NIF

Looking into back yard

Hutchison replaced the house's original siding, which dated to 1967, with rough-sawn, tight knot cedar in a semi-transparent oil finish. Two different orientations—horizontal bevel and vertical tongue-and-groove—differentiate between volumes.

The large terrace on the upper level, which contains the house's bedrooms, is nearly 968 square feet.

Merging modern architecture and traditional clay construction, the sauna consists of a shower room, meditation room, and a steam cabin. A glass facade offers orchard views.

Jody’s favorite spot is outside on the deck. “I spend most of my time there. We’ve got two braais, and I braai just about every night,” he says, using the Afrikaans word for barbecue. “It’s not about the food for me,” he adds, “It’s about standing around the fire.” The platform sofas were designed by Scott, the dining table is by James Mudge Furniture Studio, and the Hee lounge and dining chairs are by Hay.

A blackened-timber pergola extends from the modern barn that architect Greg Scott designed for Jody and Deirdre Aufrichtig in the Elgin Valley, an apple- and grape-growing region near Cape Town. Made of narrow slats stabilized with randomly scattered blocks of wood, it covers roughly half of the outdoor deck.

In the house that Richard Williams designed for David Frum and Danielle Crittenden Frum on Lake Ontario, floor-to-ceiling windows from Oldcastle offer views through the house to the lake beyond.

On the sunset side of the Sunrise house, the home's west terrace is shaded by mango trees.

The house was made from steel beams, cast concrete slabs, and a metal sheet roof. "The dining area and kitchen open north and south to capture the summer breezes during the hottest days of the year," Dumont says.

For Karina Inzunza, Graham Barker, Melana Janzen, and John McMinn (pictured left to right), a shared vacation home on Georgian Bay was the perfect opportunity to pool resources, split costs, and create an extended family unit.

The house is divided into three sections connected by a series of outdoor galleries. “When I walk from one room to another, I have to go outdoors and feel the weather and nature—rain, cold, and sun,” says Sævik. Instead of emphasizing the expansive panorama of oak, pine, and aspen trees, the house frames select views—a move inspired by Japanese design.

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.

Georgina, Diego, and their two children, 10-year-old Nicoletta and seven-year-old Arturo.

The couple is eager to host a party with Diego’s band after the pandemic to take full advantage of the new deck and its amphitheater-like seating.

Hunter's son soaks his feet in the black-tiled spa under the stair that connects the upper dining deck to the ground level patio. Angled boards provide screening but still let in light.