Small Cabins

ModernStudio
(115 to 250 sq. ft.)

The Modern Studio is designed to be a four-season backyard retreat. It can serve as a guest suite, secluded home office, a craft shop or whatever your heart desires. This post-and-beam structure can stand alone or become an addition to your cabin, attached by a deck or breezeway.

READER RESOURCE: Modern Studio, a Lindal Cedar Homes Daylight Product, www.lindal.com/modernstudio.

The Snapping Turtle
(500 sq. ft.*)

Builder Robbin Obomsawin, of Beaver Creek Log Homes, knows small cabins. In fact, she wrote a book on the topic: Small Log Homes. Her Snapping Turtle model resembles a prairie-like cottage. The front porch details add flair to the otherwise simple design.

*Square footage does not include 120-sq. ft. porch

READER RESOURCE: Cabin by Beaver Creek Log Homes, beavercreekloghomes.com
(photo by James Bailey)

Cabin in the Woods
(1,200 sq. ft.)

This Pennsylvania year-round fishing and hunting retreat is a saddle-notch-style log cabin built with 10-inch round eastern white pine logs. It’s completely off-the-grid with no running water or electricity and is heated with a woodstove and fireplace.

READER RESOURCE: Cabin by Estemerwalt Log Homes, www.estemerwalt.com.

There are many ways to “go small,” from handcrafted log homes to modular kits. Uses can range from small cabins or cottages to a guesthouse or bunkhouse to a craft house or studio, and beyond. Following are a few interesting places and ideas that might give you inspiration.

Guest Cabin
(Just over 1,000 sq. ft.)

At the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains sits this guest cabin, which a couple had built to accommodate their large circle of visiting family and friends (but it could also serve as a small primary cabin, as well). Made from a mix of eastern white pine and western hemlock, the cabin has a solid stone foundation and oak floors with walnut pegs. Downstairs, there’s a large living room with stone fireplace, a full eat-in kitchen and a large bathroom. Upstairs, you’ll find a bedroom overlooking the living room and a second bathroom.

READER RESOURCE: This cabin was modified from the Hearthstone Macon model, Hearthstone Homes, www.hearthstonehomes.com.
(photo by F & E Schmidt Photography)

Gilann Cottage
(635 sq. ft.)

This early small-cottage design by architect Ross Chapin has inspired a popular new cottage plan, the Lisette Cottage. The Lisette is designed to be a fully livable retreat or guest cottage, featuring one bedroom, a kitchen with an eating alcove, and a study.

READER RESOURCE: Cottage by Ross Chapin Architects, www.rosschapin.com.