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Curt G., 15, Seattle, Washington, 1983.

The cottage is located on a site just over an hour from Gothenburg and two-and-a-half hours from Oslo, Bohuslän was the ideal location. “We immediately fell in love with the slightly hilly site and its location along a narrow dirt road with cows grazing on the other side,” says Helena. “Until then, I had never thought of building a summer house but when we got the chance, we just had to take it. Especially when my old friend Susanna said she could design a house for us.”

The homeowners love that their secret garden is now an extensions of their living space.

The counters are by Caesarstone and the backsplash tile is Fireclay. The appliances are from Fisher Paykel.

Kím designed all of the cabinetry in the kitchen, which features Venice terrazzo tile from Concrete Collaborative.

In the primary bathroom, the large format tile is Loire limestone from Stone-Tile, and the small format on the walls is Tatami green from Creekside Tile.

Aleksandra shifted and shortened the window to pack in usable storage around it. The cabinets are painted Rainy Afternoon by Benjamin Moore, combined with white oak boxes for contrast. “We were also badly hit by the material price increases during Covid,” says Aleksandra, whether it was kitchen cabinets or framing lumber. The couple were receiving quotes that changed week to week.

"It's not close to highways,

Perched high above Oakland, this expanded midcentury soaks up jaw-dropping views—even from the bathroom.

Natalie and Lauren wanted to replicate the feel of a Zen garden with their home’s central courtyard. The garden features a Japanese maple that pops against the charred timber cladding, while structurally, the U-shape design ushers light right through to the back of the house.

The 1,000-square-foot home is covered in cork panels produced from sustainably harvested forests in Portugal.