Cabin fever: the Wallpaper* edit of the sweetest escapes
Call it the effect of 'cabin porn' or urban fatigue, but the fascination with the rustic retreat has never been higher. While our attachment to technology might once have precluded us from dipping into the off-the-grid lifestyle, the pendulum has swung toward a predilection for timber-clad bedrooms, elegant woodstoves and enchanting loft ladders. Oh, the vicarious pleasure!
Fonte Boa House
The white rendered façade is evocative of the Portuguese region's vernacular tradition of simple pitched forms and whitewashed walls, with a playful pattern of picture frame windows, carefully positioned to optimise the internal experience
Fonte Boa House
The frameless glass façade in the living room is the pièce de résistance, providing dramatic views out over the Fonte Boa estate
Fonte Boa House
A frameless glass lobby appended to the entrance slots into the dining space and aids the transition from outside to inside
Fonte Boa House
The stark concrete retaining walls of the semi-sunken carpark are set in perfect alignment to the house, its elongated form providing an attenuated buffer from the main road
Fonte Boa House
A generous hallway at the first floor level divides the two bedrooms, with the pitched ceiling creating an interior reminiscent of an art gallery
Fonte Boa House
An external storage area is neatly incorporated into the carpark walls. The adjacent concrete stair draws the eye towards the entrance
Fonte Boa House
The meticulous attention paid to the design of fixed furniture is prevalent throughout the house, including the kitchen storage units positioned flush with the under stair storage
The Houl
Emerging from the contours of an elevated and exposed Dumfriesshire hillside, The Houl is not only a fine contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional Scottish 'longhouse' but also a net zero carbon dwelling that doesn't wear its progressive eco credentials too visibly on its sleeve
The Houl
Designed as a single storey family home by (and for) Simon Winstanley of Castle Douglas based-Simon Winstanley Architects, The Houl sits within a concave cranny on a west-facing slope overlooking the spectacular River Ken valley and the ridges of the Rhinns of Kells hills
The Houl
The low slung and streamlined design uses a lightweight steel and timber frame construction, with cedar weatherboard cladding – untreated to allow weathering to a natural silver grey colour – and long monopitched roofs, finished in pre-weathered grey zinc
The Houl
The slant of the main roof above the living accommodation follows the slope of the hillside
The Houl
The rear roof meets the main pitch at a shallower angle, to allow morning sunlight to flood into the heart of the house
The Houl
In addition to its sustainable approach to construction (where all excavated material was re-used on the site), energy efficient systems are also central to the design raison d'être
The Houl
The airtight house achieves net zero carbon emissions by means of PassivHaus standards of insulation in the walls and roof, augmented by a reflective thermal membrane on the inner and outer faces of the timber kit
The Houl
The principal open plan living areas are arranged along the contour of the site to take full advantage of the views across the valley, whereas the ancillary spaces are recessed to the rear
Chilmark Guest House
Peering out from a forest, the Chilmark Guest House in Massachusetts is a beautifully compact guest cabin
Chilmark Guest House
The cabin is the latest work of US firm, Charles Rose Architects
Chilmark Guest House
The house is perched on a steep slope that looks onto a clearing and the nearby Vineyard Sound
Chilmark Guest House
The building is designed to maximise views, with large windows and balconies that ensure the space feels light and open
Chilmark Guest House
A cellar, porch and roof terrace provide extra living space
Chilmark Guest House
The architects have used a natural material palette for the exterior, including pigmented concrete, stone, copper, cedar and fir
Normandy House
Located in an isolated residential patch of the Perche countryside in France's Normandy region, this house is Paris-based Beckmann N'Thépé's latest residential project
Normandy House
The Normandy House overlooks the beautiful nearby Bellême Forest and sits on a simple, 50 sq m base
Normandy House
Despite its small footprint, the architects have artfully created a series of airy spaces, including a double-height living area, lit by the garden opening to the south, and a generous loft-style master bedroom
Normandy House
A glimpse of the red staircase that leads to the master bedroom
Alpine Barn
In a UNESCO World Heritage site in Selva di Cadore, Italian architecture practice EXiT have taken a classic Belluno barn and successfully reworked it for the 21st century
Alpine Barn
The 220 sq m structure is not only beautifully preserved but also fully energy self-efficient, through the use of a photovoltaic system on the roof and electric under floor heating
Alpine Barn
The selected materials – larch and fir wood, Dolomia stone, black steel, white rough plaster – also match the original structure and frame the several private and service areas of the house
Alpine Barn
The open plan living area
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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
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