Compact Cabins: Simple Living in 1000 Square Feet or Less

As the title says, I own over twenty cabin books. This is by far my favorite design/floorplan book. It has 50+ different designs. The review about it simply being a series of identical designs with "expensive bump outs" and "no use of lofts" apparently didn't look at more than a few designs, nor read the actual text of the book. In the second half, the author addresses adding more floor-space cheaply by using lofts for sleeping areas. There are only a few designs with bump-outs, and if you don't like them, turn the page! My favorite thing is the way the book is organized, the cabins are arranged in sq/ft. order as you look through the first half of the book, going from just over a hundred feet to almost 1,000 (but most are 600 sq/ft or fewer). Each design gets a floor plan and an elevation (exterior drawing), covering two pages per cabin. The second half of the book gives excellent overview-level information about green building, energy efficiency, off-the-grid ideas, incorporating garages, RV-concepts, and even a few designs using shipping containers! There is a great chapter on using modular designed 12' x 12' sections to create a mobile living space, whereby you can truck in your cabin, add to it as you can afford to, and even design your own cabin using 20 or so "modules" that the author pre-designed and included in the book (i.e. 4 bedroom modules, 4 kitchen modules, 4 bathroom modules, living rooms, dining areas, etc.). It's a really fun addition to the book. This is not a book to go deep into any one subject, but it is an excellent overview for the new reader who wants a LOT of survey-level information on cabin concepts. And the 50 designs rank among my favorites for their creativity and individuality. How many round, half-round, quonset hut or yurt-style cabins have you seen in cabin books lately? Like I said earlier, best design book I own. Buy this book, you will NOT be disappointed.

This is not one of those beauty-books that shows glossy photos of other people's luxury homes in the woods. This book has dozens of sample layouts for small, purposeful cabins. It's a practical guide to space-planning in a small footprint. The book is great at starting the thinking process. The sections on building are good, as is the information on repurposing materials from RVs. But the meat of the book is the practical floor plans with notes about why they work well. One of the most useful things about this book is that it makes you ask yourself: why am I building a cabin? Since "form ever follows function," answering this question leads you to the type of cabin that suits your purpose. If you decide that a small cabin is right for you, the author offers up plenty of suggestions for how to get the most out of a little space. I like that he even makes note of shipping containers as a starting point for a cabin.

Lots of clever tips and good information in this and his other books, however I am not enthused by his architectural style, or by some of the floor plans. Having lived on boats for long periods of time there are many, many ways to incorporate those concepts into layouts and accommodations. He does include RV components and concepts but they are often a bit plastic and ideas from wooden boat building -- while requiring a degree of craftsmanship that may be beyond the average carpenter -- are normally really lovely, creative, compact and efficient. Although I have no architectural skills or training, there are many little tweaks which would render some of these designs ever so much better -- little things like entrance doors in a different location, more pocket doors, shelves at the back of closets or on the back of doors, slide out narrow "pantries," rotating the locations of rooms slightly to provide more separation and privacy (placing the bathroom between bedrooms) and the extensions of decks/porches to provide more outdoors sitting area (benches along the edges -- can also incorporate storage for sports equipmenet, etc.). I applaud his use of compact furniture, and clever ideas such as Murphy beds (and other foldup against the wall options) as well as the inclusion of hardware cloth deep down into the surrounding dirt around foundations to prevent unwanted residents.

Lovely book, has several great cabin plans

Ok well the illustrations are great, and vast rich full of information and resources and links some really good stuff and nice Eco cover and design. Lots of cute designs if you like tiny homes or even thow ideas and does offer a few container home designs So what's wrong? The designer clearly was a designer in the 70's. Almost every design features a bathroom off of the kitchen!? Who travels through a kitchen to take a shower, then back out thru living room back to the bedroom. It's the layouts that seem like the have no rhyme or reason why they put things where they do. Bathrooms should be near or connected on suites to bedrooms not past a kitchen. None of the designs even have a tv. So these are all mainly off grid designs even though only a few show solar (most just say optional solar). Few show propane or water tanks or other needed items of a good design like storage. Two story designs with main bedrooms upstairs need the full/three quarter baths need to be with them upstairs not half baths. The whole book needs an upgrade for the 2000's with new appliances, tv's , solar, pocket/sliding doors, window options, etc Also some actual building details would also be nice to see not just basic 2d sketches. The plans should/could even be offered for sale for full blueprints etc So ya want some ideas and lots of pretty decent info on all sorts of things grab this up but the interiors need help bad

Super book!!! Love how easy it is to follow.

Bon livre pour des idées de models , attention que des models extérieur et de la division intérieur . Pas un outil complet sur la méthode de construction du départ jusqua la fin .

...zur architektonischen Gestaltung bietet dieses Buch! Über 200 Seiten in sehr angenehm einfacher Aufmachung, vollgepackt mit sehr vielen Ideen für die verschiedensten Haustypen. Auch schöne Schnittzeichnungen und Überlegungen zum Design mit Modulen, sowie alternativen Energien sind zu finden. Jeweils eine Ansicht mit einer Grundrisszeichnung für jedes Modell sind übersichtlich dargestellt, allerdings nur mit Außenmaßen und nur in der engl. Maßeinheiten ft und square ft. Die Inneneinrichtungsvorschläge könnten für meine Bedürfnisse teils etwas alltagstauglicher/praxisbewährter sein. Insgesamt ein tolles Arbeitsbuch auf dem Weg der eigenen Hausgestaltung.

Planning a vision! This is to help guide my daughter and husband in building a vacation cabin in the great north Michigan woods!

Dieses Buch hat einen Ehrenplatz bei mir bekommen. Nach dem Motto "Es muss nicht immer eine Riesenvilla sein" beschreibt das Buch eine Menge Baualternativen für kleinere (Holz)Hütten bzw. Häuser ... halt alles unter 1.000 square feet (ca.92qm) Wohnraum. Die vielen Zeichnungen sind sehr veranschaulichend und auch, wenn man sich vielleicht doch niemals ein eigenes kleines Hüttchen baut, läd das Buch zum Träumen und Planen ein.

Cool book for when the world ends.