Lake

Pale-toned European larch flooring and ceilings are juxtaposed with the dark-stained walls of the cabin, lending stark contrast and drama for the interior.

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.”

Before: The design and build team reused the existing structure.

Reclaimed wood covers the ceiling in the main room and bedroom. The large white light fixture was reused from the barn’s previous incarnation, and the sectional is from Interior Define.

Skigard Hytte floor plan

The interior of the house is lined in pine. Anchoring the dining area are an antique Norwegian farm table and chairs. The appliances are by Gaggenau.

A second staircase was added to take advantage of the height provided by a previously unfinished attic. The skylights bring sunshine down to both levels.

A ladder incorporated in the mezzanine bedroom leads to a spacious roof terrace.

LAMAS Architecture shored up the unsettled foundation of this 1914 Toronto home.

Perched quietly on the dunes of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, Hut on Sleds serves as a small, sustainable beach retreat for a family of five.

One of the "Boxes for Living," featuring the ladder-accessible loft that doubles as a bedroom.

Views of Lake Colico are captured by the windows in the lower level bedrooms, where the Del Fierro’s sons sleep.

The 1990 residence figures into a long tradition of experimental architecture in the California high desert, along with the nearby Institute of Mentalphysics designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Christie Schoepp's main goals for building a cabin on her family's land in Alberta, Canada, were to maximize the views and make the project as cheap as possible.

Scalar Architecture placed the cabin on conrete piers to minimize its ecological impact on the surrounding landscape.

Two art studios adjoin a central volume at this work/live residence built from terracreto (sustainable concrete), glass, and painted steel just outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Residents Austin and Lida Lowrey, retired design and museum professionals, collaborated with their two daughters—Sheridan, an artist, and Elizabeth, an architect—to design the structure as a place for creative contemplation.