Diane and Matt, who live in a third-floor apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts, wanted an escape from the city—somewhere they could recharge surrounded by nature. In thinking about a second home, they wanted it to feel as simple and natural as its surroundings, using words like “essential” and “elemental” to describe their vision.

“In many ways we all wanted it to disappear into its setting,” says Dan Hisel of Hisel-Flynn Architects, the firm the couple brought on to create their New England retreat.

The idea of making a structure fold into its landscape is not new for Hisel, who, twenty years ago, created a near-invisible sauna. While that design used mirrored siding to repeat and reflect a rushing river, here Hisel and firm partner, Katie Flynn, took inspiration from the “dynamic play of light and shadow” in the surrounding forest.

This resulted in the simplest possible structure, a box with black-stained vertical cladding that mimics the lines of the trees around it and recedes into the shadows of the hillside.

By all measures, the home functions as a woodland cabin. But as Hisel points out, “It doesn’t look like one,” he says. He and Flynn liken the structure more to a black box camera, calling it Cabin Obscura for its picture windows that frame the scenic New England countryside.

Hisel-Flynn embraced the clients’ budget and energy-performance parameters, using these practical considerations to drive the design. “This gets back to the idea of an elemental, essential dwelling,” says Hisel. “Everything is distilled to a few decisions.”

This had a few unintended benefits, one of which was the addition of a basement. While the slope of the site made a radiant concrete floor too expensive, opting for a conventional foundation meant Matt and Diane could have a lower level. The team didn’t connect it to the main floor, but it still gets plenty of use as storage and a creative studio space, and it also offers the possibility for a future expansion.

Capturing natural light was also an essential, as was ensuring a high-performing, energy-efficient design. The rear of the home faces south and features a wall of windows, where an overhang blocks the sun in the summer and admits light in the winter.

“We wanted to create an elemental, essential dwelling. Everything is distilled to a few decisions.”
—Dan Hisel, architect

Diane and a Matt make it clear that while they wanted a second home, they didn’t want another household and all that that implies. “Our foremost value is to live as ‘essential’ as possible in Vermont,” they explain. To this end, the interior is as bare-boned and simple as the exterior. But whereas the exterior is dark and recedes in the shadows, the interior is bright white and reflects light.

“The visitor thinks they’re entering this strange dark box,” says Hisel, mentioning how anyone who crosses the threshold for the first time is surprised to find an all-white interior.

The interior surfaces are richly textured, from the semi-matte finish on the hemlock floors to the dull sheen of the white plaster walls and ceiling, to the gloss of the Ikea cabinets and vanities. The surfaces glow softly, and are tinged with the colors of the changing seasons.

The 1,100-square-foot home includes three bedrooms and two full baths, making it “programmatically very dense,” says Hisel. Despite this, Diane and Matt say the space feels open and spacious. They credit a storage wall as an “unbelievable solution” to their desire for calmness in the space. The floor-to-ceiling cabinets are, they say, “one part dining banquet, one part pantry, one part garage, one part attic.”

Strategically placed windows in each room capture various views and diffuse natural light throughout. To maintain privacy, Hisel-Flynn set the cabin 100 yards back from the road and angled the windows away from neighboring homes, negating the need for window coverings. The bedrooms do have blackout curtains for a restful night’s sleep.

“Mostly, we are letting the design of the house speak for itself without clutter or occupying every corner of the house with furniture,” say the clients.

Diane and Matt rely on natural light during the day, and chose subtle lighting to compliment the natural rhythms outside. They scoured vintage shops to find just the right fixtures, like the Poulsen PH 4/3 pendant hanging above the dining table. Their other table lamps were gifts from a friend who works at the local transfer station drop. A Noguchi Akari table lamp they purchased serves as a floor lamp in the guest bedroom.

In summer, the couple love spending time outside sitting on the deck or by the fire, but they agree that winter is when the home shines, crediting its energy efficiency. The double-stud wall system is insulated with dense-pack cellulose (80 percent recycled materials), and the home is very airtight, in part thanks to a vapor barrier. “It is an amazing feeling to be tucked in a peaceful, calm house during a blustery wintry storm,” they say, adding that winter also provides a reason to keep the Rais stove stoked with firewood.

Related Reading:

Three Magical Tiny Cabins Take Root in a Maine Forest

A Family’s Matte Black A-Frame Becomes More Than a Weekend Getaway

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Hisel Flynn Architects / @hiselflynn

Builder/General Contractor: Dave Powell, Innovative Construction LLC

Structural Engineer: Dan Bonardi Consulting Engineers

Civil Engineer: Marquise & Morano LLC

Landscape Design Company: G2 Collaborative

Cabinetry: Ikea

Photographer: Winona Barton-Ballentine / @shelterupstate