Tanya Val and Carson Baldiviez's (plus pup Jossie's) custom cabin all started with Carson popping two big questions: an engagement and a handmade house pitch. "As soon as Carson told me that he was planning to build a house in the future," the abstract artist, forager and florist recalls, "I was like, 'What do you mean build a house?' People just buy a house and they live there."

But Tanya didn't need much persuasion — Carson's cabin-building confidence started at an early age. "I was born and raised in Anchorage," Carson says. "My family built three homes, and I was always around them helping to build their houses. I knew probably in junior high or high school that I wanted to build myself a small cabin one day."

"When you pull up to the house you’ll notice right away that the exterior is very unique," Carson says. "We have really cool siding on our front wall that’s made with cedar two-by-twos, and you can just see the height of that wall with the roof that extends over [it]." At night, the front facade is illuminated with can lighting, allowing the warm cedar planks to shine.

The first thing to note in Tanya and Carson's living room is the sheer number of houseplants clustered from corner to corner. "This is definitely our favorite place to hang out for many awesome reasons," Tanya says. "We are right next to big, beautiful windows that look to the outside, which is just the beautiful, lush forest."