Cabin fever - innovative cabin designs

Sunset, March, 1999 by Daniel Gregory, Peter O. Whiteley

The site, in the Northern California community of Rio Nido, is shaded by tall redwoods. That, plus the proximity of neighbors, dictated the placement of the windows; for example, the gable end of the living room is a grid of glass that forces views upward to the treetops. The broad window trim is painted white to accentuate the rectilinear geometry and to bounce light around the interior.

The main room and the dining alcove open to another classic architectural feature: the sunporch. But this is a porch with a contemporary twist: all of it, including the roof, is made of glass, helping to brighten the house on even the darkest days. And, for balmy weather, the long outside wall is composed of two motorized, glass-paneled garage doors that roll overhead to unite inside and outside. Push the button and this little bungalow bounds into the 21st century.

DESIGN: Christiani Johnson Architects, San Francisco (415/243-9484)

COST: About $160 per square foot

Barn dance

The vacation begins at the front of this handsome cabin, where elemental forms and colors create a mood of lighthearted fun. The gabled central portion, which encloses part of the entry porch, is faced with vertical cedar siding stained yellow-orange, while the shed-roofed wing is covered with horizontal cedar siding stained a rich red-brown. Recalls architect William Witt, "My clients didn't have a lot of preconceived ideas about what their new house should look like. They just asked me to make it simple and interesting."

The 1,150-square-foot house, on a heavily wooded site near Lake Cushman, about two hours southwest of Seattle, is organized like a hay barn. A loft (for beds, not bales) overlooks the two-story living room under the big gable. Under the loft near the front are the main bedroom and bath, the only fully enclosed rooms in the house. The kitchen/dining area, which occupies the shed-roofed wing, opens to the living room and deck. Indeed, these three indoor and outdoor rooms swing together like partners at a square dance. Views of the forest are the focal points from every room. The palette of basic materials, including exposed rafters, 2-by-6 cedar decking for floors, and wood-framed windows and doors (metal-clad on the outside, for weather protection), adds to the feeling of barnlike simplicity.

DESIGN: William Witt, AIA, Seattle (206/441-1100)

CABINETS: Kvadrat by IKEA (800/434-4532)

DOORS: Simpson Door Co. (800/952-4057)

WINDOWS: Mariner Series by Weathervane Window Company (800/634-3433)

WOODSTOVE: Irish Stoves by Waterford (800/442-7432)

COST: About $100 per square foot

Frank Lloyd Wright meets the Forest Service

There is an air of fairy-tale romance to this 24-foot-square, two-story tower on a forested knoll near the shore of Flathead Lake in northern Montana. Sheer, shingled walls taper upward to a pyramidal roof. A cavelike doorway beckons from the windowless base, which contains the bathroom and garage. The upstairs is a glass-walled room containing the kitchen, living/dining area, and a bed. The house resembles a castle keep; a latter-day Rapunzel might appear at the window to let down her hair - but she'd never want to leave.