I’ve drawn and discarded floorplan sketches for years. Recently I stopped focusing on designing a family home with great resale value. Now I’m drawing a comfortable, relaxed space that brings the outdoors in and lets me enjoy the property the way I want.
My current drawings resemble a U-shaped cabin with a guest suite wrapped around a two-car garage. Every room would have woodland views through large windows.
The layout is a study in versatility; half of the rooms are multi-functional. Depending on furnishings, rooms can be sitting areas, offices, or bedrooms. The large, open, dog-friendly, dining-family room and kitchen can be closed off to keep wet dogs confined and happily playing indoors.
Set in a small clearing among Douglas firs, cedars, and alders, the cabin could be a perfect writer’s retreat. A three-hundred-fifty-foot driveway through trees and a field would connect the cabin to a county road and civilization.
But I can’t imagine leaving this little piece of paradise.
