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One big budget-saver was eliminating the drywall and embracing the raw plywood finish (plus a light stain).

Storage was built in all down the hallway, making efficient use of a linear space.

Architect Jai Kumaran and his partner, Lindsay Merkle, transformed a badly neglected ridgetop property in Scappoose, Oregon, into a retreat, completing a 3,000-square-foot prefabricated workshop and studio suite as the first phase of a larger planned creative compound where they could live, work, and gather with family and friends.

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.

Remo Kommnick and Emi Moore wanted a minimalist home that could blend with its site in rural Virginia. “We had to keep things really simple,” says architect Patrick Farley. The cabin is clad in stained western red cedar, and its form is inspired by shelters on the nearby Appalachian Trail.

The couple often relax by their vintage Jøtul stove—“our dream one,” Audi says—purchased from a neighbor. The rocker is a family heirloom, and the armchair is a roadside find.

Audi Culver and Ivy Siosi had never built a house before, but as the founders of Siosi, a decade-old furniture company known for its use of domestic, sustainably sourced hardwood and simple, Scandinavian-influenced forms, they were up for the challenge. A large parcel a few miles from downtown caught their eye, and when the owner split it into four smaller lots, they snapped one up.

Built-in bench with a view in lower living room