If you dream of owning your own cabin one day, why not try dreaming of three? Like the Latvian My Cabin and Maine's Little House on the Ferry, the Kaggeboda House by Andrén Fogelström architects breaks up its small-scale living space into three separate structures, all within steps of each other. Their interplay creates a mini complex for the owner, who can wake up in one and head to work in another. And although the Kaggeboda project was technically built in 2013, it's refreshing and decentralized design is particularly pertinent today.
Located in Norrtälje, Sweden, in a forest on the Stockholm archipelago, the Kaggeboda House cabins are arranged on opposing corners of a wooden deck. Like a spread of disassembled nesting dolls, the cabins vary in size but not shape, and its designers used the same materials throughout. Spanning a total of 667 square feet, each cabin is dedicated towards a different use while also creating a functional whole.
The largest of the three buildings utilizes an open floor plan that consists of a bedroom, a sitting area, a dining room, and a kitchen, all organized around a central wood stove and brick chimney. Generous floor-to-ceiling windows, sliding glass doors, and a large skylight directly over the sink bring in plenty of light and are emphasized by wheat-colored birch plywood walls, ceilings, and floors. Storage is cleverly hidden behind cabinet doors made of the same material for a seamless and fresh interior.
The second smallest cabin contains a study that doubles as a guest room with a small private deck leading to the forest floor below. And the smallest is something of a shed, hosting storage for tools and wood, but was designed to convert into a bathroom if needed. On the decking between all three cabins there are outdoor lounge areas and, most notably, an outdoor kitchen.
All three buildings are clad in the same blackened plywood with batten joints while the doors, roofs, and window frames are made of brown sheet metal. The dark industrial look of all three exterior contrasts with their softer, lighter interiors, a characteristic common to many recent Scandinavian and Scandinavian-inspired cabins.
Published 03-24-2022
