Hideaways

A view from the bridge toward the guesthouse on the left and the sauna on the right.

Aegean Pool House’s expansive roof structure shelters the indoor/outdoor living spaces beneath it. A freestanding stone fireplace anchors the west side of the living and dining area.

"My goal was to carry on the client’s family legacy by creating a very special place that took inspiration from the landscape,” explains architect Tom Kundig.

The home has a strong connection with the outdoors. The pool is aligned with the office space on the upper floor, and the doors open to provide access. The master bedroom hovers over the edge of the concrete podium.

Once a dilapidated garage, this flexible garden studio in Seattle now serves as an all-weather hub for Ella Dillon, and her 10-year-old daughter, Isabelle. After moving into the Craftsman-style home in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood in 2006, Ella was ready to expand into the garden studio—envisioning it as a place for Isabelle to do arts and crafts, for friends and family to gather—and as additional storage for games, gardening tools, and exercise equipment.

“We pulled apart one volume and staggered it along the buildable area of the property,” says architect Matthew Ahlberg of Portland firm Barrett Made. The home is clad in unfinished cedar, meant to weather over time.

In 2014, Jeff and Karen Gunning began researching building another house, hoping to create a single, contained volume without compromising their retirement funds. The resulting Tree House comprises three pitched volumes with cutaways to create a porch in phase one and recessed window planter ledges in phase two. Simple wood columns provide support.

A luxurious rural retreat that doesn’t skimp on comfort, JR’s Hut is an off-grid glamping destination with spectacular views of the 7,000-acre Kimo Estate in Australia.

The concrete foundation was poured on top of a rock outcropping, so that the house would feel like part of the natural features of the site.

Landscape designer Kenneth Philip worked with mwworks to fill in the forested setting.

The simple black box is broken by operable glazing, drawing the outdoor elements in.

Dubbed Small But Fine, a student-built 280-square-foot cabin in Finland connects with the outdoors and features a minimal footprint. Not pictured is a detached outhouse with a composting toilet.

"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.

Built as a live/work space for a sculptor, Indigo by Dutch practice Woonpioniers is an eco-friendly, prefabricated cabin with bent wooden walls.

Lagos has raised the cabin above the ground on supporting steel to avoid damaging any of the existing trees on site.

Topped with solar panels, the gabled prefab is equipped with 12-foot-tall aluminum security gates that keep the dwelling secure when not in use.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.