This 1800 sf beach cabin, completed in 2010, is the dream of a young family with two small children. They were looking to have something both rustic ( the husband) and refined (the wife). The objective of the cabin was to have something easy to open up and close down, something able to take the wear and tear a cabin has to endure with years’ worth of kids running in and out from the beach, and it had to celebrate a connection to the outdoor world.

The couple had acquired land with a remarkable low bank beach and with an even more remarkable minimal 25 foot shoreline set back. They wanted this cabin to be as much a part of the beach as possible. The lot, while intimate to the beach was also intimate to the neighbors on either side.

Due to the density of trees and the compass location of the site, if we faced the house just to the beach we would be looking northeast greatly limiting any chances for natural light and solar gain. We hit upon the angled “L” with the second floor rotated off of this alignment in order to capture the best combination of view and light without facing into one of the neighbor’s homes. To honor each of the couples desires for the “feel” of the cabin we highlighted the upper floor from the lower—the lower floor being very simple in its exterior appearance—all store doors and unfinished rough cedar siding and the upper floor more “considered” with a more unexpected window pattern and smooth stained t&g cedar siding.