The Cabin
(I couldn’t help myself… I had to begin with quoting The Cabin by Ylvis).
Let me take you to my favourite place, just a five hours drive from a city.
Just follow the road until it stops, and then walk for another forty minutes.
And then, out of nowhere, there it is - my Cabin
I lived in many homes and this one was my favourite - a tiny wooden cabin in the middle of a beautiful forest, with a window into the Ocean.
(tweet with drone video flying though that view)
I was given an opportunity to live here and customise the insides to fit my lifestyle. Wood is a perfect canvas. Over a few months the Cabin transformed into a powerful creativity boosting power place, and a blueprint for my future Home.
Before:
After:
Technical Info
Inside Area: 3x3m2
Approx build cost: €3500 (a while ago)
Electricity & water from the grid (for now)
Not insulated (although I spent 2 winters there and it was fine)
Roof: Double tin with foam
Blueprint design:
Would you like a tour?
Here’s a youtube video where I’ll show you around.
Reflections
A wise man once said that it takes three houses to build a perfect one. While I haven’t built the cabin myself (I only helped a bit with finishing and did some interior improvements), it gives me a great starting point for creating my first home, whenever the time for it comes.
A few improvements I’d consider doing with the cabin design:
Sand and varnish all the wood inside - without it there’s plenty of wood dust, which can’t be too healthy to breathe.- Invest in good doors - the doors to the cabin are not very thick and in very heavy rainfall the water comes through.
- Opening windows at the top - this would add an easy way to keep the air flowing in times when opening the front doors is not a viable option.
- Add a wood burning stove - this is a bit tricky, since it’s a tiny wooden house, but there must be a way to have a tiny wooden stove inside to heat the place up in winter without relying on electricity.
- Consider adding insulation - I’m not 100% sure about this because it would take some precious space, but it might be worthwhile especially on cold days. It would be a big improvement to add insulation at the roof only.
- Soundproofing the roof - when it rains it can get very loud inside. Insulation would do the trick.
- Instal a basic water system outside - I have a bucket with the water collected from the roof, which works, but adding a tiny bit of sophistication would be great.
- Keep the food out - it’s not the cabin’s fault per se (I just don’t have a good food storage around), but I’d much rather not keep my eating station inside.
- Add a trap door / hidden back door - for fun, and to have a second exit.
- Cat flap for Kiki to move freely in and out 🐈.
Deep Work Retreat
I’m on a quest to raise funds for a community land in Pico, with a forest, a community space and a few cabins serving as a deep work / creative / personal regeneration retreat centre.
If you’d like to help to make this dream a reality, have a look at this project brief. You can also support me directly via Patreon or michalroots.eth.
Photos
First look at the Cabin: 
View from the forest: 
View from the top: 
Kitchen corner: 
Desk space at night: 
And final iteration of the workspace: 
Whiteboard space: 
Functional corner: 
The altar with Kiki: 
Roof support structure: 
Desk I built: 
My true form: 
It was a fun mini documentation article, wasn’t it? You can find more