Valley Cedar homes are pre-engineered structures that arrive as a kit, broken down into component parts that are efficiently delivered to the site to be assembled and then finished by a local craftsman. Hudson Valley Cedar Homes, based in Cold Spring, New York, is a licensed distributor of Lindal Cedar Homes, a company with more than 70 years of experience constructing high-quality, customizable homes made out of wood. Because of this, Hudson Valley Cedar Homes offers homes that are customizable but also attuned to local laws, site conditions, and contractors for an energy-conscious home.

Photo by Deborah DeGraffenreid

Established in the 1970s, Bensonwood continue to refine the forgotten craft of framing buildings, and complete projects that range from traditional timber frames to energy-efficient hybrids.

Architect Robert Swinburne deploys a collaborative building approach and hyperlocal materials to craft a Passive House–certified home that celebrates the land it’s built on.

RIC Design Build paid homage to the midcentury era and architect Alan McCullough’s legacy while making the house work for today.

Rich black soapstone counters wrap black-matte IKEA cabinets, and appliances are hidden behind cabinet fronts so the room recedes. Storage now extends under the windows and lines the dining area, where the table and chairs were both Craigslist finds.