Friday Cabins #13: The Long and Short of It
These Australian homes prove good design comes in all sizes
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Hey ya’ll and welcome to another round-up of cabins brought to you by Cabins Etc, your favorite cabin lover’s favorite cabin newsletter. You know the drill by now; every Friday we pluck our fave cabins from the pages of Field Mag, the #1 source for all things design slash outdoor, and deliver them to you, dear reader slash friend, for a nice little week-cap to send you ~vibing high~ into the weekend. If this piques your interest, we also deliver a hard-hitting handcrafted Deep Dive every month for our paying Certified Cabin Lover-tier subscribers (shout out you fine folks!).
Today we take a look at two Australian homes that vary wildly in length. Yet each still packs a punch, proving size is but a number. Dig in and dig it!
Why, yes, I would like to share Cabins Etc. with my parents, who will surely be impressed with what I’m reading on my coffee breaks.
🏡 Australia's Clever Longhouse Is a 3-in-1 School, Farm, House
At just over 11,000 square feet, the Longhouse by Partners Hill houses a school, apartment, and mini-farm underneath its super-sized roof. Inspired by the durability and usefulness of the common shed, the building was designed to withstand the harsh climate of its Australian site and appears like any industrial building you might pass in the suburbs. But inside, the space opens up into a meandering oasis of edible gardens, secret lounge areas, and living structures made of brick and wood.
The space is an all-in-one business and home for the clients, who wanted to bring their varying interests in farming, family, design, and hospitality together under one roof. To accommodate these needs, there are both public hosting areas for guests and students, and private living quarters for the clients. And in keeping with their sustainable ethos, the house is built to Passive House standards. Besides protecting the Longhouse's interior, the roof also acts as a giant rain-catcher, capable of funneling up to 340,000 liters of rainwater into cisterns.
🌆 This Shape-Shifting Mobile Cabin is Inspired by NYC's Retrofitted Warehouse Lofts
Inspired in part by the materials (and size) of NYC apartments, the Brook Tiny Home by Australian studio Small, is a tiny home on wheels. Marked by its unusual 16-foot-high ceilings, a feature unseen in most tiny homes, the interior takes on the appearance of a Brooklyn loft. This home has some tricks up its sleeves as well. Due to its height, Small founders Aaron Sheilds and Nick Lane found it difficult to transport the structure on truckbed when it hit hanging power lines. So the two rigged up a retractable roof capable of expanding up to four feet via a cog system controlled by a wheel affixed to the living room wall.
All sorts of additional space-saving elements are woven throughout the house, like an over-the-sink drying rack, a retractable ladder to the loft above, and a folding table for an at-home office. Small also proves tiny can be luxurious with a spa-like bathroom made of off-cute bluestone cobble and recycled brass detailing. Generous windows round out the spacious interior. And, the home is off-grid, so you can take the Brook anywhere.
That’s it for now! T.G.I.F
TTYS,
-ee