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The Minima 1 does not feature dedicated bedrooms by default. While the extra space can be added, FABPREFAB also offers larger shelf designs like the modular Minima 2 or the Courtyard House that may not require customization.

The living area features a custom-made sectional with a tinted-larch frame set alongside a vintage John Dickinson side table; the yak sculpture is by Gunnar Nylund.

Protected by an overhang, and floating above ground level, this tertiary space is known in traditional homes as the "engawa." To sustain a unified look throughout, the floor and ceiling are clad in ipe wood.

The striking black facade of Pieter Weijnen's new home is the result of the Japanese practice of charring wood. Weijnen, an architect at the Amsterdam firm Faro, first discovered charred wood through the work of Terunobu Fujimori and later traveled to the Japanese island of Naoshima to observe the traditional technique.

Fujimori's retreat in Nagano, The Too-High Tea House, which is adorned with a roof of hand-rolled copper sheets, seems precariously perched atop a pair of tree trunks 20 feet in the sky. Why two? “One leg is dangerous and three legs are too stable and boring.”

For Camellia Castle, which houses a sake brewery, Fujimori designed a grass-covered roof and a cladding comprised of grass-and-stone checkerboard.

Fujimori carves many of his architectural models, like this one, for his Too-High Tea House, out of wood.

Fujimori, demonstrating the process of charring cedar boards, packs newspaper into the base of three planks that have been bound together.

In Fujimori’s most recent project, Coal House, a tearoom protrudes from the second story, accessible from the exterior by a timber ladder that appears to pierce the roof and from the interior by a secret door in the master bedroom.

The climb to the Coal House tea room is purposely precarious. Fujimori wants visitors to “be a little afraid” on their way up; it’s “a device to make you feel and think differently in this space.”

Inside the tiny tearoom, with its low ceiling, is like an adult clubhouse, designed for intimate conversation over hot drinks.

The Tanpopo House's family tearoom is an updated take on Japan’s traditional flexible, open-plan tatami-mat room. Here, the charcoal fire pit for the teapot is an electric coil embedded in the floor, and the flooring is a durable rattan from Indonesia. Plaster oozing in between oak planks gives the room a warm, rough-hewn feel—a Fujimori signature.

Fujimori designed his own residence, the Tanpopo House, in 1995, with volcanic rock siding and grass and dandelions on the roof and walls; he is pleased by its “bushy-haired expression.”

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Fujimori has an affinity for building structures that appear to be perched precariously: His charred cedar-clad Guest House seems to balance on a sliver of a wall.

The 1991 Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum, Fujimori’s first commissioned building, signaled the themes that continue to drive his work: design in harmony with nature; raw, natural materials (wood, mud-and-mortar walls); and a Neolithic-inspired architectural style.

Architecture and nature combine in many of Fujimori's projects: the Lamune Hot Spring House appears to be built around two pine trees, with their spires poking out from the roof.

Terunobu Fujimori's Charred Cedar House, completed in 2007. As the name implies, the entire home is clad in charred cedar boards, which have been treated with an ancient Japanese technique that seals the wood against rain and rot.

The owner's 23-year old daughter sleeps ere when she visits from the West Coast. The flower painting above the bed is her childhood artwork and the blue painting is by New York City artist John Zinsser.