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The kitchen features open upper cabinets, which are a signature of the 25x25 system and also crafted from timber leftovers created during the production process. It’s a construction approach that architect Mette Fredskild employs for the way it champions zero-waste design.

Storage is cleverly concealed beneath the sleeping areas, making the most of the compact floor plan. A row of windows alongside the bed connects inhabitants to the natural surroundings.

The interior walls and ceiling are made from oiled oak veneer combined with rough Rotband plaster walls. The floors are oversized oak planks—“to feel the natural timber on your bare feet,” says Goda—and the furniture is also crafted primarily from oak, with graphic black metal details.

The cabin is manufactured in Lithuania and comes as a modular building that requires no particular foundation. This allows it to be constructed on-site within a single day. “The signature of the KONGA Cabin is simplicity and elegance,” says architect Mette Fredskild. “It is focused on meeting basic needs.”

The couple named their company Konga after the young son, Vinca’s mispronunciation of the Lithuanian word for “socks” when he was learning to speak. “For us, it formed a symbolic association with the feeling of the earth under bare feet,” says Goda. “It encouraged us to leave our footprint, but with minimal impact on nature and meaningful value to humans.”

The architect and owners were in sync on every aspect of the design, including the desire for shou sugi ban siding. “I had been interested in shou sugi ban for a long time,” Herrmann says. “These Japanese cypress boards have been charred, wire-brushed, stained, and oiled. We did a lot of testing to come up with the right dark grey color; it changes in the light.”

“You’re drawn deep into the house and given clues where to go,” Herrmann says. “Natural light guides you through the house.”

To arrive at the front door, one must travel on an informal path of bluestone pavers, then turn 90-degrees to enter. “Discovery and mystery is part of the charm.” Herrmann says. The seven-foot cantilevered covering has an underside of hemlock slats that extends indoors.

Herrmann’s first inclination was to design the bunks without a partition between them, but the owners asked that each one be its own little pod complete with bookshelves and reading light. “The kids love the bunk room,” the husband says. “At home, the twins share a room and their baby brother is the odd man out. Here, for twelve weeks, he gets to be a part of it.”

The kitchen island is made of poured terrazzo, balanced atop a mirrored slab and two orange posts for a playful, postmodern vibe.