Small Spaces

The Autonomous Tent - It's kind of like a yurt, only the high tech manufacturing process ensures absolute precision providing simple installation and a tight seal between fabric and frame that cannot be accomplished with a yurt, making the structure look and feel more permanent.

The cabins are made up of two layers of wood construction. The exterior layer is made of Larch wood with a custom glazing.

The geometric pool also captures views of the lush landscape.

Stinessen placed each cabin carefully in order to ensure the best possible views and the right amount of privacy.

This boutique hotel on Norway's Manshausen Island is made up of four sea cabins—one of which juts out from a natural ledge. Each of them fit two to four travelers or a family of five.

The Autonomous Tent is available to book for $495 plus tax per night. To make a reservation, visit the Treebones Resort website.

Helsinki architect Ville Hara and designer Linda Bergroth collaborated on a prefab shed-meets-sleeping cabin, which can be assembled with little else than a screwdriver. Bergroth, inspired by nomadic yurt dwellers, wanted an indoor/outdoor experience for her property in Finland.

A modern interpretation of the traditional dogtrot home, Camp Baird comprises two cabins placed along an L-shaped orientation. An elongated, solar-heated lap pool runs the length of the south-facing side, alongside an expansive ipe deck that measures nearly 1,600 square feet.

The 82-foot-long pool gets quite a lot of use by Jeff and Millie, and especially by the kids, who are both on the local swim team.

A cantilevered cabin designed by R D Gentzler blends into the forest, even as it hovers above a 20-foot drop-off. Its south face is almost entirely glass, but a roof canopy limits solar gain. “We sit on the deck all afternoon watching the trees, and the time just flies by,” says resident Maricela Salas.

Soheil steps into the music and screening room, which is concealed behind a masonry-veneered door. “We were able to hide a lot of the square footage below the main level, but not in a way that would hurt the design,” he says.

A portion of the exhibition is dedicated to small-space living innovation in other parts of the country and abroad. In these Yokohama, Japan, apartments, living spaces are raised above a communal area used for lectures, parties, performances and meetings. The open space provides an anchor for social gatherings in the community. Yokohama Apartments, Yokohama, Japan, 2009. Architect: ON Design (Osamu Nishida). Courtesy ON Design

Using natural materials is one way of bringing nature indoors. Oiled white ash floors and ceilings, along with Italian poplar and Lawson cypress joinery, are found throughout architect Andrew Simpson’s 538-square-foot home outside Wellington, New Zealand.

Inspired by the small scale of Japanese residences—in particular, Makoto Masuzawa’s 1952 Minimum House—architect Andrew Simpson designed his own economical 538-square-foot home set into a wooded site in Island Bay, a coastal suburb outside Wellington, New Zealand.

"Light colors make [your space] feel more spacious and airy," says Macy Miller. Miller's compact home in Boise, Idaho, built for only $11,000, is featured in our September issue.

The blue ceiling continues into the bedroom, filled with art by Howard’s friends. The yellow-and-white poster is by Mike Mills, and the signed Rolling Stones drumhead was a gift. “It feels like a New York apartment at the beach,” says Shumate.

The plan allows for a full length tub in the bathroom – usually a luxury in a studio apartment. Micro-unit LaunchPad. Clei s.r.l/Resource Furniture; Designed by Pierluigi Colombo and architecture by Amie Gross Architects. Photography by John Halpern. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York

A couple of quick and easy folds and tucks make transforming the couch into a bed at the end of the day easy even for the most bleary-eyed. Micro-unit LaunchPad. Clei s.r.l/Resource Furniture; Designed by Pierluigi Colombo and architecture by Amie Gross Architects. Photography by John Halpern. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York