maison

Carl Turner and Mary Martin pose on the porch of the Stealth Barn, a multipurpose structure that plays as a guest cottage, office space, and escape from whatever may be cooking at Ochre Barn.

Sævik compares her house to a contemplative hideout. “It’s very quiet,” she says. “You can concentrate and let thoughts fly.” Her favorite summer pastimes include reading, painting, drawing, yoga, and “just sitting and feeling the forest,” she says.

"The cedar siding is simply stained with a black semi-transparent oil stain [from Cabot], which allows the color of the wood to still emerge through,” architect Robert Hutchison says. “We love how the black color makes the building recede into the background, and how it in turn allows the trees on the site to emerge as the highlight.”

Linden specified a black stain from Cabot for the house’s exterior. The shade draws on Scandinavian and Japanese building traditions and helps the structure blend into the landscape. Native grasses populate the courtyard.

In Scandinavian regions, traditional cabins are painted black using a mixture of tar and linseed oil. Peck reproduced the look using corrugated metal—a lower-maintenance, more sustainable material. “We love that it is black, because it really reminds us of home,” Bronee says. The house has no windows on its front side, belying its light-flooded interior.

The Andersen Architectural Collection’s Eagle windows and doors provide the panes and passageways of the home.

Built-in shelving crafted by local carpenters distinguish the living area from the service zone, where appliances and utilities are stored. "Because of the integrated shelving, no additional furniture is needed for storage," Matt says.

The dining room leads onto a terrace with a built-in concrete table and barbecue that are original to Raman and Schaffrath’s design. A pair of Hardoy butterfly chairs from Knoll are positioned by the pond.

When Belgian fashion retailer Nathalie Vandemoortele was seeking a new nest for her brood, she stumbled upon a fortresslike house in the countryside designed in 1972 by a pair of Ghent architects, Johan Raman and Fritz Schaffrath. While the Brutalist concrete architecture and petite but lush gardens suited her tastes to a tee, the interiors needed a few updates.

First built in 1959 as acclaimed architect Jim Olson's first project, this modest bunkhouse in the woods grew into an extraordinary family retreat.

Near the bunkhouse, Panton built a wood-and-steel footbridge spanning 90 feet across another dry creek leading to the path to a swimming pool and outdoor bathhouse.

Photographer: Taggart Sorenson

In the master bedroom, Mori custom built a bed with side drawers and lined the space with windows that are outfitted with automatic curtains—both blackout and sheer.

Private Oasis