Cabin Designs: Build the Best Cabin for Your Lifestyle

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Dream big, build small! Whether it’s a first or second home, at the lake, in the woods, on a mountaintop or at the ocean’s edge, a small-footprint cabin may be the perfect housing option for you.
Dream big, build small! Whether it’s a first or second home, at the lake, in the woods, on a mountaintop or at the ocean’s edge, a small-footprint cabin may be the perfect housing option for you.
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“Compact Cabins” presents 62 interpretations of the cabin getaway dream, with something to please every taste. Best of all, the small-footprint designs are affordable and energy-efficient without skimping on comfort and style.
“Compact Cabins” presents 62 interpretations of the cabin getaway dream, with something to please every taste. Best of all, the small-footprint designs are affordable and energy-efficient without skimping on comfort and style.
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With its centuries-old building style, the post-and-beam cabin has a classic character. Traditionally the heavy beams remain exposed in the interior.
With its centuries-old building style, the post-and-beam cabin has a classic character. Traditionally the heavy beams remain exposed in the interior.
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Log cabins evoke a sense of the pioneering spirit. They can be built by hand the old-fashioned way, but kits make the job easier and faster.
Log cabins evoke a sense of the pioneering spirit. They can be built by hand the old-fashioned way, but kits make the job easier and faster.
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Straw bale construction yields well-insulated, natural-looking homes. One of their best attributes is ease of construction — any reasonably handy person can put one up.
Straw bale construction yields well-insulated, natural-looking homes. One of their best attributes is ease of construction — any reasonably handy person can put one up.
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Because pole construction is designed to be free span, it gives cabin owners great flexibility in how to use the interior space. Sliding walls and panels work well in pole cabins. They can be opened or closed as needed to open or divide spaces.
Because pole construction is designed to be free span, it gives cabin owners great flexibility in how to use the interior space. Sliding walls and panels work well in pole cabins. They can be opened or closed as needed to open or divide spaces.
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Depending on materials selection, the curved walls of Quonset-style huts can give a cabin an earthy, sheltered feeling or a modern, high-tech character.
Depending on materials selection, the curved walls of Quonset-style huts can give a cabin an earthy, sheltered feeling or a modern, high-tech character.
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Cabins built of stone, brick or other masonry materials have a strong sense of heft and timelessness. Almost nothing is prettier than a small stone cabin built of the same rock that surrounds it.
Cabins built of stone, brick or other masonry materials have a strong sense of heft and timelessness. Almost nothing is prettier than a small stone cabin built of the same rock that surrounds it.

The following is an excerpt fromCompact Cabins by Gerald Rowan (Storey Publishing, 2010). You’ll be inspired to create the cabin of your dreams with Rowan’s exciting collection of 62 creative cabin floor plans that feature innovative storage, clever use of outdoor space, mix-and-match modular elements, and off-the-grid energy options — all in less than 1,000 square feet. This excerpt is from Chapter 2, “Design: Architecture, Logistics, Environment.”

The materials you choose play the determining role in your cabin’s cost, quality and style. Here is where building small has great advantage: Limiting the overall size of your cabin allows you to dedicate your money to building with quality materials that will serve you well over time.

I use local materials whenever possible, both because it’s the ecological thing to do (saving transportation fuel and stimulating the local economy), and because it makes sense aesthetically. Rough-sawn barnwood siding makes sense in northern forests; adobe makes sense in the American Southwest. Chefs talk about the advantages of preparing dishes using local ingredients and pairing them with local wines. The same can be said about building.

The use of recycled or remanufactured material may make a lot of sense if you live in an area where older housing or industrial structures are being either torn down or replaced with new housing. You may even be lucky enough to find a local business that specializes in used windows, doors, moldings, trim, lumber, brick and so on.

Using premanufactured components — such as whole-house modules, panels or roof trusses — may make sense if you want to build quickly or don’t intend to do much of the construction work yourself.

  • Published on Sep 7, 2010
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