Deck

A stunning three-pavilion retreat inspired by nature. Designed as a serene retreat where the clients will eventually retire, the Butterfly House is a beautiful dwelling that shares a special link to the landscape it now calls home. The house stands on a plot of land between a valley and rolling hills in the breathtaking Santa Lucia Preserve, near Carmel, California. To provide generou...

A modern take on the archetypal country house. Located near the top of a slope in Saint-Julien-le-Petit, west-central France, this black house overlooks a bucolic landscape. French architecture firm Ciguë designed the dwellin...

An old house redesigned with refined interiors and a central perforation topped with skylights. Located in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood in Montreal, this dwelling has been transformed from an old house into a modern family home. APPAREIL ...

A family home designed with two gabled volumes that create a sheltered deck and courtyard. Located in the village of Rybí, in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, this wood-clad house was designed by architecture firm KLAR for a family...

A seaside holiday retreat designed with four black wood cabins linked by pathways. Built in a quiet area among wild pine trees, this residential retreat in Comporta, Portugal, allows the clients to relax and unwind in the middle of a gorgeous coastal landscape. Lisbon-based architecture and design firm

A house extension designed with a warm gray, hipped roof. Located in Epsom, Surrey, this 1920s house was transformed with a contemporary extension by London-based studio Oliver Leech Architects. Named Hipped House, the residence required extensive renovations throughout the int...

A contemporary beach house inspired by traditional coastal dwellings. Located in the village of Grand-Barachois in the Canadian province of New-Brunswick, this beach house is specially designed to withstand the harsh weather conditions of the coastal area. Québec City-based architecture firm Atelier Pierre Thibault designed Lebla...

A minimalist cabin built in a pine forest on a rural property in the south of France. [dropcap]N[/dropcap]estled in a forest in Marseille, France, Pine Nut Cabane is a minimalist cabin that takes cues from vernacular architecture. London-based architecture and desig...

A tiny house built in a garden in France. Located close to the sea in Longueil, France, this tiny house makes the most of an existing lush garden. Paris-based architecture firm arba designed the small, minimalist cabin as a retreat for the clients, but the prope...

Whether arising from a need to accommodate a growing family, or a desire for independence, quiet workspace, creative studio, or simply just more space, adding an extension to an existing house is common. However, not all of these additions share a clear link with the main home. In this list, we’re focusing on the connected house architecture. From a tiny house or home with a DIY build to a spra...

A one-story house enhanced with an extension and an interior patio. Located in Montréal’s Marconi-Alexandra neighborhood, the Marconi Residence is a minimalist house that makes the most of an unusual urban site surrounded by garages and industrial workshops. The clients tasked architecture firm Pelletier de Font...

A compact, off-grid cabin built in a beautiful natural site in Italy. Founded in 2013 as a carpentry workshop, Llabb transformed over the years from a custom wood furniture studio into an architecture and design firm. The Genoa-based practice applies traditional woodworking techniques in architectural projects. The Hermitage Cabin project showcases this perfectly. Set on the edge of a...

A minimalist cabin built in a pine forest on a rural property in the south of France. [dropcap]N[/dropcap]estled in a forest in Marseille, France, Pine Nut Cabane is a minimalist cabin that takes cues from vernacular architecture. London-based architecture and desig...

A black cabin designed to disappear into a lakeside woodland in British Columbia. Located at the highest point on a slope that overlooks a lake on in West Kootenay, British Columbia, Canada, this cabin provides access to striking views of the surrounding forest, water, and mountain peaks in the distance. Architecture and interior desig...

A mid-19th century townhouse, renovated and redesigned with bright, multi-functional spaces. The townhouse, originally built in the mid-19th century as part of a terrace development in north London, underwent a major renovation project completed by London-based architecture firm Unagru to transform it into a contemporar...

Embedded in a woodland landscape, this retreat has art gallery-like spaces that open to nature. Built on the top of a hill on Orcas Island, WA, Collector's Retreat provides gorgeous views of a forest landscape. Seattle-based Heliotrope Architects designed the dwelling for a couple who owns an art gallery in Los Ang...

A contemporary house built in a nature reserve in Mexico. Built with great respect for nature, Casa en El Torón is a perfect example of sustainable architecture. Mexico City–based architecture practice Ignacio Urquiza Arquitectos designed the vacati...

A treetop walkway and observation tower nestled in a protected forest in Denmark. Located about an hour drive south from Copenhagen, Denmark, Camp Adventure provides the opportunity to enjoy the landscapes of a protected forest in new, fun ways. The park features climbing courses and hiking trails as well as a zip line and viewing platforms. Copenhagen-based architecture firm

A Nordic-inspired black cabin that creates a symbiosis between a woodland landscape and modern architecture. Nature stands at the very heart of Grand Pic Cottage. Before Appareil Architecture started the conceptualization stage for this house in Austin, Quebec, the architects immersed themselves into the woodland a...

A concrete house that complements its minimalist design with a carbon neutral build. [dropcap]D[/dropcap]esigned by Perth-based firm Whispering Smith, the award-winning House A offers a practical and eco-friendly architecture solution for slow living fans. Open to travelers, the house is ideal for design a...

A retreat designed with a cantilevered form that extends toward water views in the Pacific Northwest. Designed by architecture studio Heliotrope, this retreat on Orcas Island, Washington, makes the most of a challenging site to optimize the dialogue betwe...

A creatively designed family home in Porto. Designed by Porto-based studio FAHR 021.3, the Bouça Family House aims to create a dialogue between the street and passers-by on one hand and contemporary architecture on the other. Built in the center of Porto, Portugal, the house is part of a new wave of both urban consoli...

A quiet retreat designed to minimize its presence in a natural landscape. Built on a sloping terrain on the shores of Ranco Lake, south Chile, this lake house has a thoughtful design that preserves and celebrates the beauty of the landscape. Benjamin Litvak of blaq a...

An architectural project that weaves a thread between past, present and future on the beach of Esmoriz, Portugal. Offering a contemporary reinterpretation of a traditional design from the coast of Portugal, this dwelling provides a modern twist on a classic fisherman’s house. Pedro Henrique Arquiteto created the desig...

A wood-clad home inspired by tree houses. Named Caterpillar Hill, this wood-clad house rises from the top of a steep site in a woodland on Maine’s rugged coast. Architecture firm Whitten Architects designed the forever home for a family of three. The clients have ties to the area and wanted a durable, accessible home they ...

Courtyards have been used in homes for thousands of years. You can find houses with courtyards across the globe with gardens or ornately decorated paved courts incorporated in their footprint. The ability to bring light and air into the depths of a building, plus their inherent privacy mean courtyards are an enduring feature. Whether it is to insert a glazed wall garden directly into the middle...

A dream getaway in Costa Rica. Built right near a beach between Playa Tamarindo and Playa Langosta in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, Villa Monoi is a beautifully designed private retreat. Perfect for a family or a group of friends, the villa features four bedrooms and sprawling lounge areas both indoors and outdoors. Architect ...

Two cabins elevated among trees to immerse guests in a woodland setting in the French Alps. Located in Le Boréon, Saint-Martin-Vésubie, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur-region of France, the Perched Huts project provides cozy accommodation to tourists in the middle of a woodland. Architecture studio Cyril Chênebeau Arc...

A hotel that re-imagines vernacular tradition with a minimalist aesthetic. Millions of tourists visit the Italian Alps every year and they have plenty of hotels to choose from to make their stay comfortable. However, not every hotel can claim to have deep roots in local traditions and ancient architecture like Olmo. Nestled in the village of Ponchiera, the Province of Sondrio, Italy, ...

A tranquil home designed with two courtyards and windows that open to an olive grove. On the outskirts of Bassano del Grappa, Italy, House NF by Didonè Comacchio Architects stands as a calming presence at the foothills of the Alps. It’s a place ...

A retreat designed for a cycling enthusiast and nature lover. Seattle-based architecture firm SKB Architects completed the Sonoma Farmhaus project for a client who is a cycling enthusiast. Located in the town of Graton, California, the house takes inspiration from the traditional forms of rural buildings and

Modern apartments and hotel suites built in a Czech ski resort. Located in the small town of Pec pod Sněžkou, at the base of the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, the Aparthotel Svatý Vavřinec is a complex of multiple buildings that house 90 suites. The client hired Prague-based OV-A architecture studio to design a resort that would occupy the footprint of a former store from th...

A duplex transformed into a single-family home in the heart of Montreal. Located in the popular Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhood in Montreal, Canada, this compact duplex was transformed into a four-story, single-family home by local architecture and interior design firm

A contemporary, Corten house inspired by dogtrot barns. Built in a gorgeous landscape outside of Jackson, Wyoming, the Dogtrot Residence bridges the gap between vernacular, agrarian buildings and contemporary architecture. CLB Architects designed the modern barn house for a retired couple from Pennsylvania who will eventual...

A sprawling garden designed with open areas that create a winding path from a chalet to a lake. Designed by Daniel Zamarbide, founder of multidisciplinary studio Bureau, Mr. Barrett's Garden in Switzerland is a beautiful outdoor space that creates a dialogue between a new chalet and the nearby Lake Geneva. The sprawling area features lush vegetation and a

This house, located in the suburban area of North Kanto in the Saitama Prefecture in Japan, aims to reconcile the need for unique design and the convenience of prefabricated materials. Even though they are cheaper, increasingly more widespread, but also more practical and faster to build than traditional houses, prefabricated homes are still not completely embraced by the older or the younger g...

Two timber cabins designed to be as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible. Located in a woodland in the Pacific Northwest, these two cabins nestle gently into the pristine landscape. Seattle-based architecture and design firm GO'C renovated and redesigned an existing cabin and also added a new, smaller volume with a similar...

It is always a delight to find a salient engineering solution integrated with architectural design. MHM Architects have seamlessly blended the two in the project Boat’s House at Millstätter Lake. Because of docking restrictions at the waterfront, the wooden façade of the building folds down to create an extern...

A holiday home designed in perfect harmony with a spectacular landscape in Iceland. Named Holiday Home by Thingvallavatn, this project completed by Denmark and Iceland-based architecture practice KRADS has a special relationship with the surrounding nature. The studio collaborated closely with the clients, who are performing artists, to create the distinctive design. The process of de...

A special hotel designed to be a home away from home. Nestled into a bucolic landscape in northern Spain, Villa Slow welcomes its guests into a quiet, warm, and homelike space that also celebrates the beauty of nature. It’s an ideal choice for those who are exploring the region and want to find accommodation near Santander. Architect

A lakefront guest house inspired by the movement of water. Built on Lake Rosseau, Ontario, the Tobin Island Boathouse stands between a forest and the serene surface of the water. The AKB Architecture firm looked to the local context for inspiration, referencing both the s...

A cozy retreat designed as a sustainable, low-cost, modular cabin. Built in a forest in Finland, close to a lake, this cabin blends into the landscape with a simple design. The idea to build the retreat came to Jonas Becker and Timm Bergmann of Berlin-based

A family home designed with three gabled volumes oriented toward different views. Rising from the shores of the Rupanco Lake in Chile, this home is a great example of sustainable architecture. Design organization Citic collaborated with Constructores de ...

A harmonious blend of nature and modern design at the heart of Devil's Glen, Ontario. Tucked away in the heart of Devil's Glen, on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada, lies a modern retreat that offers a true escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Designed by

A T-shaped home with three garden spaces. Built in the middle of a pine forest near a beach in Ljunghusen, Sweden, Villa MSV is a home designed for a couple who also want to entertain family and friends. Architect Johan Sundberg designed the T-sha...

A modern six-module house in the Hamptons. Located in Bridgehampton, New York, the 3,500 sq ft Six Square House re-interprets vernacular gabled architecture in a creative and distinctly contemporary way. NYC-based practice Young Projects designed the dwelling with six

A black beach house with two wooden volumes connected by a light-filled space. Located in a forested area in La Juanita, in the José Ignacio resort, Uruguay, this beach retreat optimizes comfort while preserving the integrity of the natural landscape. Designed in a collaboration between the Fram ...