Compact cabin ideas

If the outdoor life is your thing, this cabin design is an excellent choice. For cooking outdoors, it offers an expansive porch complete with an outside fireplace. And if you make use of all the sleeping options, it sleeps up to seven people.

• 325 square feet
• Three-quarter kitchen
• Three-quarter bath
• Sleeps 2 to 7
• Outdoor fireplace
• Adaptable to be off the grid

This two-story cabin is designed with a small footprint to fit narrow lakeside lots. It offers the luxury of a queen-sized bed in the second-floor bedroom, which is accessed by an elegant squared spiral staircase.

• 450 square feet
• Full kitchen
• Three-quarter bath
• Sleeps 2 to 4
• Two full stories
• Adaptable to be off the grid

This cabin has a glassed-in porch accessible from the living space through a patio sliding door. This setup offers a great view of the outdoors from the main living area. If oriented to the south, it also allows passive solar heating.

• 703 square feet
• Full kitchen
• Full bath
• Sleeps 2 to 5
• Fireplace insert
• Designed for passive solar heating
• Adaptable to be off the grid

Reprinted with permission from Compact Cabins, published by Storey Publishing, LLC., January 2010.