During construction, Mariscal’s team adjusted the design to accommodate the boughs of an old pine tree in the backyard. The unique detail imbues the home with a spirit of wabi-sabi—or beauty through imperfection.

The charred cedar exterior gently basks in the Alaskan sun.

In the shadow of Denali mountain, amid Alaska’s meadows and icy streams, a former teacher and a four-time Iditarod winner calls upon Mayer Sattler-Smith to design a modernist cabin as expansive as the Last Frontier.

This home's open kitchen, living, and dining area includes a small pantry and an office, but the cedar cladding is the showstopper.

The front door of this house in Scotland is built from charred cedar boards—a traditional way of fireproofing wood developed in Japan. In this case, the effect on the front door is likely more aesthetic than preventative, though you can never be too careful.

A series of charred modern boxes, the home Petra Sattler-Smith and Klaus Mayer designed for Martin Buser and Kathy Chapoton, is organized around views of the Alaskan landscape.

Claire and Ken Stevens approached architect Ko Wibowo to create a modern addition to their 1970s home in Tacoma, Washington. The couple’s needs had changed since Ken was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years ago.

One of the most astounding views from the house extends all the way to Mt. McKinley, the highest point in North America at over 20,000 feet.

A gently winding set of exposed aggregate concrete pads leads to the Wabi House’s front door. Mariscal sought to “hide the house behind a dense forest front yard.” As the crape myrtles grow in, they will further filter the home’s facade.

Architect Thor Olav Solbjør of SAAHA uses wood to communicate with the surroundings. When building out a 750-square-foot addition to a country home in Jar, Norway, set amid pine forests, his team used charred cedar, a traditional Japanese building material created with charcoal to develop a simple black box that adds space without taking away from the surroundings.

The owners, a couple who work at home, clamored for more space with the new addition. Solbjør created dramatic entrances, such as these stone steps leading into the kitchen, to heighten the contrast between the old and new.

Solbjør and his team utilized traditional Japanese techniques to create the midnight-black cedar exterior. Leftover wood from the owner’s farm was charred with charcoal and then stained with ink to add additional depth and a rich tone.

A simple black box in many ways, the Ankersvingen Annex succeeds with its simplicity; it adds space without subtracting from the surroundings. “It was a really neat connection between the house and garden, which was totally lacking with the existing architecture,” says architect Thor Olav Solbjør of SAAHA. “We took the stunning views of the fjord as the starting point.”

Built-in kitchen cabinets and a monolithic island help keep the space uncluttered. The wall ovens are from Gaggenau.

A high-gloss finish can be achieved by having a local automotive shop repaint the cabinet fronts. The finish will be long-lasting, strong, and shiny.

Though traditionally, three Japanese cedar boards are bound to form a long triangle and a fire is started within the resulting tunnel, Weijnen built a brick oven to accommodate two six-foot-long larch wood boards at a time when he charred his wood in Amsterdam. After removing the planks from the brick oven, Weijnen doused them with water if the fires didn't go out on their own. He used his less successful pieces in the kitchen ceiling.

It was vital for Solbjør to highlight the home's expansive view of the Oslo fjord.

The airy new bathroom contains no traces of the somber exterior finish.

Fujimori demonstrates the process of charring cedar boards. After seven minutes, the length of time it takes to produce the proper amount of char, the boards are separated.

The custom cedar tub, fabricated by Dovetail, elegantly fits into the master bathroom.

Terunobu Fujimori's Charred Cedar House, completed in 2007, is clad in charred cedar boards, which have been treated with an ancient Japanese technique that seals the wood against rain and rot. Read our profile on the Japanese architect. Photo by Adam Friedberg.

Since surrounding neighbors can overlook the one-story property, Thomson created a roof detail that is environmentally friendly and attractive: “the bio-diverse [green] roof is planted with indigenous species of flowers and grasses,” he says.

Architect Gregory Phillips connected the original house to a new modern extension that doesn’t interfere with the surrounding houses. “I try to be true to the location,”he explains, “so it doesn’t seem like some spaceship has landed.”

Architecture firm NADAAA planned a striated addition to a brick neo-Georgian house in Boston with the owners’ primary goal in mind: to engage with the outdoors year-round. The walls of the rear kitchen and living space are virtually all glass, allowing sight lines to the existing gardens and new pool house through a series of framed vignettes onto the backyard landscape. The glass box is bookended by uniform “fins” that mark the edge of each picture window, as shown here. Photo by John Horner.

Tucked away on the edge of a small lake surrounded by mountains and topped off with a grass-covered roof, this hunting cabin designed by Snøhetta is made with locally sourced stones. The 376-square-foot prefab mountain hut sleeps up to 21 guests around a central fireplace.

He selected the material for its dimensional stability, warm color tone, and natural weather resistance with minimal maintenance needed.

The minimalist bathroom boasts Cararra marble surfaces, Hansgrohe faucets and shower fixtures, and a skylight by Velux.

This revamped Montreal flat includes a rooftop sauna lined with torrified, or dried, cedar. Outfitted with glass paneling and oriented to capture views of Mount Royal, it is the ideal haven for this hardworking homeowner.

A rear deck is nestled behind the central cabin, flanked by the sleeping quarters. Inside, the dining table sits beneath a single hanging lamp.

A double-height space encompasses the kitchen, dining and living area, and features 36-feet-wide glass doors that pocket into southern and northern walls.

Large sliding glass doors allow daylight to fill the living room. Smaller windows are placed in the kitchen area and the sleeping loft. The exterior is clad in heart pine which needs very little up-keep and is known for its strength and hardness.

Anka Lamprecht and Lukas Wezel shared their rustic domicile in a valley in Grotli, Norway. Boasting an enviable view, it’s the first cabin archived in the book’s “Backcountry” category that features homesteads in the wilderness.

The living room's double height makes the space seem larger that its actual size. Stairs leading up to the sleeping loft are placed next to the open fireplace. The plastered wall and the soapstone tiles on the floor add some roughness to the wooden interior.

Intended for a much bigger room in the family’s previous home, the bed was designed by Hill and is covered in Maharam fabric in a doily print called Intricate 001 Charcoal. The side tables are from West Elm, and the AJ table lamp is by Arne Jacobsen for Louis Poulsen.

In the living room, an Eames lounge chair is matched with a Richard Conover–designed fiberglass chair in similar proportions. A custom coffee table by Asher Israelow com-plements the industrial lighting by Workstead, affixed to walls painted in Farrow and Ball’s Manor House Gray. The sliding doors leading into the home office were fabricated by Markus Bartenschlager.