Houzz Tour: Architect Turns a Fishing Shack Into a Cozy Getaway
Scandinavian minimalism and a U.S. Forest Service cabin inspire this renovation near a Montana lake
After: Here’s the cabin after the renovation, photographed from the same angle. Maphis kept the fishing shack’s original shape and added a wing to the right, doubling its size to 1,056 square feet. Before the renovation, the cabin had one very small bedroom and one bath. Now it has three bedrooms, two baths and a sleeping loft.
“I wanted a very contemporary, minimalist mountain cabin,” Maphis says. “But I wanted it big enough so we could have friends and family up there and fill it up when we wanted.”
“I wanted a very contemporary, minimalist mountain cabin,” Maphis says. “But I wanted it big enough so we could have friends and family up there and fill it up when we wanted.”
Maphis covered the cabin with prefinished steel that has a texture that mimics the look of board-and-batten siding. Since the color is painted onto the siding and then run through an oven that bakes it into the material, it shouldn’t ever need to be repainted, Maphis says. The roof is corrugated metal.
The cabin’s look is inspired by a U.S. Forest Service cabin Maphis has come across on fly-fishing and camping trips with his son in the Scapegoat Wilderness Area in Montana. “That inspired my cabin aesthetic,” he says. Specifically, it inspired the cabin’s deep color, the goal of having it blend in with the forest and the idea of creating a building that looks as though it’s been on the land a long time.
The cabin’s look is inspired by a U.S. Forest Service cabin Maphis has come across on fly-fishing and camping trips with his son in the Scapegoat Wilderness Area in Montana. “That inspired my cabin aesthetic,” he says. Specifically, it inspired the cabin’s deep color, the goal of having it blend in with the forest and the idea of creating a building that looks as though it’s been on the land a long time.
Before: While Maphis liked the idea of tearing down the shack and starting from scratch, he realized — both from his own number-crunching and from talking to his general contractor — that renovating the existing structure would save him about $70,000 to $80,000. So that became the plan.
This meant he had to figure a way to get a foundation beneath the existing building — an unusual and somewhat difficult challenge, even for an architect. This photo shows the hodgepodge of elements (among them cinder blocks and a few pine tree stumps) that supported the cabin previously.
To create a new foundation under the old cabin, workers dug out a crawl space under the shack, poured standard concrete footings and created a foundation of pressure-treated wood and plywood sheathing. They wrapped the buried portion of the foundation with membrane roofing material, which is used to keep water off a roof, then finished with a layer of 2-inch rigid insulation around the foundation block. “It’s a creative solution that will last almost like a standard concrete foundation would,” Maphis says.
The new wing of the cabin got a standard concrete foundation.
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This meant he had to figure a way to get a foundation beneath the existing building — an unusual and somewhat difficult challenge, even for an architect. This photo shows the hodgepodge of elements (among them cinder blocks and a few pine tree stumps) that supported the cabin previously.
To create a new foundation under the old cabin, workers dug out a crawl space under the shack, poured standard concrete footings and created a foundation of pressure-treated wood and plywood sheathing. They wrapped the buried portion of the foundation with membrane roofing material, which is used to keep water off a roof, then finished with a layer of 2-inch rigid insulation around the foundation block. “It’s a creative solution that will last almost like a standard concrete foundation would,” Maphis says.
The new wing of the cabin got a standard concrete foundation.
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Before: Prior to the renovation, the shack had a low-hanging ceiling (shown in the upper portion of this photo) that hid its vaulted structure; above that low ceiling was a small loft space. This photo shows the entrance to the home on the left and the kitchen on the right.
After: This is the view after the renovation. The kitchen is in the same location, but Maphis made it a galley kitchen instead of a U-shaped one. He also replaced the wider window above the sink with a tall, skinny one that faces the lake and looks out over the deck.
The cabinetry is simple painted wood, topped by a composite countertop. Because the kitchen is small, Maphis chose apartment-size appliances, including a range that is only 24 inches wide, which is on the smaller side. The duct above the upper cabinets on the left sucks up hot air from the range hood and deposits it outside. Maphis deliberately exposed the galvanized metal duct. “I just liked a little bit of a rawness to the cabin,” he says.
To the left of the kitchen you can glimpse the hallway and mudroom area that forms the cabin’s front entrance.
The cabinetry is simple painted wood, topped by a composite countertop. Because the kitchen is small, Maphis chose apartment-size appliances, including a range that is only 24 inches wide, which is on the smaller side. The duct above the upper cabinets on the left sucks up hot air from the range hood and deposits it outside. Maphis deliberately exposed the galvanized metal duct. “I just liked a little bit of a rawness to the cabin,” he says.
To the left of the kitchen you can glimpse the hallway and mudroom area that forms the cabin’s front entrance.
Here’s a closer look at the mudroom.
Find storage and organization products for your entryway in the Houzz Shop
Find storage and organization products for your entryway in the Houzz Shop
Beyond the kitchen and past the entry is a small dining area. As shown in this photo, the dining table can accommodate four people. The homeowners plan to purchase a new table with leaves so that when they have company, they can turn the table 90 degrees and expand it to seat eight to 10 people.
The opening in the wall above the moose head leads to a sleeping loft containing two twin beds. Maphis has since added a ladder.
The opening in the wall above the moose head leads to a sleeping loft containing two twin beds. Maphis has since added a ladder.
This ladder leads to the sleeping loft.
Here’s a look at the kitchen and great room beyond it from next to the loft ladder. The steel I-beam over the kitchen’s breakfast bar delineates the end of the original cabin.
Beyond the kitchen is the great room, and beyond that (through the doorway), the master suite. These rooms are part of the new addition.
Beyond the kitchen is the great room, and beyond that (through the doorway), the master suite. These rooms are part of the new addition.
The great room faces the lake. Maphis loved an original window in the cabin that had horizontal muntins, or strips that divide window panes into segments, so he designed the tall windows behind the wood-burning stove to echo that look. The floors and ceiling are clear-coated pine.
“I’ve always gravitated toward Scandinavian mountain architecture: clean and simple,” Maphis says. “I kept that theme throughout.”
The modern, minimalist wood-burning stove heats the whole cabin, though Maphis added hidden valance heaters — they’re like baseboard heaters but placed higher on the wall, out of sight (see one in the guest room, below). These valance heaters serve as a backup for the stove when needed.
“I’ve always gravitated toward Scandinavian mountain architecture: clean and simple,” Maphis says. “I kept that theme throughout.”
The modern, minimalist wood-burning stove heats the whole cabin, though Maphis added hidden valance heaters — they’re like baseboard heaters but placed higher on the wall, out of sight (see one in the guest room, below). These valance heaters serve as a backup for the stove when needed.
Maphis vaulted the ceiling in the great room and the master suite using scissor trusses, a construction method that eliminates the need for visible horizontal beams or a low, flat ceiling. “It’s an economical way to build a roof structure,” he says.
The architect wanted to bring light in from different places, so he added a long horizontal window behind the sofa. Its placement high up the wall preserves privacy, as that side of the home faces the main road.
The hallway past the windows leads to the master suite and contains a closet where Maphis plans to add a stackable washer and dryer.
The architect wanted to bring light in from different places, so he added a long horizontal window behind the sofa. Its placement high up the wall preserves privacy, as that side of the home faces the main road.
The hallway past the windows leads to the master suite and contains a closet where Maphis plans to add a stackable washer and dryer.
This is the master bedroom, which shares the great room’s panorama window and faces the lake.
Maphis and his wife selected the furnishings for their cabin themselves.
Find area rugs in the Houzz Shop
Maphis and his wife selected the furnishings for their cabin themselves.
Find area rugs in the Houzz Shop
From the bed, the homeowners have a lovely view of the outdoors through the tall window.
Maphis outfitted the master bathroom with two tall cabinets on either side of the sink. They function as wardrobes and hold the couple’s clothing.
Back in the kitchen (the breakfast bar is in the foreground) a hallway leads to the guest bathroom as well as two guest bedrooms.
A tall cabinet offers more storage and helps divide the sink area from the toilet zone in the guest bath. A graphic teal-and-green-patterned shower curtain brings color into the room.
The larger of the two guest bedrooms measures a compact 102 square feet and contains a queen bed with four pullout drawers in its base for storage.
The white horizontal piece above the art is one of the valance heaters that Maphis installed throughout the cabin.
The white horizontal piece above the art is one of the valance heaters that Maphis installed throughout the cabin.
The smaller of the two guest bedrooms measures just 95 square feet and contains a double bed.
The Maphises live in Missoula during the week and stay at their cabin on weekends and vacations. Ultimately, they’d like to spend more time up here. The cabin’s good insulation makes it a year-round retreat.
Tip: As his own architect, Maphis knew exactly what his clients wanted for this project — after all, his clients were himself and his wife.
But for homeowners looking to find a good working relationship with an architect, Maphis has advice as simple as his pared-down cabin. “It just has to be a good fit when you meet,” he says. “You have to be able to communicate and have that communication resonate well with each other.”
More
How to Hire the Right Architect
11 Questions to Ask an Architect or a Building Designer
Tip: As his own architect, Maphis knew exactly what his clients wanted for this project — after all, his clients were himself and his wife.
But for homeowners looking to find a good working relationship with an architect, Maphis has advice as simple as his pared-down cabin. “It just has to be a good fit when you meet,” he says. “You have to be able to communicate and have that communication resonate well with each other.”
More
How to Hire the Right Architect
11 Questions to Ask an Architect or a Building Designer
Cabin at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Jeff Maphis and his wife, Beth
Location: Big Sky Lake, Montana
Size: 1,056 square feet (98 square meters)
Architect Jeff Maphis and his wife have always wanted a lake cabin, and when they stumbled across a 554-square-foot fishing shack for sale in Montana’s Big Sky Lake, they felt lucky to buy it.
Before: The cabin, shown here, had no foundation, and there were mice in the walls. But, Maphis says, “my wife and I liked the charm of it.” The couple figured they’d do the minimum to get the cabin in working order for weekend stays. But then “We started spending time up there and we just loved it,” Maphis said. Plans changed to “Let’s just remodel it, add on, make it ours and make it right,” Maphis says.
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