Best of est | Log Cabins

Located on a Norwegian island not far from the polar circle, this cottage designed by Kolman Boye Architects blends into the surrounding landscape with ease. Instead of taking a combative approach to the harsh environmental surrounds, the cabin was built into a narrow natural ravine, providing shelter without compromising on ocean views. Inside the home, the interior is subtle and tactile, designed to patina over time and acting as a soothing foil to the spectacular vistas outside.

Photography courtesy of Lindman Photography

As the weekend getaway for a family of snowboarders, this striking cabin on the Whistler slopes breathes new life into the A-Frame homes that characterised 1970s style. Designed by local firm Scott & Scott, the cabin is surprisingly conservative in size, but its proportions lend it a pared-back luxury. Drawing on locally harvested and quarried materials, the home exudes a warm, rustic sensibility, from the internally-exposed Douglas Fir timber frame to the bench top counters fabricated from marble sourced in the Hisnet Inlet quarry on Vancouver Island.

Photography by Scott & Scott Architects 

With the aim of proving the concept of a house being so much more than just a physical space, Japanese cabin ‘Cedar House‘ was designed around the notion that human beings seek community. Produced by Airbnb’s design studio Samara in collaboration with Tokyo-based architect Go Hasegawa, the petite timber cabin provides a place to stay in the rural village of Yoshino, with all proceeds going to towards the community who live there.

A very different Canadian creation, this home definitely sits on the luxurious side of the log cabins spectrum. Designed by Montreal-based practice YH2 Architects,  the two-storey home is flanked by forest and overlooks the lake, with its apt name ‘Window on the Lake’. demonstrated in the glazed wall that fills the gabled end of a double-height living room.  Fit to host eight people, the home has a subtly contemporary aesthetic; the exterior’s pale cedar cladding signals a softly modern style while inside the open plan layout and pitched roof maximise light and space.

Photography by Francis Pelletier

High up in Sweden’s Åsberget mountains, the Bergaliv Loft House is one of four log cabins perched out overlooking the ski slopes. Anchored by four powerful timber beams inset in the hillside, the cabin sits 33ft above the ground – and has no illusions the surrounding serenity is king. Timber cladding has been used both inside and out for simplicity and utility, while furnishings have been built-in to the spaces and decoration kept at a minimum to encourage reflection and relaxation, and bring the cabin in balance with its surroundings.

Photography by Hanna Michelson