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Despite its small footprint, the flexible, multi-purpose space includes bike storage and a niche for storing weights.

Summer time in the woods

With its overhanging eaves and wood-paneled interior, ESCAPE's Classic is most reminiscent of the company's roots in Canoe Bay, WI. The model is no longer included in the fabricator's standard lineup, but prospective buyers can reach out to them and request a custom build.

Whether it’s cross-country skiing in the winter or trail running in the summer, the 330-foot home’s minimalist design encourages Catherine to be outside in the surrounding landscape throughout the year.

A see-through entry hall joins the living areas with a bedroom wing.

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.

Building the addition upward instead of outward allowed for more space and better views without excavating across the hilltop.

“We definitely wanted to preserve the character of the home and make sure that it always fits the neighborhood,” says designer Jenny Bassett. To that end, the team kept the front façade intact, only repainting and adding new landscaping. The fireplace in the living room was also retained, so wood is stored in the front yard for easy access.

A view of the chalet nestled in the trees on the steeply sloped, forested site

The top of the staircase is three feet wide, to accommodate the built-in shelving, and becomes wider towards the base, to four feet, making the storage underneath very useful for bigger and boxier items.

The home features a combination of interior and exterior living spaces that afford privacy to the occupants. “There are social spaces for everyone to be together, but also spots outside the building where people can have a private coffee—and that’s so important,” says architect Line Solgaard.

Set on a storied site, the Colorado Camelot Tree House offers a place to rest after traipsing through the pines, wildflowers, mushrooms, and moss-covered rocks.

Double doors open to the deck.