Choosing a style for your cabin is a little like buying a sofa. As you enter a furniture store or flip through a catalog, you might be amazed at the sheer number of sofa styles available: overstuffed or formal, solid color or patterned, long and lean or prim and high-backed. When you get ready to choose a style for your cabin, you’ll face a similar multitude of options. Your home can be formal or informal, Western or Appalachian, a mountain resort or a ranch home—or a mash-up of styles. Only your imagination and budget limit the choices.
Here we illustrate a handful of classic cabin styles and define their characteristic elements. Take a look to see if one becomes your favorite.
As you consider the various styles, keep in mind that residential architecture often evolves in response to local climates. Does this mean that a mountain-style cabin won’t look right on a flat site? Maybe; maybe not. It does mean that if you and your designer understand your region’s precipitation, temperatures and wind patterns—and build accordingly—your home will likely last longer and be more comfortable. Taking cues from an established style will help your home look pulled together, too.
Creating a style for your home is a process that requires more than just assessing your personal taste. You must take into account the architecture in your region as well as the weather and climate your cabin will face each season. But whichever style you choose, don’t forget to add a dash of your own unique personality.
Adirondack Style
The look: Rustic Victorian decorated with charm by Mother Nature.
Essential elements: This style calls for an eclectic combination of natural materials like twigs, branches and logs with their bark intact. Inspired by European chalets, Adirondack style cabins often have porches and gable roofs topped with wood shakes.
Windows and doors: Windows in the Adirondack style are divided into smaller panes, sometimes by grilles that create diamond shapes.
Porches are part of the style, but can block light from entering windows and make interiors dark. Consider ways to bring in light, like dormers, gable-end windows or eyebrow windows.
Door styles within the Adirondack look run the gamut, from paneled to plank to those decorated with branches or bark. Some feature leaded glass. Whatever door or windows you choose, trim them in cranberry red or a rich blue-tinted green for a most authentic Adirondack look.
Interior: Originally fashioned as vacation resorts for the wealthy, the Adirondack Great Camps offered fireplaces for both warmth and ambiance. For the fireplace in your Great Camp inspired cabin, choose a type of rock that appeals to you. Thin mortar lines between stones will look most historically accurate.
Great Camps with second floors typically featured balconies or catwalks accented with rustic twig work. Including this type of detail in your cabin is a surefire way to evoke the style.
Sage advice: Small details make a difference. For instance, if you plan to include natural materials, such as bark and twigs, they should be used in a way that highlights their character while still protecting them from the elements. A professional designer will help you fine-tune the details and proportions of your Adirondack style cabin.
Mountain Style
The look: Rustic, but refined, with rooflines that echo the mountain peaks.
Essential elements: Steep roof pitches help keep too much snow from piling up. The roof on a mountain home looks heavy, too, in part because it must offer a good deal of insulation, and because it must be strong enough to shoulder heavy snow loads.
A home’s porches often will have a shallower roof pitch to allow for light and views inside.
Windows and doors: In mountain resort communities, the most valued commodity is the view. So, while small-paned windows look authentically old, you’ll want plenty of glass to see the mountains. Mixing small with big or grouping small windows together can work. Windows set high in the walls define mountain style, too.
Interior: A mountain home’s floor plan can be formal or informal, but resort homes tend to be more open and casual. One common denominator is the hearth, which is typically constructed with stone. Whether you set the fireplace on an exterior wall or in the home’s center is your call.
Sage advice: When designing your cabin, think about where snow will slide off the roof, and keep entryways clear of those areas.
Storybook Cottage Style
The look: Romancing the cabin with charm and whimsy.
Essential elements: Stone, shingles and board-and-batten provide visual interest. Varied pitches keep rooflines lively.
As with many architectural styles for cabins, porches play a leading role in the storybook scheme, lending a sense of romance.
Windows and doors: A mix of window styles and shapes, from arched to eyebrow to casement to French doors, charm the storybook home. Divided panes can reveal sunrise patterns or geometric shapes.
A special front door is an absolute must. The theme that influences your storybook house will determine the type of door you choose, whether it’s classical, hand-carved, Victorian or Arts and Crafts. Even a simplistic door will work as long as it ties into the details that play throughout the rest of your home. Screen doors need attention, too, since they’re the outermost layer. Try twig art on the screen to complete the Hansel and Gretel vision of your storybook cottage.
Interior: The charm of storybook style doesn’t stop at the front door. Be sure to bring special details inside, too. Layers of trim and unexpected touches are key ingredients. Arches reinforce the style, but can be difficult to execute. Designing one or two arches in key places in the home is sufficient.
Sage advice: Pay careful attention to your storybook home’s exterior as well as its interior. Careful thought and deliberate planning will pay off in a home that truly epitomizes this charming look. Fortunately for cabin lovers, storybook style looks best with small homes.
Ranch Style
The look: Rugged and utilitarian, with a wide-open sense of welcome.
Essential elements: A classic ranch has one long roof ridge, with a fairly shallow pitch, giving the home a real horizontal sense. Metal roofs are a wise pick for standing up to hot sun and creating an authentic miner’s shack look for a ranch cabin.
A wide wraparound porch reaches out to greet guests in a classic ranch, giving it a more communal feel.
Windows and doors: Ranch homes traditionally were dark inside. Old windows were smaller and were shaded by the porch. Today, you can gang together smaller windows with divided panes to achieve an authentic look, while still bringing in plenty of light.
At the entry, you might pick a plain door in keeping with the style. An authentic ranch would never have a formal double door or anything fancy.
Interior: The interior of a ranch should be open and casual—part dining hall and part bunkroom. The early ranches were working spaces, after all, where ranch hands came in to eat and sit a spell.
Today, this feeling translates well into an informal home with plenty of space for families to get together and enjoy their surroundings. Porches and decks can help make indoor spaces flow easily outdoors.
Sage advice: Ranch houses typically look best on a level lot.
Mountain Modern Style
The look: Contemporary cool tempered by organic warmth.
Essential elements: Flat or shallow-pitched roofs and clean lines rule in this style. Exterior materials may be mixed, but typically present a clean look. Watch for strong geometric shapes, sharp angles and often, structural members of the home left exposed.
Organic elements, like wood, stone and textured concrete, help mountain modern homes avoid a cold, institutional feel.
Windows and doors: Windows in mountain modern style tend to be uninterrupted by divisions. Look for oversized panes, which are well-suited for capturing towering mountain views. In an area with many overcast days, windows become vital for bringing light indoors. Open floor plans lure daylight deep inside.
Doors tend to be slab style and uncluttered by decoration. This home style often includes sliding window doors to open the indoor spaces to the outside.
Interior: Mountain modern homes are streamlined and often warmed up by distinctive wood tones, such as salvaged wood beams or barnwood wall treatments. Metal elements, like railings or furnishings, add industrial interest.
Sage advice: Flat roofs and heavy snow loads don’t mix; so steer clear of flat roofs in snow country. If your climate is rainy, pay special attention to designing efficient gutters and downspouts or rain chains for your cabin.
The look: Rustic Victorian decorated with charm by Mother Nature.
Essential elements: This style calls for an eclectic combination of natural materials like twigs, branches and logs with their bark intact. Inspired by European chalets, Adirondack style cabins often have porches and gable roofs topped with wood shakes.
Windows and doors: Windows in the Adirondack style are divided into smaller panes, sometimes by grilles that create diamond shapes.
Porches are part of the style, but can block light from entering windows and make interiors dark. Consider ways to bring in light, like dormers, gable-end windows or eyebrow windows.
Door styles within the Adirondack look run the gamut, from paneled to plank to those decorated with branches or bark. Some feature leaded glass. Whatever door or windows you choose, trim them in cranberry red or a rich blue-tinted green for a most authentic Adirondack look.
Interior: Originally fashioned as vacation resorts for the wealthy, the Adirondack Great Camps offered fireplaces for both warmth and ambiance. For the fireplace in your Great Camp inspired cabin, choose a type of rock that appeals to you. Thin mortar lines between stones will look most historically accurate.
Great Camps with second floors typically featured balconies or catwalks accented with rustic twig work. Including this type of detail in your cabin is a surefire way to evoke the style.
Sage advice: Small details make a difference. For instance, if you plan to include natural materials, such as bark and twigs, they should be used in a way that highlights their character while still protecting them from the elements. A professional designer will help you fine-tune the details and proportions of your Adirondack style cabin.
Mountain Style
The look: Rustic, but refined, with rooflines that echo the mountain peaks.
Essential elements: Steep roof pitches help keep too much snow from piling up. The roof on a mountain home looks heavy, too, in part because it must offer a good deal of insulation, and because it must be strong enough to shoulder heavy snow loads.
A home’s porches often will have a shallower roof pitch to allow for light and views inside.
Windows and doors: In mountain resort communities, the most valued commodity is the view. So, while small-paned windows look authentically old, you’ll want plenty of glass to see the mountains. Mixing small with big or grouping small windows together can work. Windows set high in the walls define mountain style, too.
Interior: A mountain home’s floor plan can be formal or informal, but resort homes tend to be more open and casual. One common denominator is the hearth, which is typically constructed with stone. Whether you set the fireplace on an exterior wall or in the home’s center is your call.
Sage advice: When designing your cabin, think about where snow will slide off the roof, and keep entryways clear of those areas.
Storybook Cottage Style
The look: Rugged and utilitarian, with a wide-open sense of welcome.
Essential elements: A classic ranch has one long roof ridge, with a fairly shallow pitch, giving the home a real horizontal sense. Metal roofs are a wise pick for standing up to hot sun and creating an authentic miner’s shack look for a ranch cabin.
A wide wraparound porch reaches out to greet guests in a classic ranch, giving it a more communal feel.
Windows and doors: Ranch homes traditionally were dark inside. Old windows were smaller and were shaded by the porch. Today, you can gang together smaller windows with divided panes to achieve an authentic look, while still bringing in plenty of light.
At the entry, you might pick a plain door in keeping with the style. An authentic ranch would never have a formal double door or anything fancy.
Interior: The interior of a ranch should be open and casual—part dining hall and part bunkroom. The early ranches were working spaces, after all, where ranch hands came in to eat and sit a spell.
Today, this feeling translates well into an informal home with plenty of space for families to get together and enjoy their surroundings. Porches and decks can help make indoor spaces flow easily outdoors.
Sage advice: Ranch houses typically look best on a level lot.
Mountain Modern Style
The look: Contemporary cool tempered by organic warmth.
Essential elements: Flat or shallow-pitched roofs and clean lines rule in this style. Exterior materials may be mixed, but typically present a clean look. Watch for strong geometric shapes, sharp angles and often, structural members of the home left exposed.
Organic elements, like wood, stone and textured concrete, help mountain modern homes avoid a cold, institutional feel.
Windows and doors: Windows in mountain modern style tend to be uninterrupted by divisions. Look for oversized panes, which are well-suited for capturing towering mountain views. In an area with many overcast days, windows become vital for bringing light indoors. Open floor plans lure daylight deep inside.
Doors tend to be slab style and uncluttered by decoration. This home style often includes sliding window doors to open the indoor spaces to the outside.
Interior: Mountain modern homes are streamlined and often warmed up by distinctive wood tones, such as salvaged wood beams or barnwood wall treatments. Metal elements, like railings or furnishings, add industrial interest.
Sage advice: Flat roofs and heavy snow loads don’t mix; so steer clear of flat roofs in snow country. If your climate is rainy, pay special attention to designing efficient gutters and downspouts or rain chains for your cabin.
Cabin Porn: Inside
Wilderness Wonders Rustic Cabin Wind ...
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Dutch Oven
