Châteaux Dans Les Arbres
Combining two childhood dream abodes, the treehouse and the fairytale castle, the Châteaux Dans Les Arbres make an ideal setting for a carefree vacation. The regal lodgings are scattered in the woods near… Continue reading
Category Archive: Small Vacation Houses
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Nomad Living, a container guest house | Studio ARTE
This bright orange guest house sits under a tree in the scenic Algarve region of southern Portugal. It is the first in what architect Arnold Aarssen of Studio ARTE envisions as a new… Continue reading
Summerhouse Skåne, a renovated farmhouse | LASC Studio
An abandoned farmhouse was given a new life as a contemporary Swedish summerhouse. The owners were attracted by the traditional look and nostalgic feel of the old building. However it needed some changes… Continue reading
La Maison au Bord de l’Eau, a low-cost vacation home | Charlotte Perriand
Influential architect and designer Charlotte Perriand conceived La Maison au Bord de l’Eau in 1934 for an architectural competition to design a low-cost vacation home for the masses. Though she took second prize,… Continue reading
A cottage in Norway modeled on traditional boatsheds | Kolman Boye Architects
The island of Vega, on Norway’s northern coast, is located just 100 km from the Arctic Circle. While home to about 1,200 people, it’s an unlikely place for Oslo residents to build a summerhouse,… Continue reading
A stunning “bach” for a New Zealand family | Atelierworkshop
This “bach” is perched on a sand dune on New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast. A bach is a modest vacation home in New Zealand, originally referring to a basic shack built from inexpensive or… Continue reading
Hood Canal Cabin | Castanes Architects PS and Ray C. Freeman III
This off-grid cabin is sited in a deep ravine leading to the shore of Hood Canal, a waterway not far from Seattle, Washington. The ravine closes in on the cabin from both sides… Continue reading
A minimalist vacation house in Chile | Panorama and WMR
Chilean architects Panorama and WMR collaborated on the design of this small vacation house. Located in the coastal village of Matanzas, it has spectacular ocean views.
A modern studio retreat in the woods | workshop/apd
This small studio was born of the client’s wish for a quiet retreat surrounded by nature in which to cherish the memories of his wife and the life they shared. The structure was… Continue reading
Tre Livelli, a studio dwelling with a stepped floor plan | Studioata
“Tre Livelli” is a tiny studio retreat above the seaside town of Alassio, Liguria in northern Italy. It sits on a hillside site terraced with traditional Ligurian dry-stacked stone walls.
House C, a casual seaside retreat | Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
House C sits on a narrow coastal plain between the sea and the mountains of Chiba, Japan. The owners, a couple with a young child, wanted a weekend house that would give them… Continue reading
Casa Rio Bonito, a modern cabin in the Brazilian rainforest | Carla Juaçaba
Casa Rio Bonito, a modern cabin designed by architect Carla Juaçaba, combines steel and glass with rough cut stone and wood. The light and airy cabin spans the space between massive stone walls… Continue reading
A simple rustic retreat in the Czech countryside | Labor 13
A young family seeking a peaceful rural getaway selected a property in the northern Czech countryside. Once part of a farm, the property held the remains of a large barn which had decayed… Continue reading
A matched pair of cozy stone cottages
Defining the border between Devon and Cornwall, the River Tamar flows through lands that were once part of a vast estate owned by the Duke of Bedford. Perched above the river are two… Continue reading
A family’s cottage retreat in the Turkish countryside
Today Emre Şenoğlu is sharing with us his family’s vacation home in Urla on the Aegean coast of Turkey. The small stone cottage is roughly 8 m by 5 m and was designed by Emre’s… Continue reading
Casa Cúbica, a tiny container home
Cúbica is a company in Costa Rica that specializes in alternative construction based on repurposed shipping containers. They have built housing, commercial and institutional projects from cast-off containers. Cúbica cites lower cost, short… Continue reading
Hamra, a barn-like summer house in Sweden | DinellJohansson
Hamra is a vacation home on the island of Gotland in Sweden. The owners had initially wanted to convert a barn into a summer house. When no suitable barn could be found, architects… Continue reading
“Forest Bath” by Kyoko Ikuta and Katsuyuki Ozeki
In Japan, a “forest bath” refers to taking a leisurely stroll in the woods while breathing in the scent of the trees as a form of natural aromatherapy. The clients for this summer… Continue reading
A prefab retreat in the Nevada desert | nottoscale
The high desert of Nevada, just east of Death Valley, is a pretty barren and inhospitable place. But for the owners of this small vacation house, there is beauty in the parched landscape… Continue reading
A tiny stone cottage brought back to life in Normandy | Franklin Azzi
This small vacation house overlooks the seaside town of Yport in Normandy. It was created from the remnants of an old stone and brick hunting cabin. The walls of the old structure were… Continue reading
A contemporary wooden cottage by Prodesi
This contemporary cottage faces the Sázava River in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is mainly intended to serve as a weekend and summer vacation home. An old small house… Continue reading
Modern vacation cabins at the Hölick Sea Resort in Sweden
Hölick Sea Resort has operated for many years as a traditional tenting campground 300 km north of Stockholm. It sits at the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by sandy beaches and natural forest. The… Continue reading
The Sea and Sky Cottage on Cape Breton Island
The Cape Breton landscape is dotted with small gable-roofed houses, often shingled and with minimal roof overhangs. The Sea and Sky Cottage was designed by architect Craig Applegath and artist Stewart Applegath to… Continue reading
VolgaDacha, a small house in the countryside by Bureau BERNASKONI
This small vacation house, or dacha, is located on the upper Volga River northwest of Moscow. It provides a family of four with a quiet country retreat from their busy lives in the… Continue reading
