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The exterior of the lower level is clad in mill-finished black steel panels, while the upper level features vertical Garapa wood siding.

Josh kept the original Pella windows and Andersen doors and painted the great room’s cedar interior Extra White from Sherwin-Williams. Kalispel upholstery covers a sectional from Dania.

Architect David Dowell and his wife, Kathy, took a decade to determine what they wanted to do with the historic 12-acre property they bought in eastern Kansas. The couple eventually opted to renovate and expand the modest limestone cottage that was already there. The resulting 1,250-square-foot getaway sits on the rolling plain amid elm, silver maple, and eastern red cedar trees. “You don’t have to choose between old and new,” says David. “It’s a false construct in our brain to even think that way.”

The home that Marlin Hanson, of Hanson Land & Sea, built for his family is clad with cedar shingles and features a green roof and a massive Douglas fir support beam that runs from the interior to the exterior.

The tree house–inspired design mimics the surrounding woods. On each floor, steel rings and columns support Western red cedar floor joists above.