Groves

"The 900-square-foot cabin perches on one piece of granite, projecting precariously over a steep drop-off to afford dramatic eastern views across the valley below," says Isamu Kanda, principal at I-Kanda.

Imagine waking up in a room with a stunning view, eating your breakfast on a terrace, walking to a secluded beach for a short dip in the ocean, then drinking wine near a private pool while watching the sunset. That is exactly what Casa Tiny offers to its guests, who can now rent it through Boutique Homes. The cozy house is located on the Oaxaca Coast in Mexico near Casa Wabi, an artists’ retreat founded by Mexican artist Bosco Sodi.

“We really wanted to capture the ruinous quality of this old building rather than do something overtly new,” says Greg Blee, founding partner at Blee Halligan Architects. Before construction could begin, however, he and Halligan had to patch the remaining walls using stones found in the nearby river. Wherever a wall had collapsed, the designers inserted framing to create windows and doors. For the roof, they turned to the original tiles. “My father’s terrible at throwing things away,” Blee says. “We took the tiles off 30 years ago, as it was too dangerous to have them up there. They’ve been sitting in the fields ever since, and this was our last chance to use them.”