These 9 Cozy Cabins Will Have You Dreaming of a Winter Escape
The dreamy structures enjoy roaring fires, cottage-style kitchens, snug beds and serene views of nature
Tucking into a snug cabin with a pile of books, hot cocoa on the stove and no responsibilities other than tossing an extra log onto the fire feels like a perfect antidote to the holiday season flurry. Put your feet up and join us for a bit of armchair travel, as we peek into nine cozy cabins from the Austrian Alps to New England, all of which offer ideas for maximizing space and making a home feel warm and inviting. Which one would you like to escape to most?
A daybed overlooking the mountains provides a cozy place to relax during the day and doubles as a sleeping spot for children. Sub-heated floors take the chill off.
Climbing up the cabin’s wooden ladder brings you to a double bed tucked under the eaves. Charming curtains, heart details on the dressers and raw wood siding take this cabin from petite vacation home to full gingerbread-style cottage.
See more photos of this cozy chalet
See more photos of this cozy chalet
2. Tiny House in Vermont
Location: Morrisville, Vermont
Designer: Ethan Waldman (owner) with building and design help from Cushman Design Group
Features we love: Pitched roof, sleeping loft and smart use of small space
This tiny house might be tight on square footage, but it’s big on charm, with a pitched roof, a porch, and a barn-red door. The owner, Ethan Waldman, was inspired by the Tiny House movement to build a little house on wheels that would have a light environmental footprint. Milford Cushman, a family friend and architect at the Cushman Design Group, helped make it happen. Once completed, the tiny house got parked in Morrisville, Vermont.
Location: Morrisville, Vermont
Designer: Ethan Waldman (owner) with building and design help from Cushman Design Group
Features we love: Pitched roof, sleeping loft and smart use of small space
This tiny house might be tight on square footage, but it’s big on charm, with a pitched roof, a porch, and a barn-red door. The owner, Ethan Waldman, was inspired by the Tiny House movement to build a little house on wheels that would have a light environmental footprint. Milford Cushman, a family friend and architect at the Cushman Design Group, helped make it happen. Once completed, the tiny house got parked in Morrisville, Vermont.
Inside, the tiny house is a study in maximizing small space. A sleeping loft over the kitchen with a mini clothing rack benefits from heat from the stove rising to the eaves. A wall-mounted table folds up or down, as needed, with stools to slot underneath. A padded bench seat functions as a backless couch, providing comfortable seating without unnecessary bulk.
3. Modern Cabin in British Columbia
Location: British Columbia
Designer: Terra Firma Builders
Features we love: Sleek silhouette, rammed-earth wall and outdoor shower
This contemporary beauty, designed by Terra Firma Builders, is surrounded by woodland in British Columbia, providing its owners with a leafy getaway.
Location: British Columbia
Designer: Terra Firma Builders
Features we love: Sleek silhouette, rammed-earth wall and outdoor shower
This contemporary beauty, designed by Terra Firma Builders, is surrounded by woodland in British Columbia, providing its owners with a leafy getaway.
The designers chose a mix of modern and more traditional materials to build the structure, including Cor-Ten steel exterior siding, which will naturally weather over time; large metal-edged windows; a steel roof lined with wood for the ceiling and a wall made of rammed earth (using a construction system called Sirewall), which helps absorb heat in the winter and naturally cools the home in the summer. Inside, the cabin is fitted with a tiny kitchen, a bed and a wood-burning stove.
A large sliding steel door can be drawn across the bedroom windows for privacy. The outdoor shower sits on a covered deck outside the bedroom and is designed to be used year-round (for those brave enough).
4. Treehouse Vibe in Austria
Location: Zell am See, Austria, southwest of Salzburg
Designer: Architekturbüro Gappmaier
Features we love: Simple wood interior, window seat and spectacular views
Perched on the edge of a valley and anchored beside a large tree, this cabin in Zell am See, Austria, feels like a modern Scandinavian treehouse, with simplified interiors and stunning views of nature out of every window.
Location: Zell am See, Austria, southwest of Salzburg
Designer: Architekturbüro Gappmaier
Features we love: Simple wood interior, window seat and spectacular views
Perched on the edge of a valley and anchored beside a large tree, this cabin in Zell am See, Austria, feels like a modern Scandinavian treehouse, with simplified interiors and stunning views of nature out of every window.
Pale wood dotted with knots covers the interior. Modern-style furnishings fill the space, like this dining table tucked into a corner with a built-in bench seat and simple overhead pendant lighting.
The designers made use of every nook and cranny without leaving the space feeling overfilled. One such example is the pocket under the stairs that’s now an inviting reading spot with cushy, moss-green lining and throw pillows. The built-in window seat provides another enticing perch to curl up and take in the view.
5. Creekside Getaway in Colorado
Location: Idaho Springs, Colorado
Features we love: Frontier-style details, contrasting dark and light elements and rustic materials
This cozy cabin bordering a creek in Idaho Springs, Colorado, takes cues from the mining history of the town, with details such as corrugated metal siding, a frontier cabin-style roofline, barn-style light fixtures and mining antiques used for decor elements inside the home.
Location: Idaho Springs, Colorado
Features we love: Frontier-style details, contrasting dark and light elements and rustic materials
This cozy cabin bordering a creek in Idaho Springs, Colorado, takes cues from the mining history of the town, with details such as corrugated metal siding, a frontier cabin-style roofline, barn-style light fixtures and mining antiques used for decor elements inside the home.
The split-level cabin is light and airy inside, with soft furnishings and bright walls balancing dark wood accents. Windows look out over the creek on one side and up the valley on the other.
6. Base Camp in Washington
Location: Winthrop, Washington
Designer: Eggleston Farkas Architects
Features we love: Nature-inspired roofline, windows with selective views and modern simplicity
This sleek, contemporary structure in a remote valley outside of Winthrop, in eastern Washington, looks like just the kind of place James Bond might use as a bolthole. In fact, the owners of this modern cabin use it as a base camp for enjoying outdoor activities like cross-country skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. The architects behind the project designed the home to fit in with its stunning natural surroundings, with an unfussy exterior of natural wood and a roofline chosen to mimic the slope of the mountain behind it.
Location: Winthrop, Washington
Designer: Eggleston Farkas Architects
Features we love: Nature-inspired roofline, windows with selective views and modern simplicity
This sleek, contemporary structure in a remote valley outside of Winthrop, in eastern Washington, looks like just the kind of place James Bond might use as a bolthole. In fact, the owners of this modern cabin use it as a base camp for enjoying outdoor activities like cross-country skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. The architects behind the project designed the home to fit in with its stunning natural surroundings, with an unfussy exterior of natural wood and a roofline chosen to mimic the slope of the mountain behind it.
Large windows open at either end of the structure to look up and down the valley, while a long, narrow window in the open-plan kitchen and living area frames a view of the tree line across the meadow. The cabin sleeps six to eight people.
7. Guesthouse in Martha’s Vineyard
Location: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Designers: John Fuller of Mitchell Fuller Architects (interior architecture); Rentschler Interiors / Lakestreetstudio (interior design)
Features we love: Shingled exterior, farmhouse details and cozy fireplace
This darling studio in Martha’s Vineyard could be used as a quiet place to work or read, or as a guest cottage. The shingled exterior with farmhouse-style lanterns welcome visitors through double doors to the petite kitchen and dining area.
Location: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Designers: John Fuller of Mitchell Fuller Architects (interior architecture); Rentschler Interiors / Lakestreetstudio (interior design)
Features we love: Shingled exterior, farmhouse details and cozy fireplace
This darling studio in Martha’s Vineyard could be used as a quiet place to work or read, or as a guest cottage. The shingled exterior with farmhouse-style lanterns welcome visitors through double doors to the petite kitchen and dining area.
Although small on square footage, the kitchen has everything one might need for an extended stay, featuring details like a farmhouse-style sink and open shelving. The other side of the cabin has living space arranged around a fireplace.
8. Contemporary Retreat in Nova Scotia
Location: Louisdale, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada
Designer: Omar Gandhi Architect
Features we love: Clean lines, simplified interiors and dark exterior
This handsome cabin sits on the shores of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The design by Omar Gandhi Architect uses a rectilinear floor plan with a peaked roof to create a simplified silhouette — made all the more dramatic with its black exterior against a snowy backdrop.
Location: Louisdale, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada
Designer: Omar Gandhi Architect
Features we love: Clean lines, simplified interiors and dark exterior
This handsome cabin sits on the shores of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The design by Omar Gandhi Architect uses a rectilinear floor plan with a peaked roof to create a simplified silhouette — made all the more dramatic with its black exterior against a snowy backdrop.
Inside, the aesthetic is similarly contemporary, with clean lines, contemporary furnishings and windows looking out onto the water.
9. Irish Cabin in the Woods
Location: County Westmeath, on the shore of Lough Ree
Designer: Egon Walesch Interior Design
Features we love: Cozy furnishings, wood-burning stove and leafy views
If days spent on country walks and evenings around a fireplace are your idea of heaven, take a look at this charming cottage set in the woods on the shore of Lough Ree. Interior designer Egon Walesch inherited the 750-square-foot cabin, which had been in his family for years, and gave it a modern update without losing its character.
Location: County Westmeath, on the shore of Lough Ree
Designer: Egon Walesch Interior Design
Features we love: Cozy furnishings, wood-burning stove and leafy views
If days spent on country walks and evenings around a fireplace are your idea of heaven, take a look at this charming cottage set in the woods on the shore of Lough Ree. Interior designer Egon Walesch inherited the 750-square-foot cabin, which had been in his family for years, and gave it a modern update without losing its character.
Updates included opening up the floor plan to connect the kitchen to the living space. In the living room, plush furniture is arranged around a wood-burning stove with mugs of tea and a pile of magazines at the ready. Windows look out on the shore of the lake.
Tour more of this airy lakeside cabin
Tour more of this airy lakeside cabin
Houzz readers: Where would you like to tuck in for a post-holiday retreat? Tell us in the Comments?
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Location: Tannheimer Tal in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria
Designer: STEINER Art & Design
Features we love: Architectural details, cozy nook seating, fire feature and underfloor heating
If you could point a finger and drop a completely charming, fully fitted cabin anywhere you’d like, where would you choose? STEINER Art & Design made that dream a reality with this prefabricated 430-square-foot cabin. The cabin, constructed almost entirely of reclaimed wood, features a porch, full kitchen, dining nook, daybed and sleeping loft, as well as an interior fireplace.
Ready to add a cozy backyard cabin? Find a design-build firm near you