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The plinth for the ladder to the sleeping loft in the primary bedroom building doubles as a bench for putting on shoes. Storage along the wall becomes a desk and a window seat nestles into an intimate corner.

Poured polished concrete floors, plaster walls, and the pine ceiling with hemlock beams infuse subtle interest and warmth. The bend in the gathering pavilion follows the site’s topography.

A covered boardwalk, which Shaw regards as an outdoor hallway, connects the mudroom to the public gathering spaces.

Shaw and the clients talked a lot about materials and how they would weather. “As Cor-Ten ages, it darkens to the color of the pine needs on the forest floor so the building will recede into the site,” Shaw says.

A covered boardwalk connects the mudroom and guest bedroom structure (left) to the gathering pavilion with the living room, kitchen, and dining area (right). The boardwalk in the foreground leads to the primary bedroom cabin.

Sharon and Mike Matas work at large wood table in the studio while their daughter plays.

Like the flooring and the shelves, the window frames are crafted from Western Red Cedar.

Extra-wide concrete pillars help to support the studio at its core.

A ceiling and flooring made from Western Red Cedar pay tribute to the trees of the forested landscape.

The remote studio/office that Robert Swatt of Swatt Miers Architects designed for a Healdsburg, California, property is marked by glass walls that provide the feeling of working in nature.

Located in La Unión, a city and commune in Chile’s Los Ríos region, Refugio 3x3 is set in a forest on the side of a new lot of residential houses that were built in response to the recent expansion of city limits.

The wood stove is the Rondo model by Rais.

An Englander wood-burning stove warms the living room, and the two round windows were inspired by architect Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti, which the couple visited on a cross-country van trip.