Forest Nook

The Forest Nook is one of several cabins built at the heartwood retreat center located on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in British Columbia. The center has shared amenities (kitchen, bathrooms, hot tub, living spaces…etc) and individual cabins spread out on the forested property.

The main approach to designing this cabin was to focus on making it functional and budget-friendly while keeping strong high-end design features such as the western red cedar exterior finishing and metal roofing. The cedar was sourced locally at a mill and gives character to the cabin with a recessed entrance. The interior is warm and cozy, with a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling creating an unanticipated splendor.

With the limited interior space, the furnishing is light and functional. A bed, 2 nightstands and some decoration. The interior walls have maple boards milled directly on the property and the ceiling has painted plywood paneling and exposed rafters. The cabin is fully insulated on the outside with rigid foam. The idea behind this project was to make it as affordable as possible so we used left-over material from past projects as much as possible and we got creative with how to use them. The Forest Nook was built in two weeks by one person.