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flatwater
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2009 21:53
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There are a lot of different styles of cabins, what in your opinion makes a cabin give off that warm and comfy feeling ?
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CabinBuilder
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2009 10:00 - Edited by: CabinBuilder
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It largely depends on the surrounding area. For example, a cozy cabin in the woods would be different from the one in the desert or on a see shore. Interior needs to match too.
Personally, for the wooded area cabin - it's a tall roof and wooden interior finish.
Matching pictures will also nicely emphasize your theme. Warm lights (i.e., more to yellow than blue).
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2009 10:04
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Yeah, it's subjective to the individual's taste. A lot of wood does feel warm and comfy, but so do walls painted in warm tones. The decor you choose, if any, is anoother thing that makes a big difference.
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Vince P
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2009 10:05
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oops. forgot to sign in. That was my message above
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MikeOnBike
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# Posted: 22 Dec 2009 13:17
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Our cabin project is in the high mtn. desert. Range fire zone so we will use hardiboard for siding but paint it a warm color to help it blend in with its surroundings of dirt, rock and sage.
Inside all three walls of the bed alcove will be lined with wood book shelves and natural wood trim will be used throughout. A wood stove and plenty of indirect light will help make it cozy.
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elkdiebymybow
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2010 14:09
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Think about what makes YOU feel good. What type of space do you want to develope? I agree that your surrounding landscape has much to do with the design and construction methods but build something that fits YOU. Design is such a personal experience. There are obviously a few guidelines to follow (lighting, spacial design, building materials, colors, etc..) but ultimately, create a space that makes you feel good!
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 1 Feb 2010 21:37
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I'd say a steep roof, cute little porch with small woodpile, wooden interior, ie knotty pine, rough saw cedar, aged naturally. And a nice amber glow from a toast fire inside the woodstove.
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cabinbasics
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# Posted: 1 Feb 2010 22:25 - Edited by: cabinbasics
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I have fond memories as a kid of going to my Great Aunt's dune cottage on Long Island. It was a 2 x 4 rough built cottage - plywood, stained in grey. No drywall or inside walls of any kind. What I remember the most was all the little knick-knacks all over the place, shells, crab claws, driftwood, bird carvings, maps of the area - that kind of stuff.
I pick up cabin magazines once in a while and some of them have had articles about what makes a place homey - usually it's how the place is decorated, rather than the structure itself.
As for me, gotta have some trout hanging on the walls for sure! If you Ebay at all, check out seller oceanarts10 - chainsaw carver of some really neat fish. I got a rainbow trout for Christmas and it is fantastic. http://shop.ebay.com/oceanarts10/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340
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larry
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# Posted: 22 Feb 2010 20:33
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i would say a great place for family/friends to hunt , fish and camp. all the rest is just details, just my oppinion
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Borrego
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# Posted: 22 Feb 2010 22:07
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Quoting: flatwater what in your opinion makes a cabin give off that warm and comfy feeling ?
A hot wife!!!
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Mule Holler
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2010 18:03
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The perfect marshmallow cooked by you child and given to you with apprehension.
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larry
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2010 20:32
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Quoting: Borrego A hot wife!!!
i'm with borrego
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2010 23:19
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all the above ,, and lots of WOOD !
maybe some antlers, and rock fireplace !
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RDLong70
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2010 03:13
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Quoting: flatwater There are a lot of different styles of cabins, what in your opinion makes a cabin give off that warm and comfy feeling ?
No mortgage! =)
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Gary O
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2010 00:14
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"No mortgage" is a great one, and probably the best, as having anything that requires payment and interest tends to mock the debtor, like the aging motor home in a rented storage lot......
Any cabin has it's own ambiance.
However, a wife to share it all with is the absolute best.
If she's hot, great, if she's cold, warm her.
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fooboo
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2010 08:22
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It's all in the details. The lighting, the textures, the colors, cleanliness, and sounds all go in to it. It's in the spatial relationships of height width and length that need to be in "balance" and it's in the "flow" of how people move around the cabin from living areas to service areas.
Contrast these two as an example: In cabin 1 we have a half finished cabin with exposed OSB inside and it's drafty inside, has doors that stick, a loud refrigerator, dirty windows with no windows coverings, a wood stove that leaks and little details like poor millwork, creaking floors, and a low ceiling. There is an echo when you talk and there are only a couple of light fixtures so it's either very bright or completely dark. There are compromises apparent everywhere... The bathroom is squeezed down to airplane size and the bathroom door opens directly into the main living space only inches away, the kitchen is hardly adequate for anything more microwaving canned stew and the floor joists are so skimpy, you hear a creak with every step and there is virtually zero closet space. The predominant textures are a plastic shower, linoleum flooring, formica countertops, vinyl covered furniture, drywall, and many other man made components.
In cabin 2 we have a finished cabin with tongue and groove paneling, exposed beams, and an abundance of natural materials - a combination of stone, tile, and wood and maybe sisal or wool area carpets. There is a solid feel to the entire cabin - an adequate subfloor and well braced walls. Plastics and man made materials like linoleum, formica, VCT, and drywall are minimal or non-existent. The millwork is impeccable, and the appliances silent. It's well insulated and not drafty. Everything is very clean and doors, faucets and heating work perfectly. The furniture and textures match the theme and location of the local environment. The space is well proportioned with high ceilings, an adequate bathroom that is well separated from the living room, and a kitchen sized to at least chop vegetables and make homemade spaghetti from scratch. Lighting can be controlled with dimmers throughout and there is an abundance of indirect ambient light that can be controlled with window coverings. Lots of textures come into play - the inviting bedspread, the bearskin run, the leather couch, artwork and even the clear sealer used on the wall paneling and tile are subtle, yet important features.
My point is that it's a little bit of everything and they all add up to a "warm" feeling. Much of it is subliminal and not obvious to the casual visitor.
You need to build a solid cabin with high standards, and then finish if off with some decent interior decorating and details definitely matter. Details, details, details. That little gap between two pieces of baseboard or that door that sticks or the faucet that has a hammer sound all add up to frustration and wipe out the "warm" feeling. People may not even catch some of these little details but subliminally they are experiencing them and they become frustrated or experience fear (leaky wood stove, no locks on doors etc.).
Every little thing matters. Think about that next time you're in the aisle at Home Depot picking out some seemingly little thing like a light switch or a door knob.
Another way I've heard this discussion play out is the commercial fishing vessel vs. yacht analogy. Compare a 60 foot fishing boat and a 60 foot yacht - one is "industrial" - metal everywhere, loud, sterile, and a "working environment" with engines and machinery exposed and everything very cramped. The yacht is the polar opposite of that in every way imaginable. It's not hard to turn your cabin into a yacht if you pay attention to every detail as you build and furnish it and it doesn't take as much money as one might think it would.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2010 12:20
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Boy, that covers it all and then some.
Cabin 2 is pretty much is the epitome of what has always been my fantasy.
Cabin 1 contains about 5% of my reality.
Quoting: fooboo zero closet space
Thanks fooboo for re-establishing some personal goals of mine.
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Kithera
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# Posted: 11 Oct 2010 11:37
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I'm with Gary, the best way to make a cabin warm is to fill it with those you love.
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RnR
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2011 12:02
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Wow Fooboo, that was really insightful. I totally agree. I mentioned in one of my posts that you have to avoid bringing all your old mismatched stuff to the cabin. Most of what we have at the cabin is new and was purchased deliberately. Anything we already owned and brought to the cabin was done so with thought behind it.
I think what gives our cabin its look is that I used bright colours in the furniture and accessories, with lots of painted and wood finishes that you would not necessarily use in city house.
I think planning is especially important for the kitchen as we have open-shelving and it's easy for a kitchen to become a total mess. I bought a new set of dishes, which was only $17 on sale. things don't have to cost a fortune thanks to large surface stores and Ikea, although the dishes were bought at Stokes. Personally I have to like everything around me in order to be motivated to take care of it and clean it. I could have a whole other post on the objects we bring into our lives and homes and what we should be asking ourselves when we buy them.
Cleanliness is another good point you made. I don't think you or your guests can truly be comfortable and relaxed in a space that doesn't look and smell clean no matter how cute it might look. We were also visiting another nearly abandoned cabin once that needed a good cleaning and lots of work, for which a friend desribed as "it smells like old people". You don't want that. Our cabin smells of wood (from the floor and T&G walls) and dishwashing detergent (biodegradble only) because you're doing dishes pretty frequently, not counting the wood stove our outdoors.
Our shoes always come off at the front door. Every 2 or 3 weeks we lift all the area rugs and shake them outside and sweep the floor and keep things tidy on a daily basis. All the rugs in the cabin are machine washable. A large bamboo rug can be washed like a floor. I especially like the 4x6 entrance rug which gives you plenty of space to walk in and take off your boots or shoes and hang your coat. That rug is synthetic, durable and rubber-backed as we always drag in lots of snow in the winter. If it weren't washable I'd be replacing it every year. It gets washed every 6 months or so. Otherwise there are lots of cotton rag rugs which are super easy to wash and hang to dry when needed.
Some peole might like the idea of lax housekeeping for a change in a cabin and being able to throw your pistachio shells right onto the floor without a second thought. While that idea does sound strangely liberating and fun to me, I think in the end that since the space is small you need to be extra tidy, which is actually easy because cleaning the whole place can often be done by two people in about an hour.
Anyway those are my two cents. Hope someone found it useful.
Rick
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:30
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Great discussion from a few years ago.
When my parents first furnished our cabin it was quite nice inside mostly by luck due to the simplicity of the then new 1950s styles and the used 1940s and older styles (wood stoves, buffets, etc) but with turnover over the intervening years we slowly filled it with all the used, mismatched, too good to toss, city furniture and free hand me down furniture and the cabin slowly became quite awful inside.
I'm now trying to restore if not 'better' that quaint, warm and comfortable feel I grew up with. It's not easy. Eg. I just passed on a chance to get some old hickory wood bark/log chairs because they would have cost a couple hundred bucks, and I already have all the chairs I need - all crappy looking though. 
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LDamm
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2015 08:54 - Edited by: LDamm
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Cabin 1 and 2 ??? Same corner of the shed, 2 years apart.
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OutdoorFanatic
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2015 19:02
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Quoting: flatwater what in your opinion makes a cabin give off that warm and comfy feeling ?
No Mortgage?
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upndown
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2015 19:34
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A good fire, and my Lady snuggled next to me in her flannels and bunny slippers! 
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Smawgunner
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# Posted: 31 Dec 2015 09:08
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RUGS
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2016 10:13 - Edited by: KinAlberta
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And locating it in Nevada.
When I was shopping for my first house I went into one house that had been on the market for a long, long time. The house design, age, location,etc was quite fine but the decorating was what was keeping people from buying it. Every wall had wallpaper and every wallpaper was totally different from the other. I immediately thought this is how I would decorate a house. See some neat wall paper in a store, say Star Wars or tiger cub wall paper, buy some rolls and bring it home and slap it on some wall. That's what the owners of this house had done, and they destroyed its value and marketability. It was a huge lesson for me to appreciate decorating as much or more than architectural design.
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Just
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2016 14:14
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Old wood is my favorite
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2016 18:44
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My personal opinion on what make "cozy"...
Wood. I like the golden glow of pine with amber shellac, with darker trim and floors
Many sources of low level light, instead of one big bright light. Personal touches in decorations, and lower ceilings compared to room width/depth seem to make it feel snug and inviting.
Tim
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Gary O
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2016 21:49
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Our Earth stove seems to be doing a pretty good job of it
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Salty Craig
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2016 21:15
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Moonshine. Both kinds.
My wife.
Candles.
Hoot owls.
Massage.
Victoria's Secrets all revealed.
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mick968
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# Posted: 3 Jan 2016 22:09
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Let's see...... wood stove burning hot........lots of wood......well stocked bar..........firepit burning all the time.........southern exposure
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