A weekend in the woods – or indeed, any kind of wilderness – has perennial appeal when it entails a stay in a contemporary or vintage cabin. The humble architectural cabin is as romanticised as it is versatile; it may adapt to different terrains, climates and levels of social battery, but its quirky, pared-back allure remains. Here, from a midcentury gem in Sonoma County to an off-grid red hut set in Irish turf and a treetop hideaway swallowed by the Ecuadorian forest, we’ve handpicked ten cabins for design lovers with a discerning eye and a fondness for a good old wooden refuge.
Book ten of the world’s best architect-designed cabin stays
Cedar + Skye, Sea Ranch Living, California, USA
Twenty-five feet separate the floor from the ceiling in Cedar + Skye’s living room – arguably an extravagant gesture in a cabin built for two. Architect Ralph Matheson designed the midcentury home within Sea Ranch, the northern Californian planned community established in the 1960s, and it now belongs to Sea Ranch Living, The Sea Ranch Lodge’s collection of 13 renovated modernist homes. Downstairs, glass walls surround a freestanding wood stove and a kitchen finished with white quartz, Italian appliances and cerulean glass. Meanwhile, the bedroom occupies an open loft, with an en-suite shower, compact workspace and a skylight trained on the treetops and night sky. Stays include access to Sea Ranch’s recreation centres, private beaches and 50-plus miles of hiking trails.
Cedar + Skye is located within Sea Ranch, Sonoma County, California, USA; rates vary by date
Cucu, WestMeath, Ireland
Cucu is the latest addition to Irish company Samsú’s roster of bijou off-grid cabins. An hour from Dublin, the 20 sq m off-grid shelter occupies 350 acres of County Westmeath countryside, its tapered red form punctured by a single circular window. Studio Bucky, led by Irish architect Alexander Buckeridge, oversaw the architecture, merging a compact timber shell with plywood walls, terracotta tiles and copper details. A custom roll-top copper bath calls for rest and relaxation, while a private sauna extends the bathing ritual outside. The analogue kit supplies a cassette player, film camera, journals, dumb phone and local map; there is also a king-sized bed, wood-burning stove and locally roasted coffee.
Cucu is located on the Meath–Westmeath border, Ireland. Rates: from €225
El Hormiguero, Mindo, Ecuador
From the road, El Hormiguero by Añanku Cabins is a charcoal-black triangle half-swallowed by the ferns of Ecuador’s Andean Chocó. Estudio 2850 and Janna Lasso Hadweh positioned the 24 sq m A-frame on nine steel legs, leaving roots and undergrowth undisturbed beneath its blackened timber, metal and glass shell. The roadside flank cleverly comprises the cabin’s services, including a semi-open shower screened by eucalyptus slats, while the south-west façade faces towards Mindo and the mountains beyond. Stairs, tables and partitions shift to accommodate different uses within the compact interior. Upstairs, a ridge skylight opens the bedroom to the sky and funnels daylight down to the lower level when fog settles over the forest. Birdwatching begins on the charred-timber balcony; waterfalls and butterfly farms are nearby, and central Mindo is a seven-minute walk away.
El Hormiguero is located in Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador; rates vary by date
JR’s Eco Hut, Nangus, Australia
This solid, A-frame wooden structure, designed by Luke Stanley Architects and located in the rolling hills overlooking the bushlands of south-western Australia, resembles the top half of a Swiss chalet, emerging from a gravel bed. A celebration of off-grid living, the eco hut is intended as a place for dropping out and forgetting the rest of the world, a feat facilitated by panoramic views and congenial midcentury élan, thanks to Anthony Hunt Design’s luxuriously minimal treatment of its airy interior. Solar power runs the lights, gas heats the water, and cooking happens outdoors on a Weber barbecue and twin-burner stove. In winter, the wood-fired tub keeps guests outside after dark; in summer, it becomes a plunge pool. In the morning, expect cockatoos returning to roost and a regional-produce breakfast ready to cook.
JR’s Eco Hut is located at 1214 Nangus Rd, Nangus NSW 2722, Australia; rates vary by date
ÖÖD at Sûr Jumigny, France
Sûr Jumigny pairs two mirrored cabins with two rather older neighbours: a 350-year-old wine cellar and a historic dovecote. The Cave cabin has a private terrace above the cellar, while Pigeonnier turns the dovecote’s chalk-white interior into a cold post-sauna shower. Designed and built by Estonian cabin maker ÖÖD House, the structures stand in a wildflower meadow on an old manor estate at the edge of Champagne. Host Godfrey Hill led the interiors and landscape execution, marrying mirrored glass with limestone, long grass and the estate’s 19th-century buildings. Each cabin sleeps two, with a kitchenette, private terrace, sauna and outdoor shower. Naturally, champagne awaits on arrival.
ÖÖD by Sûr Jumigny, 1 Rue du Jeu de Paume, 02160 Jumigny, France; rates from: €220 per night
Pan Treetop Cabins, Finnskogen, Norway
Moominvalley appears to have taken a detour into Finnskogen, leaving three steep, black cabins among the pines. Norwegian architect Espen Surnevik also borrowed from North American A-frames and electricity pylons, raising each 40 sq m structure eight metres above the forest floor on four supports. The cabins occupy the rocky ground lightly and can be removed without leaving a permanent trace. Each sleeps four to six, with heated floors, a kitchen, fireplace and full-height glazing trained on the birch, spruce and pine outside. Elsewhere, reclaimed barn materials frame a hot tub inside the roofless House with Three Walls. Autumn days can be spent hiking, canoeing and tracking elk (or perhaps elves).
Pan Treetop Cabins is located at Gjesåsen, Åsnes, Finnskogen, Norway. Rates from: £407 per night
Scrubby Bay, New Zealand
Scattered across Banks Peninsula, a rocky Pacific headland of muscular ridges, private coves and grassy hills, Annandale’s collection of spacious villas is the work of architect Andrew Patterson of Pattersons. Of the collection, Scrubby Bay comes closest to the ideal of the New Zealand bach: the cedar-clad villa stretches along the beach, with three sea-view suites, an eight-bed bunk room, a deck with a fire pit and an outdoor spa. Arrival, naturally, is effected by helicopter or a panoramic 40-minute drive along cliff-top farm tracks.
Scrubby Bay is located at Pigeon Bay 7583, New Zealand; rates on request
Skyhawk, Vermont, USA
Skyhawk sits in the woods at the foot of Mount Ascutney, with a bike trail tracing the edge of the property. Catherine and VW Fowlkes of Fowlkes Studio redesigned the midcentury cabin as a four-bedroom retreat for eight, opening the upstairs ceiling to create a lofty gathering room. Original wall boards were reused between exposed joists; rubber floors, caged bulkhead lights and custom steel kitchen furniture add a utilitarian note. Bedrooms swap wardrobes for peg rails and open niches, while a former bedroom serves as a timber-lined boot room. Outside, new Accoya cladding is paired with a large deck, where a built-in bench screens the hot tub. There is no TV, but Mount Ascutney makes a strong case for hiking, snowshoeing and skiing.
Skyhawk is located in West Windsor, Vermont, United States. Rates from: $375 per night (two-night minimum)
Vipp Salaca River, Latvia
Vipp Salaca River arrived at its riverside plot one log at a time. The listed fisherman’s house, built in 1876, was dismantled and rebuilt on 180 stones in Salaca National Park, having once served travellers between Riga and Wolmar. Now part of Vipp’s guesthouse portfolio, the 110 sq m cabin has interiors by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard. Dark log walls and a grey-brown ceiling frame a black Vipp V1 kitchen, mirrored fireplace and open living area. Upstairs, the master bedroom – freestanding bathtub included – overlooks the room below; a twin bedroom faces the woods. A separate terrace holds a wood-fired hot tub with panoramic views. The Salaca River Valley is perfect for kayaking, salmon fishing, cross-country skiing, swimming and autumn mushroom hunting.
Vipp Salaca River is located within Salaca National Park, Latvia; rates from: €375 per night (two-night minimum)
Yamanakako 1st, Japan
Two hours from Tokyo beside Lake Yamanaka, Yamanakako 1st forms part of the Sanu 2nd Home’s nationwide network of bookable retreats. Its Bee cabins were designed by Kotaro Anzai of ADX Architects, who combined a mountain-like profile with the structural logic of a honeycomb. Digitally slit cedar bends into curved partitions around the sleeping and work areas, while a floor-to-ceiling window borrows the surrounding woodland as scenery. Domestic timber construction and raised foundations limit disturbance to the site, while vacuum glazing and substantial insulation prepare the cabin for Japan’s humid summers and snow-heavy winters. Each cabin sleeps four, and features a kitchen, workspace and terrace.
Yamanakako 1st is located at Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi, Japan; sa-nu.com; rates vary by date