A Seattleite builds the ultimate 330-square-foot outpost for her Eastern Washington adventures

written by Melissa Dalton | photography by Ben Lindbloom

Crunching down a gravel driveway in Mazama, this tiny cabin is easy to overlook. That’s because it’s nestled into the berm off the side of the road, as though its concrete and patinaed metal have emerged from the dirt and yellow sagebrush. According to the architecture firm, GO’C, who were hired by their Seattle client in 2016 to design the property, this was the point. “Before we went out there, she brought us some samples of rocks and lichens from the property as inspiration,” said architect Aimée O’Carroll, who worked with firm partner Jon Gentry on the project. “It became pretty clear that we wanted to camouflage the cabin in the hillside.”

No matter the season, the owner, an outdoor enthusiast and endurance athlete, loves to hit the trails, whether going on long runs, mountain biking or skiing the nearby network of trails. She’d been doing all of the above in the Methow Valley for ten years, when she stumbled on this property for sale: 3.3 acres with sweeping views of the valley, just up the road from Mazama General Store. She first reached out to GO’C to design a two-bedroom house. But at some point during the planning process, realized she wanted to start construction with a small cabin instead. There was no road, power or septic on the site when she purchased the property, and with utilities taking up a big chunk of the budget, the cabin would give her something that could be built in the short term, and used much faster.

After multiple times camping on the property, the owner also knew where she wanted to put it. “She’d built this relationship with the area over time,” said O’Carroll. “She knew where the views were, where she liked to sit and have her morning coffee.” Burrowing the building into the hillside not only syncs it to its surrounding environment, but helps with thermal regulation in a climate that gets both intense sun in the warmer months, and an average of 119 inches of snow a year.

The cabin stays cool in the summer, thanks to a steel awning that keeps the hot sun out, paired with passive cooling strategies. An operable skylight at the back of the building brings in natural light there, and cool breezes, which travel through the interior and out the large sliding glass doors at the front. The concrete exterior walls store heat in the winter, with additional insulative properties drawn from the hillside and the flat roof, which is designed to carry heavy loads of snow. (Water drains off via an artfully integrated gutter spout.)

Plus, the metal and concrete look good with patina, and are more resistant to wildfires. “The idea was that the materials would change in response to the climate and the weather, but still provide a very robust exterior, which is important when there’s a lot of snow, and heat,” said O’Carroll.

The cabin’s small size was also intentional. “This is a little adventure spot for her,” said O’Carroll, and most of the owner’s time is spent outside, so she only needed to cover the basics. The group settled on 330 square feet, with a bathroom, kitchen, bed nook and living room. To save space in the tiny footprint, the architects used cabinetry to separate the zones and create much needed storage. No one wants to go out into the woods, after all, only to be surrounded by visible clutter.

Now, there’s clever concealment for everything, from tall cabinets for the ski gear, to the large drawers under the raised bed to accommodate thick winter fleeces, to a pull-out pantry cupboard. The owner can even access the deep recess under the bed for off-season gear storage, so no space goes to waste. “Even though it’s small, it’s built a little bit like a ship’s cabin in that everything has its spot to live and it’s all carefully tucked away into the interiors,” said O’Carroll. For the interiors, the architects specified all of the cabinetry and the ceiling out of maple plywood, which gives visual continuity, while a cork covered accent wall at the bed nook offers cozy variation.

And should the owner need some downtime, before or after adventuring, not only is there a petite covered front porch for drinking coffee and lounging, but the flat roof doubles as a deck. Still, what’s most important is that “she can just go straight out and ski down her driveway and be in the mountains,” said O’Carroll. “It’s all she needs.’”