modular

The home features a combination of interior and exterior living spaces that afford privacy to the occupants. “There are social spaces for everyone to be together, but also spots outside the building where people can have a private coffee—and that’s so important,” says architect Line Solgaard.

“We chose to have a very big kitchen,” says Egelund. “I love it when people cook together.” The kitchen is by Egelund’s brand Vipp, and is a design that was developed more than 14 years ago. The couple have the same kitchen in black in their Copenhagen apartment but decided that the warm gray color was better suited to the coastal setting of the summer house.

Kitchen of Berlin Apartment by Jäll & Tofta

“The remote quality of this stretch of coast offers a real sense of calm,” says Loy. “The crackling wood fire reminds you how independent this off-grid dwelling is, which is one of the main draws for the home’s occupants.”

Built in 1953, the Wiley House is made up of a single glass-and-wood rectangular pavilion that’s perched on top of a rectangular box made of stone and concrete. Johnson chose the six-acre plot of land himself and was particularly fond of the natural slopes of the site, which is surrounded by hickory trees.

This steel-and-glass house, set amid dense forest south of Ithaca, New York, captivated Maria Cook and Lance Compa when they first toured it in 2004. They bought it not long afterward and turned it into a weekend retreat.

A Simple Plan A Marmol Radziner–designed prefab house, trucked onto a remote Northern California site, takes the pain out of the construction process.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

The guest houses were prefabricated in a factory, trucked onto the site, and then set on concrete foundations.

Oriented to face the west, the interconnected modules fan out to provide three slightly different views of the adjacent gully between two rises in the landscape.

Jette Egelund, owner of the famed kitchen brand Vipp, builds a summer home that is a master class in Scandinavian coastal living.

Although many kitchen redesigns aim for more openness, in John and Debby’s case, it made more sense to section off their sprawling kitchen into a smaller cooking area, a sizable butler’s pantry, and a snug TV room. The sculptural island and backsplash are made from Cararra marble.

The unusual floor plan includes a long gallery that wraps a grassy courtyard. The family commissioned an aluminum sculpture by Los Angeles–based artist Evan Holloway for the space.

After finding paradise on a Hawaiian papaya farm, filmmaker Jess Bianchi and jewelry designer Malia Grace Mau tapped San Francisco artist Jay Nelson to design and build their dream home in just five weeks. Located just one block from the beach, the home takes inspiration from laid-back surf shacks and is mainly built with reclaimed wood.

An outdoor breezeway between the storage shed and the main house is ideal for outdoor dining.