Small Houses

Given that the cabin is just over 100 square feet, a building permit is usually unnecessary.

The three home designs, created by Architect Kelly Davis with a Scandi-modern aesthetic, are insulated with Greenguard gold-certified recycled materials, capped with steel roofs, and clad with sustainably grown rough-sawn wood siding with a dark stain. Inside, floor-to-ceiling white birch makes for bright, warm, and textured interiors. “We wanted them to reflect natural beauty, and to capture a greater sense of space,” says Dobrowolski.

Wrapped in perforated metal and European larch stained a deep-brown color, the rectangular prefab includes an open kitchen and living space, a bedroom, a bathroom, and wall-height windows to take in a view.

A suspended steel stair adds a sculptural element to the home.

Taking inspiration from the fairy tale of Snow White and the seven dwarves, South Korean campground Haru consists of a "castle

Skiing is often associated with well-worn, cookie-cutter condos and salt-stained carpets—but the A-Frame Club, a ’70s-inspired property in Winter Park’s Old Town, offers something different. Here, 31 A-frame cabins are rounded out with an on-site saloon and bar. The little structures are cozily clustered together and nearly overlapping, connected by a labyrinth of raised wooden paths that feel almost like tunnels when cocooned in snow.

The ethos behind Rööm stems from Timon’s three years of solo backpacking through Europe and Asia: “I’d always like to make a little sanctuary space where I could recharge. But you can’t be acquiring a bunch of things. When it was time to go… I could take it apart and then pack it together and drop it into the next place,” Timon elaborates. “I like things that can come apart and be put together again, but in a fun way, right?”

Once all the materials are on-site, it takes a small team between 7 to 14 days to assemble a Rööm structure.

Each of the three operable windows in Nick and Tecia’s Rööm measures four-by-four feet.

The structure is anchored using ground screws rather than a concrete slab, which amplifies its scalability and mobility. The method is more common in cold, European countries but Nick, a long-time Californian, appreciated that the ground screws, unlike concrete, won’t crack in the event of an earthquake.

The “Japandi” aesthetic that first caught Nick and Tecia’s eye stems from Timon’s years of experience. He spent a portion of his architecture studies at the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. Later in his career he worked for five years at East Wind (Higashi Kaze) Inc., a California-based design/build company specializing in traditional Japanese timber frame residences.

Hut has are several new Rööm projects underway, including work in Ashland, Oregon and Marin County, California. The Ashland project will be sent as a full flatpack and assembled on-site.

Nestled just a stone's throw from the water, the home has been thoughtfully built into its tree-filled lot. Parking is provided by an oversized carport, which includes a Tesla charger.

According to the architects iHouse Estudio, this prefab in Punto del Este, Urugay, aims to immerse the residents in the forested surroundings. “Continuing with this idea,” they add, “the house features a flowing interior with no interior walls. Inside, blocks contain bathrooms, a kitchen, and closets, freeing the rest of the spaces to connect with the setting. The forest is framed at all times."