The Becerril family embraces stark modernism with a mute facade clad in Hardie board and acrylic panels. Access to the heart of the house is through the bamboo garden.

Durable, economical, and easy to build, the simple A-frame was once the must-have midcentury vacation home. Today, the classic retreat has been propelled back to popularity, thanks largely to photo-centric platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Read on for 20 charming A-frame homes that caught our eye.

The exposed steel framing system is visible on the parlor floor, where Dixon and Paul share a laugh.

Homeowner Simon Doonan stands next to the front door. "We have flamboyance, and we’re not inhibited about anything. [Architect] Gray Organschi gave [the house] that intellectual rigor needed to make it beautiful. We were well matched."

A Whistler A-Frame | British Columbia, Canada Scott & Scott Architects design an outdoorsy Vancouver family’s dream cabin

The entire cabin is powered by the rooftop solar system from Solarwinds Northernlights. "I still can't get over the fact that I can get an ice cube from the sun," Bruce says.

The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.

The most sustainable element of all is the Lais’ intention to make their first home their last home as well. “Some people have this mentality of getting a starter house, then upgrading from there,” David says. “We just wanted to find a place to live in and then stay there forever.” Eventually they imagine passing the home down to their children.

Hooper House II's new owner, Richard North, has altered the house very little, though he did convert the carport into an enclosed garage to provide greater protection for his collection of automobiles. Read more about the mid-20th century Marcel Breuer Hooper House here.

The result: a house that looks like it’s just been dropped into a field, casual, with nary a path leading up to it and a front door that can barely be detected on the red-cedar-shingled facade.

Adding 290 square feet to this already small (just 566 square feet) black A-frame in Brecht, Belgium, was all the local building ordinances allowed, but the architects at dmvA found that a single wing extended out to the side gave resident Rini van Beek all the storage and living space that she needs.

A third of the house and deck cantilever out toward the stream, and the void beneath the deck provides a place for wood storage. The cabin sits just 100 feet from the water, and with the windows open you can hear the ambient rush of the stream from throughout the house.

The Alerce shingles change color when it rains, moving from red to grey. “It’s alive,” says Marambio.

A new kitchen system by Nendo for Scavolini.

The house that Fleetwood Fernandez Architects designed for contractor Mehran Taslimi and his wife, Laila, embraces its surroundings. “They wanted doors that they could just throw open,” designer Hunter Fleetwood says of the retractable wall system from Vitrocsa.

The rain-catchment system next to the outdoor shower collects and disposes of the first five gallons of rainwater to ensure that the cleanest water is diverted into the cistern.

Surman Weston delivers a contemporary twist on the mock-Tudor style with minimalist interiors and intricate brickwork.

An aerial shot of the property showing the house nestled in a clearing. The dense wooded surroundings inspired the couple to prioritize exterior views in the home’s design

Sited parallel to each other, the two autonomous bedroom cabins frame perspectival views of the surrounding landscape. Exteriors of all three structures feature mitered corners and cross-laminated timber panels, all nailed by hand.

Designed by Helsinki–based designer Robin Falck for energy company Neste’s Journey to Zero campaign, the Nolla Cabin champions zero-waste and simple living with its minimalist, eco-friendly build.

The open observatory.

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

Boutique Homes: Handpicked Vacation Rentals

One family in Seattle, Washington, looked past a sloping landscape and saw the opportunity to build their dream home. Resembling a modern-day metal treehouse, the Hale and Edmonds residence is nestled within the edges of a wooded park. The house’s exterior of paneled grey is perfectly balanced against the accent of the orange frame, proving that there’s a chance for subtlety with the bright color.

Clad in Douglas fir, the home is constructed of low maintenance materials that tie in with the natural surroundings.

The bright orange frame of this glazed door adds a sense of modern exuberance to the deck off of Francesco Moncada and Mafalda Rangel’s bedroom. The sunny, open space reveals both a Loop chair by Willy Guhl and the tile rooftops of Syracuse, where the water is never far off.

Although plywood was a cheap and practical choice, it gives the cabin a warm and inviting feel.

Facundo is working on an update to the cabin that mirrors the doors at the back window to allow for cross-ventilation.

The first Kabina cabin cost about $13,023, and it’s currently set up as a retreat in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney.

The entryway to the Woodhouse Lodge.

The slate roof of the triangular 'A-House' contrasts with the Douglas fir clad rectangular body of the adjacent form. Exterior terraces wrap and connect the two building forms.

the project integrates the construction to its natural landscape.

The couple’s three children were involved in the renovation process and particularly enjoyed the demolition process.

A 1959 teak-framed nine-foot-long SW 50-4 sofa by Illum Wikkelsø for the Danish furniture company Søren Willadsen sits pretty.