Modern cottages take the warmth of rustic dwellings and combine it with the refinement of contemporary design. On this page, you can browse through architectural projects that showcase a wide range of designs and styles. Whether heavily inspired by traditional farmhouses, renovated thoughtfully to celebrate vernacular architecture, or designed with modern silhouettes, these cottages are all envisioned as cozy living spaces that offer a calm retreat space away from urban environments. Here you can find projects completed throughout the US as well as modern cottages built in Scandinavian countries, Italy, Portugal, or Canada.
Drawing inspiration from barns and farmhouses, many modern cottages keep the easily recognizable gabled silhouette of rural buildings. However, they also feature contemporary elements; among them, larger windows, glass sliding doors, and glazed facades. Other cottages feature polycarbonate or glass walls that immerse the inhabitants into natural settings. Other houses feature contemporary twists on traditional gabled forms, with volumes arranged in a cluster. Flat roofs, minimalist structures, and simple rectangular volumes with arched windows offer a new take on the classic cottage design.
Most of these modern cottages make natural settings their home. Here you can find summer retreats nestled among rock formations in coastal areas; cottages that offer spectacular views of mountains and valleys; or weekend homes built in a forest at the edge of a lake. However, this architectural style can also be found in urban areas. More notably, in residential neighborhoods where architecture firms restore and re-imagine old cottages in a contemporary design language. In terms of materials, most of these projects use solid wood with either natural or blackened finishes. Others feature expansive glass surfaces, steel, or stone. All of these houses put the focus on outdoor spaces, whether it’s a beach setting, rolling hills, or a garden in a city.
