Tiny Marvels: Unveiling High Design in Snug Spaces

From a teeny-tiny villa tucked in the Danish forest to a snug Victorian town house in downtown Toronto, high design is all in the details.

From Toronto to Denmark, How Design Thrives In The Small Details

ADR Crafts A Cozy Snowy Ski Cottage

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A spiral staircase anchored by a wood stove marks the intersection of the 1,335-square-foot cross-shaped ski cottage’s two identical volumes and ascends to attic-level sleeping quarters. Spruce defines the Horní Malá Úpa, Czech Republic, structure inside and out, constituting floors, ceilings, and custom furniture as well as the entire facade, painted a traditional alpine red that stands out against snowdrifts. 

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Frier Architecture Built A Micro-Villa Enclosed In The Woods

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Conservation laws dictated that this 950-square-foot micro-villa in Djursland, Denmark, with a shou sugi ban–treated exterior be built on a tiny footprint to disturb as little of the surrounding forest as possible. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in flair: Note the curved oak enclosures and the terrazzo flooring, embedded with overscale pieces of natural stone, that was developed specifically for the project. 

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Gurea | Arquitectura Cooperativa Crafts A Minimalist Dwelling

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With a raw palette of laminated-fir framing and eco-friendly cork sheathing that echoes the Cantabrian surrounds, the 1,670-square-foot prefab dwelling in Navajeda, Spain, was assembled on-site in less than a month. Inside is a minimalist scheme, with concrete flooring, birch-plywood walls, and blue-painted cabinetry, while a central greenhouse and subfloor radiant heating help warm the compact volume naturally, resulting in a near-zero footprint.  

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Reign Architects Makes A Sunlit Sanctuary

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A cramped 1850’s Victorian in Toronto was transformed into a sunlit contemporary 2,200-square-foot sanctuary for a growing family via an A-frame extension and a reworked rear facade, clad in locally sourced spruce shiplap and punctured with floor-to-ceiling sliders; new fenestration also frames views of a beloved maple tree. Cathedral ceilings with exposed Douglas fir beams define the parents’ wing, where the en suite bathroom is porcelain-tiled and doors beneath a 3-foot-diameter porthole window lead to a private terrace.