The simple life…birdsong, a rug, coffee, watching the clouds scud by. Filling our lungs with fresh air while we chop a few logs for the evening brazier. I tell you, we could be calmer, better people if only we had a cabin to retreat to.

cabin hackney shed

Hackney Shed by Office Sian

Seaside cabin in Mendocino, California.

Seaside cabin in Mendocino, California.

cabin sod roof houses in Iceland

Sod roof houses in Vik, Iceland. Photo by Gilles Baldet

cabin Finland

Designed and built by 21-year-old industrial design student Robin Falck in the Finnish archipelago of Sipoo

cabin greenhouse, Auckland, New Zealand

Stephen and Lucy Marr’s greenhouse, Auckland, New Zealand

cabin Sweden

Falu red is a preservation pigment originated from copper mining and a common cabin colour in Sweden. Photo by Anna Ådén

cabin Sauna on the Åland Islands

Sauna on the Åland Islands by Denizen Works

cabin Finnish Garden Sleeping Shed

Finnish garden Sleeping Shed

cabin dock-side

Stockholm-based WRB's dock-side cabin

cabin Fountainebleau, France

Isabel Marant’s rustic cabin on the Loing River in Fountainebleau, France.

cabin Sol Duc Cabin in Washington

Sol Duc Cabin in Washington state, designed by Olson Kundig.

cabin recycled

This cabin was built using only recycled material.

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Recently the trend for home offices has sparked interest in building at the bottom of the garden; planning permission is not normally needed. But often the prefab solutions can be a little soulless. Hand-made and wonky is much more appealing.

This collection came from the wonderfully-named Cabin Porn blog. It’s tagline: inspiration for your quiet place somewhere. Proof that rustic doesn’t have to mean Hobbity.

Some of these beauties are nestled in far-flung hilltops, but each has something transferable to the urban garden; green roofs, mini-decks or a tiny wood-burning stove.

I’m drawn to the starker, pitch-painted ones, but the weather-faded shingled ones are beautiful too.

Drape with fairy lights and scatter with sheepskin rugs but keep the insides simple (see below), maintaining the focus on the views and surrounding greenery. It’s all about the great outdoors.

Cabin modern Interior 2
cabin interior rustic
cabin interior rustic girl
Cabin Interior 1
Cabin modern Interior 3
cabin outdoor living
cabin interior rustic bed
cabin interior rustic shack
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