At night, the interior lighting casts the geometric window framing in silhouette.

"The typical Cape Cod house built by early settlers had very few windows, as they were built to survive a harsh winter," Hammer explains. The architect emulated their recognizable form with a 9/12 pitched gable roof but added plenty of contemporary glazing for natural light and ventilation.

Four bedrooms occupy the bottom level. The beds are by Modernica and a Womb chair by Eero Saarinen sits in the corner.

According to Remijnse, since the only direction they could build on the small site was up, they decided to add height with a gabled roof.

A relaxing couch from Thrive sits before a mahogany-encased fireplace. Just beyond it, a hidden sliding door opens to a screened-in porch, furnished with a patio set from Knoll. "This further connects the house to the landscape and blurs the distinction between interior and exterior, making it feel much like a treehouse," Hammer says.

The facade consists of exposed concrete, Galvalume roofing, and cedar or torrefied wood coating. The homes are carefully positioned to keep other structures out of sight.

Varying types of wood make up the home's interior: white oak planks for the floor, solid mahogany for the cabinets, and fir for the ceilings, beams, columns, and trim.

From the street, only the main house and one adjoining addition are visible, belying the spacious extension at the back. The architects call this the “Tardis effect,” named for the time machine on Dr. Who that looks much smaller on the outside than it does within.

With their matching peaked roofs, every cabin nods to the traditional form of countryside retreats. The cluster’s pine cladding has been treated to speed up the aging process, giving it a warm patina.

superrkül dubbed this project the Stealth Cabin because it's hidden in the landscape and will continue to recede in view over time. Photo by Shai Gil.

“We really wanted to capture the ruinous quality of this old building rather than do something overtly new,” says Greg Blee, founding partner at Blee Halligan Architects. Before construction could begin, however, he and Halligan had to patch the remaining walls using stones found in the nearby river. Wherever a wall had collapsed, the designers inserted framing to create windows and doors. For the roof, they turned to the original tiles. “My father’s terrible at throwing things away,” Blee says. “We took the tiles off 30 years ago, as it was too dangerous to have them up there. They’ve been sitting in the fields ever since, and this was our last chance to use them.”

Set in the lush Wisconsin forest, this neatly stacked cabin was built vertically in order to minimize the amount of grading and landscaping necessary for construction. Photo by: Narayan Mahon

The winglike dips in the roofline situate and hold the house against the region’s brutal winds. As the outdoor chairs attest, lifestyles here pass easily between inside and out; a long hike and a good swim are always just steps away

The building takes advantage of passive heating and cooling, thanks to Blee and Halligan's strategic design to capture the most sunlight in the winter and provide the most shade in the summer. The above-ground glass facade faces east and draws in the daylight, but when the sun proves too strong, whoever is staying in the structure can close the internal shutters to beat the heat.

Eric Ripert invited Dwell into his personal kitchen he co-designed with Poggenpohl and made us the perfect cod basquaise.

In the dining area, Emeco Navy chairs tuck into a custom fir table with metal legs. Lapalma Thin bar stools offer extra seating around the kitchen counter. Appliances include a Wolf propane range, integrated Subzero fridge, and Miele dishwasher.

"We did our best to tuck the buildings into the site—the goal was to get up high on a perch. It was a matter of setting that elevation and working back down with the topography," says architectural designer Riley Pratt.

Sævik compares her house to a contemplative hideout. “It’s very quiet,” she says. “You can concentrate and let thoughts fly.” Her favorite summer pastimes include reading, painting, drawing, yoga, and “just sitting and feeling the forest,” she says.

Rahman did her own landscaping in the garden outside her house. The cedar fence was made with planks that were charred and sealed following the ancient Japanese shou sugi ban technique, which is supposed to make the wood resistant to fire, rot, and insects.

The metal cladding, inspired by a nearby zinc mine, continues seamlessly onto the house’s roof for a minimalist shed effect. “The drip edge turns to make the wall,” explains architect Brandon Pace, “but changes above the window to accommodate a downspout. Any place where the metal contacts glass, or where you walk underneath, we have an internal gutter.”

Inexpensive but sturdy James Hardie lap siding was used on the exterior.

Two El Dorado principals, Douglas Stockman and David Dowell, enlisted the elbow grease of students in their fifth-year design studio at Kansas State University to help design and fabricate the bunkbeds that line the cabin walls.

Even the pool is the result of mixed influences: Andrew wanted a series of shallow, gently sloping hangout zones; his wife, Amy, a former competitive swimmer, needed a full lane deep enough for laps.

Wheelhaus founder and CEO Jamie Mackay creates prefabs with the same quality and durability of the log cabins he grew up with, while also incorporating his values of green production and modern design. Although it takes about four months to construct his prefabricated properties, it takes about a week for the home to be delivered, and then three to five days for the house to be set up on site.

In 2008 Jessica Harwood brought her minimalist draping skills to Cape Town when she established womenswear label Take Care. Offering bespoke garments in jersey, knits, and woven fabrics with fresh silhouettes, in 2011 Take Care opened a menswear label Adriaan Kuiters—growing a reputation for premium quality with a contemporary aesthetic. Take Care Clothing 73 Kloof Street, Cape Town takecareclothing.com

The two-tone corrugated metal cladding helps the sheds blend into the landscape, along with windows custom-colored by the manufacturer to match.

When not in use as the headboard, the large redwood slab folds down to become a desk.

An added benefit of installing the skylights was adding headroom over the day beds, Smith says.

The bedrooms are located on the more sheltered east side. They function as private, closed boxes, as opposed to the more open living room and dining areas.

The bricks were locally sourced from the surrounding Brabant region. While gabled structures such as this are a common sight, the Riel Estate's lopsided roof sets it apart.

Sævik designed the wood tub in the bathroom, which features an adjacent sauna. The Inxx A5 faucet is by Mora.

The living room fireplace is tiled with military-issue dog tags.

Keeping their home office addition modern, clean, and uncluttered was Ann and Geoff Woolford’s top priority.

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.

The couple chose soft green and cream to complement the warm material palette of their new space. The colors serve as a calming counterpoint to the sleek forms of the built-ins and the geometricity of the rectangular space and gabled roof.

Cement panels painted a plum hue clad Jason Gordon’s 1,157-square-foot cabin in the Ozark Mountains. Architect German Brun and partner Lizmarie Esparza originally specified wood, but opted for the much less expensive material from James Hardie after contractor Damian Fitzpatrick recommended it. “It was an exercise in cost engineering,” Brun says.