I have bought a 12'x26' lofted cabin. Each end is lofted, with it open in the center. It has a porch with 2 windows in front, and one window on either side towards the front of the cabin. I've put the insulation in, and the wood stove for heat in the winter. Now is the hard part. I have to figure out exactly how I want it set up. I'm leaning towards letting my husband build a set of small stairs and putting the bedroom in the rear loft and storage in the front loft. What do you guys think? How would you arrange a 12'x26' rectangle? All suggestions at very appreciated!
I have a 12x32-foot cabin, without a loft, although there is room to build one. Mine does not have a porch, but I have two windows on both of the long sides, with two small windows on one of the short sides. My cabin is on a 100-acre parcel of land that we own in northern Maine, near the Canadian border. It is a couple of miles from the nearest utility. Thus far, I have put in a ceramic floor and put some finishing on the exterior walls, but have otherwise not done anything. I hope to at least begin insulating it before the end of summer. Rather than partitioning it, we've decided to leave it open for now, separating parts of the cabin with cabinets, and maybe just a curtain across the sleeping area. One thing to keep in mind is that stairs take up a fair amount of space. If your husband is more talented than I am, he might be able to build stairs that serve a dual purpose, with either shelves or another sort of storage area within them.
Oooohhhhh, Ken!! I'm going to be talking to you about this a lot! You are officially the only person I know doing this, too. I don't know how he is wanting to do the stairs. It could very well end up a ladder. The lofts in the cabin is nothing but a board laid down over the rafters. If you like I can get a picture for you.
I have recently made the decision to sell my 2500 sq. ft. Log cabin, because it is just too much house for me now. I have decided to buy an acre, with lots of shade trees, up in the national forest, and build another cabin of 1296 sq. ft. (36 X 36), with a loft for guests and storage. It will have a very large covered patio in the front, because I like to sit outside in the mornings and evenings. Here is my first sketch, which I already plan on changing the loft from 1/3rd to 1/2 the size of the floor plan. The dotted lines are to designate the different areas instead of walls, and I too will curtain off the sleeping area. I am leaving everything as open as possible, so that in the future when I will be wheelchair bound, I can still maneuver around. The only separate room will be the bath/dressing room.
Very nice! It looks so spacious and open. With a smaller cabin, its been a challenge figuring out the set up where it would continue to be open and not cluttered or cramped. You've done a good job of that.
@Ken Anderson here's how they have the loft done, and some shots of the cabin. Just because I really love it
@Jennifer Graves, I've looked at those same little houses here for around $20,000, but I don't think it will give the open space that a wheelchair will need. I wonder how much space there would be if two were attached together? I am lucky enough to have a carpenter, and an electrician in my family. Through the years, I have always help or loan money to my family with the understanding that one day I might need their help as well. Well that days is closer now.
Log cabin is a novelty over here since only the rich can afford to have that. I still have to sample staying in a log cabin although I had seen some in close up when we roamed Camp John Hay in Baguio city. That city is on top of a mountain range so log cabin is the norm when it comes to vacation houses for the rich. About 3 years ago, we inquired on the Manor (the name of the company handling the rentals of the log cabins). Expectedly, the rental is exorbitant for our standard - $300 per night. That amount is our entire budget for a 3-day vacation.
I have wanted a cabin for so very long, somehow when you said a loft i imagined a much larger area. I don't know if I would sleep up there to be quite honest I might be more inclined to put in a pot bellied stove and sleep closer to that. I would imagine being so close to the rafters could be very hot in the warm months and very cold in the cooler weather, not to mention a pain to get out of if one has to go. I say storage or the kids can go up there. If I went with a pot bellied stove I would get a versatile piece of furniture that could fold down to a bed or hold up like a couch when not sleeping. I like things simple, I would have a table and some chairs and some sort of wall type storage unit. i would probably get a sink even if i could only use a basin just for the convenience of having one up higher that could be handy for cooking or anything that required water. I never really considered that one could use these house kits out on the land. I have a friend with a large parcel that I have been trying to coax into letting us put a small hunting cabin on. Not so much for hunting as for just a get away. I personally love the quiet of being away from it all. For me a fireplace would be grand but I would settle for a pot belly.
Here's a few photos that I took while laying the floor. Later, I'll find some of the ones that show the cabin more fully. As for a loft, I'll probably put one in for storage, and to keep the heat closer to where people are.
What are you planning to do with the interior walls? I know you said you wanted to insulate but then what drywall? Just curious if you had another idea. I saw on Facebook a cabin that did the floor from one inch slices of tree branches and the result was stunning, I would think about that as an option if I ever get a cabin, we pull out so much in small diameter branches every year it could work. Cord wood is pretty easy to come by. I get into many of the ideas about small houses and recycled pieces being used. I think it is smart and pretty efficient. Anyway here is the link with a complete how to on the cord wood floor, I would imagine the concept could be used for anything really
We plan on leaving it open. Rather than permanent walls, which may create spaces that we would later want to change, we plan on using shelving to separate portions of the interior space, and either a curtain or a movable partition to separate the sleeping area. On the end of the space that you see here, I will enclose a bathroom area that will have a compost toilet, and perhaps a fan powered by a chargeable battery with a solar panel. Not shown here, the door is just to the left of where I was standing when I took the photos. Just past the door is where the stove will go and if I can find one that I can afford, I would like to get a combination cooking and heating stove. The Amish recommend one of the ones shown here, and I have noted that this is what they were using in the two Amish homes that I have been in here in Maine. That cordwood floor looks very interesting.
My great grandmother actually had the Bakers Choice stove back when I was a kid, her stove was wood burning and the one thing I do recall is that the water table was then used by her in the sink to wash hand stuff. Just thinking about it, I recall the things she cooked were so tasty and I wonder now that I am older, if this was not because it was wood heated. She baked bread and made all sorts of meals that were amazing. In fact it seemed like her house was rather warm all the time and I guess I know why now. Even in the summer it was hot, it never dawned on me then it was from the stove. Thank you @Ken Anderson for the link for these stoves, I would seriously consider the investment. It maybe that I am going a bit senile but I have to say the cost of gas is getting to be so high. One of the things stopping me from switching over to something else is the stove and this might be the solution.
Yeah, these stoves have an optional hot water reservoir, which is nice. If we opted to buy such a stove, and even if we don't, I plan on building a summer kitchen outdoors, so that we can do much of our cooking outside during warm weather, without worrying about rain and such. The alternative would be a cooking stove plus a heating stove, and I don't want to give up the interior real estate necessary for two stoves.
@Ken Anderson, where is that cabin located? For me, the location is very important because my impression of a cabin is what I see in photos. They are normally located in forested areas or hills or even mountainsides. There is a mountain resort that we go to where tents are used for accommodation. We are thinking that if there would be cabins, we probably would rent even if it's expensive. Pardon me for saying this but over here, only the rich can afford a cabin. I hope someday I can enter a real log cabin.