Cabin of the Woods

For the new owners of this historic cabin, its dilapidated state was a call to action. It had undergone no improvements since the Depression, when it was built as cheaply as possible and with no building codes. A sizable colony of mice had taken residence; the roof risked failure in the next major snowstorm; and the only source of heat was a solitary stone fireplace. The place was a wreck, and a full remodel was in order.  

The family of one of the owners historically resided in upstate New York, where in his youth he was introduced to hiking, the outdoors, and the famous cabins designed in the vernacular Adirondack style.  The whimsical use of wood building components in their natural state, rather than milled lumber, is emblematic of Adirondack-style buildings. Cabin of the Woods takes this stylistic convention to new dimensions. Locally sourced reclaimed tree trunks replace posts and columns on the interior as well as exterior.  Sawn birch logs, with their soft grey bark intact, decorate ceilings and case windows and doors. The highly-figured grain of a locally-salvaged Italian Stone Pine, sliced open, and laid on its side, runs horizontally across the kitchen cabinets.  The designs for tables and sideboards were informed by the sinuous outlines of salvaged live-edge wood planks, not by the conventions of dimensional milled lumber.  

Layered atop this highly personal, locationally-appropriate stylistic intention is a clear commitment to environmental sensitivity. Low-carbon impact, eco-friendly moves are evident throughout. Window treatments, fabricated with 100% hemp textiles, and featuring design motifs inspired by fungal spores and mycelium, reference the very earth on which the cabin sits.  Additional furnishings include found vintage items, cherished family heirlooms, or are crafted from locally sourced tree trunk sections and salvaged lumber. And in order to convert to an all-electric, fossil fuel-free house, the kitchen was created anew with all electric appliances, including an induction cooktop.

Particular attention was paid to reconnecting the home to its natural surroundings. Older cabins were designed with fewer windows, to reduce heat loss. But that also meant reduced views of the landscape and a more internalized experience, cut off from the forest outside. This “cabin fever” design approach was made even worse, in this instance with the shift from outhouse to indoor plumbing, by a cheap bath addition that blocked off access to the outside.  In order to open up the cabin to the outdoor views (and bring the forest inside, literally, with real trees and natural finishes), the decision was made to remove the bath addition and strip away enclosed porches.

As charming as a roaring fireplace is, using it as the prime source of heat means burning - and adding to the atmosphere - a lot of carbon.  With the house stripped to the studs for structural reinforcement (and to clear the mouse infestation!), rigid insulation, made of wood chips and paraffin, was added to the exterior as a thermal break, to prevent heat loss. In addition, recycled wool insulation fills the stud bays; dual pane windows have replaced the originals; and an electric heat pump provides efficient, even heat to the entire cabin.  The restored fireplace, its original stone surround cleaned and revealed, is now no longer required for thermal regulation, but instead can be used occasionally for atmospheric enhancement, if at all.
A critical challenge for this remodel was how to rebuild with fire resiliency.  The forests in California have always burned and will always burn. It’s the natural cycle. Historically, cabins were built with locally available material (wood, more wood and even a wood roof), making them highly flammable. But all-wood structures are not only dangerous for occupants and first responders, they also act as accelerants in a fire because of their profuse flammable fuel material. Building with traditional wood cladding would be simply irresponsible. And as climate change produces increasingly catastrophic fires, the shift to compatible resilient materials is essential. To emulate a 1930’s cabin design without the flammability, a shingle-like, flame retardant composite material clads the exterior, while a metal roof resembling shake helps increase fire resiliency.  

A central challenge of the Cabin of the Woods remodel project was not simply to upgrade the structure into a beautiful vacation home suitable for contemporary living - but to do so in a responsible manner: by lowering the negative impacts on nature itself, and by reconnecting the building – visually, literally and psychically – to its natural surroundings.  In this way, Cabin of the Woods asks how we can lighten our footprint on the earth. How can we shift our experience of nature from being merely its consumers, to being its custodians?

-    The main floor consists of an open-plan living/dining/kitchen space, that opens west and north to stone-paved patios; a narrow corridor off the kitchen lets onto two cozy bedrooms and the family bathroom, with its fungal spore-motif ceramic tile and vintage claw-foot bathtub.
-    A spiral stair leads to the upper loft space, which features panoramic mountain vistas and a rope-hung wood slat loveseat (lavishly set with cushions and pillows fabricated from the owner’s family collection of antique Persian rugs), for taking in the views.
-    Nearly all wood used in Cabin of the Woods is reclaimed or salvaged, meaning the project showcases a number of ways in which carbon has been embodied in its design, construction and furnishing.  Flooring and cabinets are of reclaimed Douglas Fir; Kitchen cabinetry is constructed of solid slabs of Italian Stone Pine milled from a salvaged tree; all custom furniture is of similarly salvaged wood, including Yellow Cedar and Pine.  All non-custom furniture is found vintage or heirloom, i.e, repurposed and reused. Decorative Birch battens are fabricated from cast-off lumber remnants that were headed to landfill. Salvaged oak tree trunks serve as stand-ins for columns and support posts inside and out.