Tired of predictable brick and cement? Architects around the world are turning to wood to create some of the most spectacular homes out there. A far cry from a modest log cabin, these masterpieces take timber to a whole new level. From lakeside mansions to stylish city townhouses, you'll never look at wood the same way again.

Situated on the northwestern coast of Denmark’s Jutland, just over half a mile from the North Sea, the design of The Woodhouse was heavily influenced by the surrounding woodland. Swathes of windows frame stunning vistas of the trees, while on the terrace, guests can take in the beautiful views across the lawn to the forest.

Clad in Douglas fir panelling, The Woodhouse consists of a main house, an outbuilding and a terrace that connects the two structures. The main house includes a modern open-plan kitchen and living area, a bathroom and the master bedroom, which comes with its own private terrace with panoramic forest views. The outbuilding includes two more bedrooms, a bathroom and a loft, perfect for children to sleep in. 

The open-plan living area opens up to the natural landscape on two sides through windows that extend up into the gables. White walls and pale wooden floors lend the space a minimalist vibe, which is softened with a wood-burning stove and exposed beams. Gold accents across the kitchen taps and light fixtures add a luxurious touch.

Light-filled and comfortable, even the bedrooms celebrate the great outdoors with vast floor-to-ceiling windows. Fallen in love? The Woodhouse is available to rent as a holiday home from £785 ($976) per week. A popular spot for windsurfing and kayaking, with an abundance of wildlife and walking trails, you'll never tire of way to while away the time. Book us in!

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For Nicola and Ty Tikari of architectural practice Tikari Works, their first project was their own house. The duo built their half-subterranean home – named Pocket House – in East Dulwich, London, on an 860-square-foot plot that was previously the site of a car garage. True to its name, Pocket House had to make the most of its snug site. 

With over half of the two-bedroom house beneath street level, a lightwell in front of the property allows daylight to flood into the basement below. The exterior of the house is covered with a slatted timber screen, which offers privacy whilst still allowing sunlight to bathe the interior spaces.

The property was shortlisted for the 2019 Wood Awards and it's not hard to see why. The ground-floor kitchen and dining area are separated from the home’s entrance by an innovative wooden pod containing a toilet and storage cupboards. Up on the first floor, you'll find the main open-plan living space, while two bedrooms surround a sunken courtyard in the basement.

Throughout the interior, concrete, Douglas fir and spruce mingle with exposed brickwork for an airy, contemporary feel. Playful oversized doors and folding walls subvert expectations and add interest to the home, while storage, desks and shelves are cleverly built into the walls. 

Dekleva Gregorič Arhitekti, a studio based in Ljubljana, designed Chimney House for a couple living in the Slovenian town of Logatec. In a play on the traditional wooden barns often seen in Slovenia, the architects incorporated a long chimney-shaped skylight running along the entire roof of the house, allowing daylight to filter into the interior, while framing breathtaking views of the sky.

Designed to mirror the architecture of the nearby 16th-century church, the shape of the skylight was created by extending the chimney from the stove at the centre of the home right along the roofline. The 2,206-square-foot property’s exterior is clad in oiled larch, mirroring the surrounding forest landscape.

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In the sleek open-plan kitchen and dining room, the chimney is encased in blackened metal, which creates a striking focal point. This volume acts as a partition between two staircases – one leads to the main bedroom upstairs, the other to a further bedroom in the basement.

The walls and flooring throughout the property are lined with oiled oak, reflecting the exterior. The windows are cut into the wood of the walls – these cut-outs form ledges for storage and cosy seating nooks for admiring the views. Industrial-style black pendant lights hang down from the concrete-covered ceiling, adding to the contemporary aesthetic.

Knothole House is a simple 969-square-foot wooden home in a seaside town in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan. The property was built for a painter and his wife as an annex to their existing house, as they wanted extra living space that could be easily opened up to make the most of the rural surroundings.

Wood knotholes, typically found in cheap wood, are seen as signs of poverty in Japanese architecture, but with Knothole House, architectural studio ICADA has used them to its advantage. Founders Masaaki Iwamoto and Nariaki Chigusa wanted to show that "poor is more", using knotholes to create tiny tunnels of light across the roof of the house, producing a unique effect that resembles a starry night's sky.

A layer of translucent polycarbonate across the roof keeps the rain out, while the rest of the roof is covered with steel panels to meet fire protection regulations. Instead of using wooden beams to support the structure, hemp ropes – a cheaper option – were installed and slotted through the knotholes. Lights are strung along the hemp ropes so they can be easily moved around.

With the aim of keeping building costs low, cheap materials were chosen for the project. The wooden knothole panels are made from low-cost laminated timber, while the external walls are formed from a mixture of leftover roof panels and insulation-filled textiles. The wooden framework is left exposed throughout the home’s interior for an organic, pared-back feel.

Haus am Moor is a private residence with an attached studio in Krumbach, Austria. A modern home inspired by traditional architecture, the exterior resembles a rural barn in form and colour. Clad in elm and fir, the exterior was designed to change over time, weathering and taking on a beautiful silver hue.

During construction, the building team unearthed a layer of clay sitting underneath the foundations. The clay was pressed to form bricks that were air-dried on-site and used for the structure of the floor under the wood slats.

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Designed by Bernado Bader Architekten, the home's interior is decked out in concrete and wood sourced from the owner's own forest. Embracing a 'root to tip' philosophy, the construction uses every part of the 60 spruce, fir and elm trees in the walls, floors, ceilings, doors and even furniture. 

Decorated in a minimalist style, rustic exposed wood sits alongside smooth polished concrete in the kitchen. The house is heated to withstand the bitter Austrian winters thanks to a central wood-burning hearth and a geothermal pump that utilises heat from the earth.

This beautiful woodland home was designed and built by a couple in Cornwall in the UK who decided to use their talent for making wooden furniture to create the ultimate cozy retreat. Featured on UK TV Show Grand Designs, it's not hard to see why this wow-factor project garnered so much attention.

Tom and Danielle Radford run a steam-bending wood business, but set out to build a family home with a budget of £100,000. Although they overspent, the entire project only cost £160,000 and just look at how the modern masterpiece turned out!

The house, which measures 2,282 square feet, would have cost considerably more if the couple had paid somebody else to do the work. Exquisite wood cladding is used throughout the two-bedroom home, including in the luxurious spa-style bathroom.

Tom Radford created all of the wood-bent elements himself, from the balcony that wraps around the house to the lampshades inside. Impressive, isn’t it? Just imagine not only getting to call this incredible structure home, but being able to say you built it yourself too!

Surrounded by woodlands overlooking the iconic Lake Tahoe in Nevada is this stunning log home with its own little guesthouse and some pretty spectacular waterfront views.

Known as Summertide, the whole house is built from wood, though this luxury home is no modest log cabin. Perched atop a bluff that overlooks 500 feet of shoreline, just imagine waking up to those stunning rural vistas every day!

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Once owned by American entrepreneur Howard Hughes, the spacious property was built from timber sourced nearby back in 1934, while the guesthouse was added six years later in 1940. Measuring 2,518 square feet, the main house is rich in charm thanks to characterful details like the low wooden beams and stone fireplace.

The entire estate sits on five and a half acres, including the main house, guest cottage and garage. The best feature, however, lies in the grounds of this incredible home. Sunk into the vast wooden deck than encircles the property, there's no better spot to take in the glittering lake than from your very own hot tub. What more could you want?

Surrounded by sandy dunes, this contemporary wooden home on the coast of one of the Wadden Islands in the Netherlands, features breathtaking views of the North Sea from almost every window.

Built down into the ground, the property's basement is built under the sand dunes, allowing the structure to merge into the natural landscape. A two-storey glazed gable floods the interior with light, while the ground-floor deck offers the perfect spot to admire the stunning vistas.

Designed by Achterbosch Architecten, a thoughtful choice of materials ensures the home sits in harmony with its surroundings. The walls and roof are clad in Western red cedar, which will weather and pale overtime to subtly blend in with the grass and sand.

KWK Promes, the architects behind this innovative project, designed The Standard House to fit any plot. Thanks to its versatile round structure, the wood-clad house can adapt to fit a variety of terrains and elevations.

Sustainability is at the heart of the design, which employs an array of natural building materials and renewable energy sources. Prefabricated wooden parts meant that building costs were reduced without compromising on the high-quality finish.

An enclosed circular stairwell sits at the centre of the house and offers access to the upper floors. Sections of exposed wooden beams add character to the interior, while the pared-back palette of white and grey ensures that the unusual architecture is the star of the show.

Designed with no right angles, the dramatic circular silhouette eliminates thermal bridges, meaning the house is highly insulated, keeping the home interior warm and cosy even in the depths of winter. We wouldn't mind hibernating in this modern masterpiece!

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