10 Rustic Retreats to Hide Away In
Get away from it all with a cosy country cabin made just for you. These US examples (plus one in Ireland) show us how it's done
Evoking the simple life, an adventurous spirit, and a renewed connection with nature and family, cabins capture the imagination. Whether you’re working on a cabin project or still longing for a cabin to call your own, gather inspiration from these 10 homeowners who have created their own version of the good life; one log, bunk bed and stone fireplace at a time.
1. Glamping retreat in the San Juan Islands
Who stays here: A busy professional from Seattle
Location: Decatur Island, San Juan Islands, Washington
This 17.8-square-metre cabin is the epitome of simple living, with a sitting area and one bedroom indoors; the kitchen and shower are outdoors, and an outhouse is the only bathroom. The owner, who often travels to Asia, uses the cabin to unwind and as a weekend getaway for friends. With so much to explore outdoors on this quiet island (it’s a two-minute walk to the beach), the owner is happy to get back to basics and enjoy some cosy cabin comforts at the end of a long day in nature.
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Who stays here: A busy professional from Seattle
Location: Decatur Island, San Juan Islands, Washington
This 17.8-square-metre cabin is the epitome of simple living, with a sitting area and one bedroom indoors; the kitchen and shower are outdoors, and an outhouse is the only bathroom. The owner, who often travels to Asia, uses the cabin to unwind and as a weekend getaway for friends. With so much to explore outdoors on this quiet island (it’s a two-minute walk to the beach), the owner is happy to get back to basics and enjoy some cosy cabin comforts at the end of a long day in nature.
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2. Creekside cabin in California wine country
Who stays here: A San Francisco couple
Location: Calistoga, California
This 1937 cabin in the Napa Valley got a breath of fresh air with a modern addition that makes the most of its beautiful creekside setting. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the outdoors in, while a new propane stove creates a warm and cosy ambience perfect for snuggling in and watching the creek roll by.
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Who stays here: A San Francisco couple
Location: Calistoga, California
This 1937 cabin in the Napa Valley got a breath of fresh air with a modern addition that makes the most of its beautiful creekside setting. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the outdoors in, while a new propane stove creates a warm and cosy ambience perfect for snuggling in and watching the creek roll by.
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3. Rustic lakefront weekend cabin in Minnesota
Who stays here: Dana and Mike Jacob, who use this as a year-round weekend house
Location: Woman Lake, Minnesota
Although homeowners Dana and Mike Jacob had the original 1920s structure taken down to the studs, you would never know it. Thanks to a thoughtful redesign and the preservation of the original fieldstone fireplace, the nearly-new cabin looks as though it has been around for many years. Pine walls, floors and beams give the cabin that classic rusticity the couple love, and in the kitchen, the vintage-look stove and mix of cabinetry materials lend a collected-over-time look. When you walk in, you can’t help but want to sit down and stay awhile.
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Who stays here: Dana and Mike Jacob, who use this as a year-round weekend house
Location: Woman Lake, Minnesota
Although homeowners Dana and Mike Jacob had the original 1920s structure taken down to the studs, you would never know it. Thanks to a thoughtful redesign and the preservation of the original fieldstone fireplace, the nearly-new cabin looks as though it has been around for many years. Pine walls, floors and beams give the cabin that classic rusticity the couple love, and in the kitchen, the vintage-look stove and mix of cabinetry materials lend a collected-over-time look. When you walk in, you can’t help but want to sit down and stay awhile.
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4. Modern cabin in the Pennsylvania woods
Who stays here: A former Army Reserves captain, his wife and their two kids
Location: Shohola, Pennsylvania
A combination of hickory and metal siding brings a decidedly modern look to the exterior of this riverside cabin. Inside, the modern-meets-rustic theme continues, with heated concrete floors and a wood plank wall. Skylights and ample windows allow in plenty of natural light (and river views), while a massive library wall invites curling up with a book.
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Who stays here: A former Army Reserves captain, his wife and their two kids
Location: Shohola, Pennsylvania
A combination of hickory and metal siding brings a decidedly modern look to the exterior of this riverside cabin. Inside, the modern-meets-rustic theme continues, with heated concrete floors and a wood plank wall. Skylights and ample windows allow in plenty of natural light (and river views), while a massive library wall invites curling up with a book.
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5. Family lake cabin in Minnesota
Who stays here: A family of four
Location: Lower Whitefish Lake, Minnesota
Since the original cabin was built by the father of one of the homeowners, it was important to the family to work with the existing structure as much as possible. After renovating, the updated cabin is only slightly larger than the original, and it incorporates many original features, including the stone fireplace, knotty pine ceilings and beams. In areas where new panelling and ceiling boards were required, they were stained to match the originals. Clever space rearranging meant that what was previously a tiny bedroom only large enough to fit one twin bed now houses the cosy built-in bunks shown here.
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Who stays here: A family of four
Location: Lower Whitefish Lake, Minnesota
Since the original cabin was built by the father of one of the homeowners, it was important to the family to work with the existing structure as much as possible. After renovating, the updated cabin is only slightly larger than the original, and it incorporates many original features, including the stone fireplace, knotty pine ceilings and beams. In areas where new panelling and ceiling boards were required, they were stained to match the originals. Clever space rearranging meant that what was previously a tiny bedroom only large enough to fit one twin bed now houses the cosy built-in bunks shown here.
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6. Solar-powered holiday cabin in Northern California
Who stays here: A couple and two young sons
Location: East of Nevada City, California
With just one sleeping loft and a built-in sleeping platform, this cabin in the woods was designed to be easily expandable in the future for year-round living. The innovative off-the-grid structure includes mounted solar panels, a solar heating system, concrete flooring and straw-bale walls that give it the ability to produce and maintain its own energy all year. Especially important, the cabin is designed to prevent frozen pipes, even when the family is not in residence.
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Who stays here: A couple and two young sons
Location: East of Nevada City, California
With just one sleeping loft and a built-in sleeping platform, this cabin in the woods was designed to be easily expandable in the future for year-round living. The innovative off-the-grid structure includes mounted solar panels, a solar heating system, concrete flooring and straw-bale walls that give it the ability to produce and maintain its own energy all year. Especially important, the cabin is designed to prevent frozen pipes, even when the family is not in residence.
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7. Light and airy lakeside cabin in Ireland
Who stays here: Egon Walesch, an interior designer, and Richard Goodwin, a management consultant
Location: County Westmeath, Ireland
When he was younger, Egon Walesch lived in this cabin on the shore of Lough Ree with his family while they built a home nearby, so the area holds many memories for him. After inheriting the cabin, Walesch, who was then living and working in London, planned to rent it out. But as he worked on the renovation, he fell in love with the place all over again. With the interior refreshed – which entailed removing a wall, opening the ceilings up to the beams, and cladding the walls and ceiling in shiplap – the old family cabin is “a peaceful haven,” Walesch says.
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Who stays here: Egon Walesch, an interior designer, and Richard Goodwin, a management consultant
Location: County Westmeath, Ireland
When he was younger, Egon Walesch lived in this cabin on the shore of Lough Ree with his family while they built a home nearby, so the area holds many memories for him. After inheriting the cabin, Walesch, who was then living and working in London, planned to rent it out. But as he worked on the renovation, he fell in love with the place all over again. With the interior refreshed – which entailed removing a wall, opening the ceilings up to the beams, and cladding the walls and ceiling in shiplap – the old family cabin is “a peaceful haven,” Walesch says.
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8. Mountain hideaway in California’s Sierra Nevada
Who stays here: Molly Breen, Mike McRae and rotating family members
Location: Near Truckee, California
Renovating a rundown cabin in the Donner Summit area was a team effort for this family. Mela Breen and her husband, David Good, the pair behind Atmosphere Design Build, designed and built it, while Breen’s mother and stepfather pitched in as well. Now, with a back verandah perfect for hanging out in the summer, a spacious great room and plenty of bunks for the kids, the entire family (including their two kids and Breen’s sister) enjoy gathering in this Sierra Nevada hideaway.
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Who stays here: Molly Breen, Mike McRae and rotating family members
Location: Near Truckee, California
Renovating a rundown cabin in the Donner Summit area was a team effort for this family. Mela Breen and her husband, David Good, the pair behind Atmosphere Design Build, designed and built it, while Breen’s mother and stepfather pitched in as well. Now, with a back verandah perfect for hanging out in the summer, a spacious great room and plenty of bunks for the kids, the entire family (including their two kids and Breen’s sister) enjoy gathering in this Sierra Nevada hideaway.
See the rest of this cabin
9. Rustic homestead for the whole clan in North Carolina
Who stays here: William and Sarah Britten
Location: Outside Asheville, North Carolina
William and Sarah Britten’s 10-acre property abutting the Pisgah National Forest is a farm complete with goats, chickens, ducks and alpacas, and it provides ample space for their two children, the spouses and six grandchildren to live. In addition to the cabin, the property boasts a farmhouse and an RV; a second house is in the works. The Brittens built the 480-square-foot cabin shown here as a weekend retreat where they can spend time with their family and savor a simpler lifestyle away from their day jobs running a photography studio in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where the couple have their main home.
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Who stays here: William and Sarah Britten
Location: Outside Asheville, North Carolina
William and Sarah Britten’s 10-acre property abutting the Pisgah National Forest is a farm complete with goats, chickens, ducks and alpacas, and it provides ample space for their two children, the spouses and six grandchildren to live. In addition to the cabin, the property boasts a farmhouse and an RV; a second house is in the works. The Brittens built the 480-square-foot cabin shown here as a weekend retreat where they can spend time with their family and savor a simpler lifestyle away from their day jobs running a photography studio in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where the couple have their main home.
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10. Glass-walled cabin in West Virginia
Who stays here: Lilah Horwitz, a designer, and her husband, Nick Olson, a photographer
Location: Olson’s family farm in West Virginia
What could be more romantic than watching the sun sink over green hills or stargazing from inside your own little retreat in the woods? That’s exactly what Lilah Horwitz and Nick Olson thought to themselves when they sketched out their dream cabin on a restaurant napkin while on one of their first dates. Fast-forward a few years, and the newlywed couple finally got to realise their dream with a patch of land on Olson’s family farm in West Virginia – and a lot of creativity.
Thanks to Olson’s experience as a trained log builder, the couple were able to do all the work themselves, and with some creative reuse of materials from an old barn on the property, they ended up spending only about US$500 (AU$690) on the project. The couple use it mainly as a warm-weather getaway, where they can write, talk and be together without distractions. “It’s a comfort to know that no matter where we are, we have a small little piece of home to come back to that we’ve created for ourselves,” Horwitz says.
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Do you have a cabin that’s yours to retreat to? Share a photo of your getaway in the Comments.
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Who stays here: Lilah Horwitz, a designer, and her husband, Nick Olson, a photographer
Location: Olson’s family farm in West Virginia
What could be more romantic than watching the sun sink over green hills or stargazing from inside your own little retreat in the woods? That’s exactly what Lilah Horwitz and Nick Olson thought to themselves when they sketched out their dream cabin on a restaurant napkin while on one of their first dates. Fast-forward a few years, and the newlywed couple finally got to realise their dream with a patch of land on Olson’s family farm in West Virginia – and a lot of creativity.
Thanks to Olson’s experience as a trained log builder, the couple were able to do all the work themselves, and with some creative reuse of materials from an old barn on the property, they ended up spending only about US$500 (AU$690) on the project. The couple use it mainly as a warm-weather getaway, where they can write, talk and be together without distractions. “It’s a comfort to know that no matter where we are, we have a small little piece of home to come back to that we’ve created for ourselves,” Horwitz says.
See the rest of this cabin
TELL US
Do you have a cabin that’s yours to retreat to? Share a photo of your getaway in the Comments.
MORE
Browse photos of lake house retreats