Small Houses

After living ten years in another house he designed in Yokahama, Hosaka and his wife decided to move to Tokyo for an easier commute.

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.

A conversion with space-saving solutions in Paris.

The living room features the birch plywood table with circular voids that inspired the kitchen design.

Architect Rebal Knayzeh's favorite detail is "the flush door which aligns perfectly with the 'window' in the room, and the door to the apartment. Making sure that this object-interface remains self-contained without any hardware sticking out was important."

A reading nook in front of the "cabin" workspace at the top of the stairs.

The Mono structure's single-engineered truss frame makes it capable of withstanding harsh weather—from heavy snow, to downpours, to heat. It also comes in three variations.

The Nolla Cabin was primarily built from Kerto LVL, a lightweight and durable Finnish plywood. It was then fastened together with screws.

A young Finnish designer bypasses building permits by creating an affordable tiny home under 100 square feet.

Concrete pavers line the new hardscape, which steps up to a deck built of ipe wood. Ipe wood has also been used for the built-in benches and fencing.

Plants—sourced from Conservatory Archives—breathe life into the minimalist spaces. The lighting fixtures are from Blom & Blom.

From the living room wall, a panel folds down to reveal a bookshelf and form a table.

Carstensen painted the body and exterior trim on the garage the same color, in order to "make the house look slightly more modern, without losing character," he said. The color is a discontinued shade, called Evening Canyon, from Behr, that he had mixed at Home Depot. "I tried so many before landing on this one," he said. "This one ended up being my favorite, because it maintains a nice warm tone all throughout the day. Others would end up either looking too cool (almost navy blue) in direct sunlight, or just look brown."

An architect and construction engineer couple build a sustainable, 624-square-foot abode for $221,580 in their Southeast Portland backyard.

“[The clients] wished for a simple and flexible space that could be reconfigured to suit the evolving needs of the family,” principal Thomas Schaer says. “Our goal was pretty simple: don’t overthink it and have fun.” Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal covers the siding, while Segovia Red adds a pop of color to the exterior doors. Two Chair_ONEs by Konstantin Grcic stand on the patio.

The cozy bedroom is clad in oiled oak.

"We wanted to keep the exterior walls uncluttered, so you can focus on the views, the light, and the air," says Rosa Garneau, the owner of a 650-square-foot co-op in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. To achieve a clean look, everything gets tucked away, including the mattress and bedding. When looking for the best Murphy bed, look for one that can accommodate basic bedding without having to remove and store it daily.