Like many creative pursuits conceived in the depths of the pandemic, this cozy little cabin came about because there was nothing else to do.

Christie Schoepp’s family had owned a stretch of land overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, southwest of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, for more than 70 years. Although her parents had a trailer near the road where the family would stay, they’d long talked about building a cabin near the cliff—and it wasn’t until the Covid-19 pandemic hit that they actually had the time to make it a reality.

$6,758 Lumber	$4,790 Hardware & Construction Materials	$360 Electrical & Lighting
$176 Paint & Other Finishes	$404 Doors	$1,979 Wood Stove
$635 Kitchen Fixtures & Appliances	$125 Furniture	$525 Accessories
$1,389 Bedding	$4,800 Labor
Grand Total: $21,941

After a few weekends camping on the land in fall 2020, they chose a building spot at the peak, where there’s a showstopping sunset view. “I’m a nurse, and I thought, ‘If I was palliative, this is where I would want to die,’ says Christie. “It’s just so beautiful.”

She spent the winter drawing up plans, working within a few parameters. They needed the cabin to be mobile—a request of her father’s, plus a logical decision given the cliffside location—so that determined the size, and Christie also sought to avoid “builder basic” finishes. Her main goals were to maximize the view, and have the cabin be as cheap as possible—a serious challenge for a project that began at the peak of lumber prices.

Christie devised a simple 12-foot-by-20-foot rectangle, with a sloped shed roof that rises to 12 feet, leaving enough room for a kitchen to run underneath an upper bunk bed. She planned a wall of windows next to a small deck overlooking the river. There’s no plumbing or electricity on the land, so a wood-burning stove would provide heat, and propane would power the cooktop.

After getting a few unsatisfactory quotes from builders, Christie decided to DIY the cabin from scratch, enlisting the help of her family and a carpenter friend of her father’s. She set the budget at $20,000 to $22,000. “I didn’t want to go $17,000 and not have everything on my wishlist,” she explains.

Using a bulldozer the family keeps on the land, her nephew cleared five dead spruce trees from the building site, which is reached by driving through a field. “Trucks can access it, but my car broke down,” says Christie.

The building process itself was atypical, due in part to challenges with the site and sourcing materials. “We built the cabin backwards, apparently,” Christie says. Early on, she found quality plywood at Lowe’s for $41 a sheet (by the end of the project, the cost had jumped to $65 a sheet), so that became the predominant building material. She decided to whitewash it before they installed it, so she knew the color would be what she wanted.

Construction kicked off in May, when the site was muddy, so the first thing they built was the deck, which provided a clean work surface. Then they built the floor, putting down the finished plywood (“I covered it with blankets,” says Christie), then came the frame and interior walls, followed by insulation and the metal siding.

The windows proved to be the biggest challenge. A family friend who was updating their 1990s house donated a bunch of old windows for the cabin, however they had white vinyl frames—a style typical of the area, and loathed by Christie. “I really do not like the look of them,” she says.

A small, open closet behind the ladder wall hides coats, boots, and fishing gear. Christie named the cabin Riverview Hutte, as “hutte” means “shack” in German—a homage to her German heritage grandparents, who originally bought the land. " layout="" credit="Lindsay Mills" photoUserId=""/>

They painstakingly removed the glass from the vinyl and built new cedar frames. A couple panes broke during the process, resulting in slight changes to the building plans—but luckily, they had extras. The final design features floor-to-ceiling windows on the facade, a large west-facing window seat (with what Christie calls a “wicked view”), two horizontal windows above the kitchen counter, and one above the bunk beds for heat release if needed.

Despite the rustic, off-grid setup, the cabin is far from roughing it. “We wanted it to be like glamping,” says Christie, stressing that comfortable sleeping quarters were a huge priority. To that end, she sourced five twin mattresses from the Danish brand Jysk—a natural fit for the cozy, Scandinavian vibe she wanted to cultivate. Plush rugs warm the space, and a refinished solid oak table and chairs provide the perfect spot to play dominos.

But it’s outside, at the fire pit perched on the edge of the cliff, where the family spends the most time. “This is our retreat,” says Christie, “it’s our place to enjoy nature.”

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Project Credits:

Designer: Christie Schoepp / @riverviewhutte

Photography: Lindsay Mills / @thestylistlindsaymills

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Budget Breakdown: A DIY Builder Creates an Off-Grid Cabin in Canada for $22K