Inside Outside

The timber-clad cabins at Find Sanctuary in Big Bear, California, were devised to help urban professionals manage stress anxiety.

Green roofs are aesthetically pleasing and have multiple positive environmental benefits, even if they are small in terms of square footage. Here, a green roof blooms atop the detached garage of a home.

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.

The site's large tree canopy shades most of the home, but as the family dog demonstrates, there are still spots for sunbathing.

The exposed rafters were carried into the exterior areas, including the covered patio.

The house has a front door, but it’s actually not the main entrance: That’s found around the side, via a soothing, wood-lined courtyard. It’s a natural space for outdoor entertaining, too, thanks to the built-in fireplace and bench.

The floors are an engineered hardwood oak, limewashed with a tumbled finish. The dining table is a hand-me-down from Daisy’s parents. Upstairs, the primary bedroom opens right up onto a rooftop terrace, but for nights when Pete and Daisy feel like hosting, Loader installed an Arne Jacobsen–inspired, thin spiral staircase on the outside for guests to climb.

Before: The 1930s cottage sat on a .34-acre lot in Berkeley, large for the neighborhood.

The new kitchen doors open seamlessly to the outdoor dining space with patio chairs from Houzz. Stairs lead up to the new roof deck.

A firepit and cowboy pool are ready for outdoor hangs, with a pink striped beach umbrella from Business & Pleasure.