A-frame in the woods
When Jason and Laura O’Dell found this 1963 A-Frame at the edge of Big Bear Lake in Southern California, it was in rough shape. A major inside-and-out renovation later, their weekend retreat is now a chic, modern take on a rustic cabin.
Living space
Soaring white walls and architectural lines are balanced with modern cabin decor. A bright palette, mixed prints, and various textures maintain visual interest throughout the home. And a sense of playfulness permeates, in features such as the indoor swing hanging from the conducive exposed beams.
Industrial-style cabin
Living room
The Hogans were immediately attracted to the living room's unique industrial-style fireplace and sought to design around it. Animal-print textiles and a shag rug add soft touches to the space.
Historic Wood Cabin
A San Francisco couple discovered a 1885 former homestead in Sonoma County's Glen Ellen, and decided to revamp it on their own. Maintaining the structure's integrity was paramount, and it took a year of weekends to transform the space.
Dining Room
One of the major facelifts involved stripping out the rotting kitchen and dining room flooring and replacing it with pine planks.
Waterfront cabin
Designer Tim Pfeiffer and his partner, Matt Carvalho, had been searching for the idyllic vacation home for years before stumbling upon this Vashon Island, WA gem. In its original state, the house had a number of problems ranging from chipped paint and peeling linoleum flooring to a disarray of decorative styles. The couple spent a year renovating it, and the result is a cohesive and timeless design that pays homage to the house's historic charm while still keeping it rooted in the modern era. For example, what was once a covered front porch is now a cozy window seat that overlooks the sound, capitalizing on the home's waterfront location.
Living room
The decor benefited from Pfeiffer's expertise. While he chose furnishings from various eras, the house's clean lines tie the look together. Nautical touches and antiques are sprinkled throughout as loving nods to the house's setting and past.
Recycled cabin
Jen and Kirk Schumacher transformed their weekend house in Washington’s Methow Valley into a full-time home that married her traditionalism with his more sparse style. Seattle architect Thomas Lawrence melded their vision to create a small house on the 1-acre lot. In addition to a small footprint, the couple also wanted their home to be environmentally friendly. On-demand hot water, electric in-floor radiant heating, and ceiling fans in lieu of air-conditioning keep energy usage down.
Recycled cabin: Living room
A board-formed concrete fireplace features an efficient Morsø wood-burning stove and a handy niche for storing wood. The concrete floors were dyed to create a mottled appearance and to complement the reclaimed wood of the coffee table (fashioned from a railroad car) and the cabinets in the adjacent kitchen.
Dreamy modern cabin
Harry and Claudia Bray's cabin on Washington’s Key Peninsula is a low-profile retreat. Natural materials and expanses of glass give it a rustic yet modern feel, allowing it to blend into the surrounding forest.
Dreamy modern cabin: Master bathroom deck
A long exterior porch spans the kitchen, effectively doubling the room’s square footage. A cantilevered roof allows for a deck on top of the home. And the master bathroom opens to another cantilevered deck. “It’s something a native Northwesterner might not think about,” Harry says. “Even in winter when it’s storming, we can have the bathroom door open to the deck, like a hot tub.”
Exotic vacation home
Celeb designers Cortney and Robert Novogratz took their design savvy to the next level in their 5,000-square-foot vacation home in Trancoso, Brazil. Balancing a laid-back vibe with the needs of a family of nine (the couple has seven children), they strove for design elements that pay homage to the home's exotic locale and also infuse the space with a sense of playfulness. Take this amazing 600-square-foot treehouse on the property, built using local materials and featuring a staircase that wraps around an existing tree. It's easily the family's favorite spot to hang out.
Lounging spaces
Aside from the treehouse and pool, the designers made sure to incorporat plenty of zones throughout the home where their brood can kick back (or even nap). Low-slung couches topped with cozy, removable cushions were the perfect choice for lounge seating.
Desert vacation home
The siren song of sunshine drew Portlander Marc Walters to buy a vacation home in Palm Springs. He discovered a gem of a home in the form of this 1960s rancher that just so happened to have appeared in a 1966 issue of Playboy. Originally built as a bachelor party pad, the home featured a master bedroom separated from a living room only by a rotating fireplace and shoji screens, a well-stocked wet bar, and a master bath featuring a sunken terrazzo tub. After some renovations, the house retained some of its original character while forging ahead with modern design elements, like floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto the pool and a stunningly landscaped front yard featuring hearty desert plants.
Living room
Wooden accents were a prevailing theme in the home's renovation. In the living room, that theme is best seen in the hand-built African teak wall, complete with a custom, set-in fireplace. To complement the wood, interior designer Sam Cardella balanced masculine, classic pieces in soft tones, such as these quilted lounge armchairs and leather swivel chairs.
More: Tour the rest of this desert party pad turned vacation home
Tahoe cabin remodel
A shabby 1970s A-frame got an A+ upgrade. In the cabin's great room, the rafters and beams were all stained black, a disco-era fireplace that blocked the view was torn out, and a the new hearth made of Sierra white granite was installed.
Tahoe cabin remodel: Timeless kitchen
The original kitchen had been a mess: painted-over particle-board cabinets and drawers that would jam halfway closed. The makeover elevated the room from sad to chic.
Inspired cabin escape
This streamlined cabin was built on a 2½-acre parcel near Winthrop, Washington.
By keeping the materials simple and the layout of the 860-square-foot cabin uncomplicated, the owners succeeded in a creating a warm retreat that is also budget-friendly.
Inspired cabin escape: Living room
Fir plywood gives this home a warm look for less than standard wood paneling.
The metal wall grids neatly hide the rough-cut edges.
Jewel-like cabin
This family getaway near Twisp, Wash., is the perfect example of how to make the most of a limited amount of space. From outdoor living rooms to creative sleeping solutions, every square inch has been put to use.
Still the retreat feels airy and spacious.
Jewel-Like Cabin Kitchen
The open, well-lit kitchen is the central gathering spot in this house.
The appliance-free island was made from a stainless steel and butcher block workspace purchased at a restaurant-supply store, then covered on three sides with plywood.
Tiny DIY cabin
Mariah Morrow and Ryan Lingard make the 6-hour drive from Portland to their mountain cabin at least four times a year.
The cozy adventure outpost—just 130 square feet plus a deck—is the perfect jumping-off point into the wilderness near Joseph, Oregon.
Ryan Lingard and Mariah Morrow built their tiny cabin for $57,000, including the land. They call it The Signal Shed.
Tiny DIY cabin: Inside
The materials cost about $10,000, with windows from a center that recycles building parts. Other thrifty choices include Ikea cabinetry and laminate flooring. They found the barn door hardware and the woodstove—the cabin’s only source of heat—on Craigslist.
See how they built this small cabin
Family-made vacation home
The family that designs together, vacations together. The Robertsons live this tenet to its fullest by enjoying frequent family reunions at the Whidbey Island, WA vacation home they designed and built together. Parents Don and Suzy plus their sons Nick and Chad, daughters-in-law Isabelle and Emily, and two granddaughters have been making memories there together ever since.
Open space
Prizing locally sourced materials, flow, and natural light, the home's design makes its inhabitants feel like they're seamlessly indoors and out. The large common room (which contains an open living room, dining room, and kitchen) has a natural extension in the form of the adjacent front deck.
Modern Cottage
This prefab cottage from San Francisco-based firm Modern Cabana is a readymade solution—it could be used as a simple, sleek vacation home or as an easy way to add some square footage to an existing home.
Modern cottage: Living room
Floor-to-ceiling windows give the living area a brightness and connection to the outdoors.
Space-saving furniture is a smart touch that allows the room to feel larger than it really is.
Cutting-edge cabin
Some of the latest innovations in eco-friendly, energy-efficient design and materials were used in Tom Kelly's cabin near Oregon's Mt. Hood, making it an inspirational example of sustainable living.
Cutting-edge cabin: Dining room
All the action happens in one spacious room on the main floor of this eco-friendly cabin. This area is where family members gather to the cook, eat together, and hang out.
Large windows line the walls, framing spectacular views.
Alaska cabin
When Jennifer Jenkins and her husband, Noah, bought this cabin in Alaska, it was literally falling down. The porch had collapsed, the basement walls had rotted, and a hemlock tree was growing through the roof.
The unbelievable remodel took three years.
Alaska cabin: Staircase
The staircase is an example of how the Jenkins creatively incorporated seaside details into the design and decor of the cabin: Old salvaged oars become handrails and complement the white beadboard walls.
Surf shack in the woods
This simple, geometric cabin overlooks a creek in central California's rolling, oak-studded ranchland.
Designer and champion surfer Andy Neumann used many eco-friendly and space-saving design ideas in his unique 800-square-foot retreat.
Flexible two-family getaway
This vacation home—built for two families to share—features separate master suites that allow privacy for each couple and plenty of communal space for hanging out.
Flexible two-family getaway: Bedroom
The kids bunk room, along with all the other rooms in the house, overlooks the water. When there are extra guests, the screened in porch can be used as another sleeping area.
Reunion ranch
This Northwest retreat was inspired by the classic summer camp experience. A reconstructed barn serves as the bunkhouse and an industrial shed has been turned into a cookhouse and gathering spot.
Reunion ranch: Cookhouse
The cabin's cookhouse is where everyone gathers to eat and spend time together. The unique arrangement of this retreat allows for plenty of space for group activites.
Indoor-outdoor cabin
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of an idyllic cabin in the woods? Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has fulfilled that fantasy for the owner of this rustic-meets-modern two-bedroom getaway sited to maximize the sylvan surroundings, a two-hour drive from Seattle.
Indoor and outdoor rooms, linked by a “boardwalk,” frame gorgeous vistas of the Wenatchee National Forest from multiple angles.
Design: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Seattle office (206/256-0862)
Indoor-outdoor cabin: Living room
The high ceiling helps the “winter” living room feel airy, and the steep slope of the roof keeps the area’s heavy winter snowfalls from accumulating.
Tiny Colorado cabin
The interior of this simple cabin consists of one sleeping/living room, with a simple kitchen and a bathroom alcove.
Design: Stephen Atkinson Architecture, Palo Alto, CA (650/321-6118)
Summer bungalow
Sunset's 2007 Celebration Weekend featured a vacation getaway created with tent cabins from Sweetwater Bungalows.
Create your own combination of tents, or put just one in your backyard for an instant outdoor getaway.
Off the grid cabin
Sometimes inspiration comes from unlikely places: This cabin in the Sierra Nevada was modeled after the utilitarian U.S. Forest Service maintenance buildings that dot the area.
Powered by an array of photovoltaic panels, the retreat is totally energy independent.
