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Lamb's beloved bulldog Goose is a fan of the custom sunken dog bed near the wood-burning stove.

Best Practice added a new roof but kept the existing siding. A fresh coat of paint helps the casita pop, and a new window opening next to the entrance frames a new kitchenette inside.

The owner was motivated to build his own home to avoid a mortgage and to gain the know-how to undertake his own maintenance and repairs. “I was craving the personal challenge to cultivate a home for myself,” he says. “As it was the beginning of a new adventure, I wanted it to be personal. Also, practically speaking, if I built each piece of the home by hand, I would have a good sense of how to solve problems or improve it, without having to ask anyone else to journey through the forest, down the trail, and up the cliff to make an adjustment.”

"Architecture can be powerful when it's restrained,

The wood-clad cabin is currently situated on the grounds of Wehrmuehle, a venue for contemporary art and culture in Biesenthal, Brandenburg, just one hour north of Berlin.

One side of the living room is anchored by the Solna cabinet from Hedge House, which syncs nicely with the rattan and brass coffee table, the Paloma from Hawkins NY.

The home’s four bathrooms are tiled with custom ceramic tiles in four different colors. The pink upstairs bathroom is the only one with a tub.

All of the furniture was meticulously handmade by Klebba and Reis to serve the family’s needs.

The clients had long owned the property in Mapleton Hill, and they were looking to build their dream “forever” home in which to raise their family. The public-facing side of the home is historically appropriate, with gables, dormers, a porch, and double-hung windows. While these features are traditional in many senses, the clean, minimalist detailing signals contemporary construction. Timber screens and lattices add a texture and translucency to the archetypal forms.

The master bedroom opens to the northern balcony, which is set on a 10-foot-deep steel cantilever covering a patio below on the main level. “The primo swag built-in feature is the white oak lap-sided ceiling in the master bedroom,” says architect Nicholas Fiore. “As architects, we set as a goal on every project to experiment in our details and to try something new. Turning lap siding on its head—literally—completely frees it from its conventional usage, and provides a rich texture on the ceiling surface. It also serves to pull together a tricky space created by the variegated ceiling planes, which were a result of the challenges served up by zoning and district guidelines.”

“One important inspiration for the overall appearance were the local fishing boats,” Bene says. “These boats have no particular designer—each owner imagines and develops their boat according to their own ideas and needs. I tried to relate to this by articulating only small, understated gestures in the boat’s styling, reminiscent of the other boats in the area.”

Work-at-home architect Oliver Dang, founder of Six Four Five A, built a cozy backyard studio with cedar panels and a vast storage system. Sunlight streams through the angled skylight, warming the birch plywood interior.

The interior features exposed ceiling beams and concrete walls, and the decor celebrates natural materials like timber and jute.

In interior design, the power of smell is often overlooked. Three experts share strategies for using scent to shape and enhance your experience of home.