Piney Woods Cabin

The Piney Woods Cabin is a 2,300 sq. ft. weekend retreat for a couple set in the Sam Houston National Forest north of Houston. The building takes on the streamlined appearance of a classic Adirondack cabin with brown clapboard siding, white trim, stone foundation & chimney, and green roof. The program is organized to group service & private spaces together to form bookends that give the building a sense of weight & opacity from the outside. The public spaces of entry, dining, and living are organized along a cross axis in the plan and are articulated at the exterior walls with a skeletal assembly of windows & doors to contrast with the bookends. The double-height living room is set at the center of the plan with expansive views to the surrounding forest and nearby pond. Light fills the space through clerestory windows. A shallow porch running the length of the house direct views outward toward the pond and is just right for reading a book, quiet reflection, or intimate conversation in rocking chairs on a rainy afternoon.