Concord MA

Twelve by eight in a Concord, Massachusetts backyard, with glass on three of its four walls. That much window usually costs you heat. Double glazing and an argon fill is what buys it back — the room holds its temperature and you give up nothing to see out of it.

An Iki Pillar 9 rises through the lower bench rather than standing beside it. Cleaner in the room, and easier to live with: the heat meets you where you're already sitting, and the stones land at a height that just feels right. You pour from your seat instead of standing and leaning over a heater. The benches are built wide on purpose — lie down and nothing hangs off the edge. Two full laydown spots, and room for six.

Thermo-aspen inside, cedar underfoot. Outside, Maibec cedar shingles in a double factory stain under a textured black standing seam roof — finishes chosen to be left alone rather than maintained.