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Windowsills were extended to do double-duty, and also function as bookshelves.

David likes to cook and entertain so the architects designed a full-scale kitchen with Forbo Marmoleum flooring, white oak cabinets, ceramic tile backsplash, and Richlite counters.

The build team added 25,000 pounds of concrete and lead to ensure ballast, or that the house would be level on the waves. “It’s a tiny home, so you have all the same things you would worry about in a tiny home, but with this added challenge of having to be as stable as possible,” says David.

Although Wakebayashi is not a professional Noh actor, he performs in front of an audience once or twice a year. For these performances, his preparation goes beyond memorizing lyrics and choreography—he sometimes even visits temples and locations where the story is set. “I need to understand the contents of the Noh play, which is how the main character feels, and the background of the story including history,” says Wakebayashi.

Thanks to the California weather, the couple can make use of the outdoor dining and living area for much of the year.

A desk was built around the Custard Apple tree, and a strip of open roof allows the canopy to grow through it. The door opens to the front yard.

In addition to featuring shou sugi ban cladding, the home's exterior utilizes charred spotted gum timber that harmonizes with the spotted gum timbers used on all decks and trims.

Rachel and Joe relaxing with their dog Camp around the fire pit in the outdoor space. The fire pit was purchased on Facebook Marketplace and the seating is from Oasis Imports in Malibu.

Cozy!

Liz and Matt had to drill a well to provide water for the property. Wastewater is captured and treated with a gravity-fed septic system that will also serve the main dwelling, when it’s completed.

To pick a site for the buildings, Matt used his drone to scan the site and then Daybreak created a 3D model to test out options for placement.

Though the views of the lush forest are the stars of the show here, Patnaik's art collection has a presence here too, including a diptych by Kokil Gupta that hangs above a low-slung grey sofa.

Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer built this 200-square-foot cabin on the site of their 10-acre property in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Their previous cabin, which they also built by hand, was destroyed in a forest fire in 2020.

As Nicolás Tovo and Teresa Sarmiento of La Base embraced modular design as part of their architectural practice, they noticed that prospective clients were wary of prefabricated construction. So the duo teamed up with Place, an Argentine prefab builder, to make a proof of concept just outside the Patagonian resort town of Bariloche.

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’re always throwing events,” says Paul, so the indoor/outdoor style was a great fit for them.

The Luberas didn’t use a general contractor or architect, but they did enlist the counsel of legendary Detroit designer Ruth Adler Schnee, who in 1964 helped Girard plan the color scheme for a streetscape in Columbus, Indiana. Window alignments create long views through the house and atrium.

A view of the sauna building before the patio and seating were constructed on the other side. The log cabins were constructed by a specialist company, and another builder helped with the interior walls. Jussi-Pekka and his father did all the other building and landscaping work, apart from the electrical and plumbing—often working 12-hour days.

The duo recently moved to Australia from Barcelona, and they drew inspiration from Spanish-style plazas for the home’s backyard.