I have this dream of one day owning the perfect land. This includes a semi- close proximity to a major city while still being somewhat secluded, a body of water of some sort (lake/pond/river), lots of trees, a few rolling hills and my AWESOME home that I am currently/always designing. (I would do a post about my home design but it would turn into a book!) The land would showcase my home, a guest house, a well designed outdoor area, random dining areas throughout the property (by the water/under a huge tree/on a hilltop) and a stable (because I think I might want a horse.) I am sure I will continue to add/change things to the overall master plan as time passes.
In my senior year architecture studio, I designed a personal dwelling that had a huge effect on my current design aesthetic and made me obsessed with infusing interior and exterior spaces. There is a technical separation between the two but visually the spaces spill over into one another. (Again, I could write a book on this topic as well.) While checking out my design sites yesterday, I came across this little beauty over at Architizer. I knew immediately this structure would go hand-in-hand with my domain.
This structure is located in Norway and took the place of an existing traditional boat house which gave influence to the new design. It is simple. It is functional. It works! They reused a lot of the materials and I am a huge fan of repurposing. Norwegian Pine was used for the exterior where they also added some sort of by-product from the sugar cane industry into the pine that will give grey patina. (I am loving this and will need to do more research on it!) The doors are industrial yet simplistic and allow for the space to breathe. This structure really develops from its surroundings and uses it as a base. The fact that they used the rock formations for structural support is AMAZING!
So YES, I do see this design as inspiration for my future homestead plans as a possible random dining area. I can picture my family and friends all gather there on a cool autumn evening. Maybe a few are dancing to Sinatra on the outer deck while some friends are gathered around the fire catching up and reminiscing. My sister would be crackin’ jokes while my Mom would be hunting for badass rocks and my Dad is telling one of his stories over drinks and apps(appetizers). Oh my gosh, I want to own this NOW!
17sixteen 
Georgeous!
Nice but is it functional?
It is always important to question function as it is key to design. I think it is functional in respect to what my intended purpose would be for the space, an outdoor dining/recreation area. There would be no need to seal the space as it is ideally just an appendage of its surroundings. Personally, I would make a few tweaks here and there to accommodate my specific needs but at the end of the day it is functional in my opinion and great inspiration!