Great escapes: The world’s most beautiful contemporary cottages

Award-winning architecture probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when hearing the word “cottage.” More likely, it conjures images of quaint countryside dwellings – rustic abodes in Cape Cod, thatched roofs in England, and modest oceanside retreats in Sweden.

IROJE Architects & Planners

This retreat in South Korea, designed by IROJE Architects & Planners, has an all-glass contemplation room that offers unobstructed views of the mountains, as well as an open-air meditation pavilion on the roof.

IROJE Architects & Planners

When planning the design of this upscale cottage, IROJE Architects & Planners wanted to emphasize the harmony between the home and the surrounding landscape.

Uhlik Architekti / photographer Jan Kudej

Uhlik Architekti designed this hideaway in the forests of Central Bohemia, in the Czech Republic. The client requested a place to escape a demanding job in Prague that would have a limited impact on the environment.

Uhlik Architekti / photographer Jan Kudej

Uhlik Architekti used wood from a fallen tree to build the base of the Forest Retreat, which rests atop a nearby boulder in Central Bohemia, in Czech Republic. The 172-square-foot cottage features an entire wall of windows to make it feel as close to nature as possible.

Gray Organschi Architecture / photographer Mark Mahaney

Gray Organschi Architecture remodeled a dilapidated guesthouse cottage in New Haven, Connecticut, transforming it into a contemporary beauty. The home is surrounded by oak trees, with a view of Long Island Sound.

Arkibullan Architects

A project by Arkibullan Architects, these cottages were designed for year-round use, featuring timber verandas, an outdoor hot tub and uninterrupted views.

Arkibullan Architects

Located roughly 90 minutes from Reykjavik in Iceland, the cottages showcase incredible views of the Southern Highlands.

Arkibullan Architects

Built using locally sourced materials, the Brekkuskógur Cottages were constructed using birch plywood, larch cladding, concrete and stone.

Garrison Architects

Designed by Garrison Architects as a boarding school guesthouse, Koby Cottage is a modular residence that takes the shape of an "X," with two modules connected by a glass crossing.

PK Arkitektar / photographer Rafael Pinho

Tucked away in a lush hillside of Brekkuskógur, Iceland, BHM Vacation Rental Cottages by PK Arkitektar blend into the surrounds, thanks to burnt hardwood paneling and green rooftops that seem to fuse with the landscape.

PK Arkitektar / photographer Rafael Pinho

A group of 20 cabins near Laugarvatn lake, these award-winning cottages frame photogenic surrounds with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Carney Logan Burke Architects / photographer Matthew Millman

When building Boulder Retreat, Carney Logan Burke Architects decided to embrace an enormous boulder that sits in the middle of the buildable land. Built around the rock, the private residence features interconnected pods across various levels.

Carney Logan Burke Architects / photographer Matthew Millman

To highlight the surrounding landscape, Carney Logan Burke Architects designed a sloping garden outside the home and incorporated several outdoor walkways.

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects / photographer Greg Richardson

Hidden away in a 455-acre site in the raw terrain of Nova Scotia, Cliff House by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects looks precarious at first glance. The box-like home perches on a cliff to create the illusion that the home is floating over the sea.

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects / photographer James Brittain

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects' graceful design includes a south-facing deck, wood and metal interiors, and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the sea.

MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects / photographer Ben Rahn

Tucked away in Ontario, Canada, Clear Lake Cottage was built by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects for a family of five. The year-round getaway captures the warmth of a cozy cottage yet features contemporary design, with clean lines and a sloped roof that was inspired by a circus tent.

MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects / photographer Ben Rahn

The architects used creative textures and materials, incorporating Douglas Fir, stained oak, concrete floors, black corrugated metal, and pine tar-painted cedar.

Verstas Architects / photographer Andreas Meichsner

City Cottage by Verstas Architects might look like it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's just outside Helsinki on Lauttasaari Island. The 150-square-foot cottage is an eco-friendly getaway for a family of four, using solar energy and with easy access to the sea.

Superkül / Tom Arban Photography

Superkül architects' Shift Cottage sits on the shore of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. The cottage's windows overlook a row of conifer trees, and a cedar deck offers ample outdoor living space.

Superkül / Tom Arban Photography

Shift Cottage was designed to have minimal impact on the land. The team at Superkül sourced local wood, installed multiple windows for natural ventilation, and protected the natural vegetation during construction.

Dave Tremblay

Situated in Charlevoix, in eastern Quebec, Villa Boréale overlooks a wooded area and enjoys easy access to ski slopes. Designed by CARGO Architecture, the villa is set on a secluded slope, overlooking the mountainous landscape.

CARGO Architecture / photographer Dave Tremblay

Inspired by Danish design, CARGO Architecture incorporated simple clean lines, matte black steel, and pale tones to highlight the nature textures of the Eastern white cedar and concrete.

First emerging in medieval England between the 5th and 15th centuries, the word “cottage” refers to a home for cotters, peasants who worked on farms in the countryside.

The more familiar style of rustic cottage architecture, typically made with heavy stones or wood, emerged in the 18th century.

But quaint and cozy is no longer the order of the day. As more and more city dwellers look for a refuge to relax and recharge, cottages all over the world are getting sophisticated, environmentally sensitive makeovers.

»By Scarcity and Creativity Studio & Oslo School of Architecture and Design, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

More than half the world now lives in a city -- but plenty of us are trying to escape to the country. Whether it's for a weekend retreat or a summer among the pines, the world of design is ready to cater to the most discerning tastes.

Pictured: The Bands, Nordland, Norway, by Scarcity and Creativity Studio & Oslo School of Architecture and Design -- This cabin is made from Siberian larch wood, and features a sundeck, a sauna, and a space specifically designed for cleaning fish.

»By STPMJ, photography by STPMJ, from The hinterland, copyright gestalten 2016«

This cabin appears as an optical illusion -- its mirror exterior reflects the woods around it, creating a type of camouflage.

»By SA.UND.SA Architetti, Photography by SA.UND.SA Architetti, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

This cabin -- which is used as a place for meditation and prayer -- is an open-air space made to resemble the outline of a traditional home.

»by baumhotel robins nest, design by peter becker, photography by faruk pinjo

Architect Peter Becker created this tree-house structure during a six-month hiatus from his city life. The collection of small tree houses is held together by a series of hanging walkways.

»By LEO QVARSEBO ARKITEKT MSA, Photography by Åke E:son Lindman, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

This triangular structure is inspired by camping tents, according to the architect, Qvarsebo. "I wanted to make the basic tent shape visible in my design, but with a sense of recreation," he says. This cabin features sloped walls for visitors to climb, and is divided into different sections, each for a different activity.

» By Stinessen Architecture, Photography by Steve King, from the hinterland, copyright gestalten 2016«

The cabins on this resort are made of angled glass and wood. The vast use of glass allows for increased access to natural light.

»By .Exe Architecture Studio, Photography by Relja Ivanic, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

This cabin is a remodeled Serbian chalet, which has been adapted to include contemporary design elements. The base, walls, and roof of the original building are turned to its side, and then reworked to include a solar panel and a natural thermal wheel to make the structure ecologically friendly.

»By Florent Albinet & Elise Morin, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

Walden's raft is a hybrid between a raft and a cabin. This mobile vessel is designed to look like a deconstructed version of a pitched roof cabin.

»By Opa Form, Photography by Helge Skodvin, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

This serene residence features a curved tunnel at its entrance, which is made from bent planks of raw larch wood. The tunnel appears like a wooden vortex hidden behind trees.

»by tomek michalski, photography by tomek michalski, from the hinterland, copyright gestalten 2016«

With an exterior built of dark angled planes, this secluded cabin provides natural light through ceiling-to-floor windows and a skylight.

»By lumo arkitekter, Photography by jesper balleby, from The Hinterland, Copyright Gestalten 2016«

Inspired by Danish fishing culture, this shelter borrows design elements from traditional buildings where fisherman would store their daily catch. Keeping with the theme, each cabin is named after a different kind of fish.

“Contemporary taste calls for a lighter touch and a stronger connection between nature, the materials, and the architecture itself,” says Charles-Bernard Gagnon, principal architect of Quebec City-based Cargo Architecture.

The getaway plan

Toronto firm Superkül is one of many firms answering the call for off-the-grid hideaways.

“Cottages are destinations of the heart, and those fortunate enough to own them really let their hair down in these rural properties,” says co-principal architect Meg Graham.

“Immersion in nature and the larger landscape is critical (for people) to recharge and refresh, to see things in a new light.”

Tucked away on Georgian Bay in Ontario, Superkül’s Shift Cottage is an idyllic getaway nestled between dense trees and unique rocks formations.

The owners requested a home that would tread lightly on the land, so Graham and Andre D’Elia designed the 2,000-square-foot property on a natural clearing without destroying any vegetation.

Graham says the cedar cladding exterior will eventually fade to a silvery gray that echoes the colors of the landscape.

“Architectural expression of cottages is freer, and there is a greater variety and diversity of form,” says Graham. “The focus has shifted outward, and people want to watch and feel like part of the change in seasons and skies.”

The connection to nature continues inside Shift Cottage, where the duo chose pine and oak for the floors, as well as stacked stone for an inviting fireplace.

“It’s a centering process of getting back to the basics, away from the intensity and trappings of urban life,” says Graham.

Location, location, location

From the materials used in construction to the orientation of windows, contemporary cottages take their cues from their specific location.

And with large windows, concrete floors and raw finishes, Villa Boreale in Canada’s boreal forest is about as close to nature as it gets.

Deep in the woods, the vacation home is just a few hundred feet from a path where deer and black bears wander freely.

“Nature awakens all the senses,” says Gagnon of Cargo Architecture. “The great Canadian boreal forest in particular, in the Charlevoix region, offers a raw experience.”

To protect the surrounds, Gagnon made several sustainable choices, using locally sourced materials, cedar wood siding, recycled steel wall cladding and double insulation.

The Danish-inspired design emphasizes the landscape surrounding the house, with a large window in the living room that frames the view.

Meanwhile, residents might spot a moose while sipping an espresso in the morning, thanks to long vertical windows in the kitchen.

Leave no footprints

With a greater emphasis on enjoying and protecting nature, some owners are extra careful not to leave a trail of destruction. Forest Retreat, for example, barely even touches the ground.

The 172-square-foot hideaway in Central Bohemia in Czech Republic rests on a giant boulder and two smaller stones, minimizing the impact on the land.

“We try to understand the surroundings and work with it. The site for Forest Retreat has its own unmistakable atmosphere,” explains Petr Uhlík, principal architect of Uhlik Architekti.

“The retreat feels like a shy and quiet visitor amongst the boulders.”

Built for a busy urbanite who wanted to escape the daily grind, Forest Retreat is made of locally sourced wood from fallen trees on the owner’s property.

The far side of the residence is essentially one big window, making it feel as if guests are sleeping in nature.

“We chose the location and orientation of the retreat by watching the movements of the sun – where the sun sets, where it rises,” says Uhlík.

“That way, the view from the sleeping space frames the sunrise among the trees.”