Living Off The Grid – Is A Cabin Right For You?
Do you love the relaxed privacy of getting away from it all? Appreciate a slower pace on occasion, where you can check out the stars and get back to your roots? If so, you might be just the candidate for cabin living. In this article, we’ll discuss what a cabin is, what are the benefits and disadvantages of living in one, and some ways you could style one should you be so inclined. We hope you find this article helpful and/or interesting.
WHAT IS A CABIN?
In a nutshell, a cabin is a small shelter or house, made out of wood, and situated in a wild or remote area. Cabins come in all shapes, sizes, and luxury levels, of course, but the nuts and bolts of this housing type are, at their core, the same.
CABIN BENEFITS:
Cabins are unique.
Log cabins have evolved into a fairly large and luxurious type of housing, where acreage permits at least. Their actual design is typically reflective of their immediate surroundings, including the layout of the land, the nearby trees, water, and foliage, and mountainous slope-age. The benefit of taking these things into consideration is an ultimately custom-built cabin.
Immediately in-touch with nature.
To those of you who love nothing more than a quiet weekend spent hiking, fishing, or relaxing by the firepit or on the porch swing, you’ll appreciate the natural locale of cabin life. Although modern conveniences can likely be arranged for, they aren’t inherent. And the Great Outdoors is at your fingertips.
Rustic charm.
Cabins by their very nature are charming, even the most contemporary of cabins. With their wood frames and woodsy setting, the cabins themselves becomes part of nature.
High resale value.
Because they are rarer than a suburbian neighborhood house, cabins tend to be in higher demand, making resale typically easier and more profitable.
CABIN DISADVANTAGES:
High cost of building.
Due to the remoteness of their location, log cabins (and other types of cabins, really) are more expensive to build than regular homes in regular neighborhoods. (Which is an enigma of a statement, anyway, because what is “regular”?) Toting the materials in, plus the builders’ time and travel, and the distance from major grid systems can make the construction of a cabin quite pricey.
Remote living.
While living in the woods is certainly peaceful and gratifying as a rule, it can also be dangerous in the event of an emergency or danger.
CABIN STYLING TIPS:
Use wood. And lots of it.
While not all cabins are the primitive, rustic visions we’ve seen in the movies, cabins decorated with elements of nature make aesthetic and emotional sense. This includes wood furniture, wood details, wood accents. Of course, make sure to balance out these bits with some cooler elements as well.
Pay attention to texture.
To create the homey feel we all know and love (and associate with cabins), use a variety of touchable textures with reckless abandon. Keep soft rugs underfoot, upholstered furniture ready to sink into, and throw blankets within arm’s reach.
Leather is always welcome.
Leather is a rare blend of being warm, comfortable, and luxurious. It keeps the cabin feel while providing a bit of lived-in sophistication that’s hard to achieve with any other material. Don’t feel like everything has to be leather, but a piece or two will go far in creating that ideal cabin haven.