Completed in 2021, this cabin retreat in Flores de Cunha, Brazil, was designed as a refuge and retreat into nature for those looking to escape the chaos of everyday life. Designed by Desterro Arquitetos, a design studio located on Santa Catarina Island, Brazil, the property features a main cabin, outhouse, and outdoor living area surrounded by local fruit trees, a small creek, and visiting wildlife.
Dubbed the Solena Cabin, the design focuses on immersing visitors in nature through a variety of design strategies–including the use of fire in different forms. A wood-burning stove is used to heat the cabin, an outdoor fire pit creates a gathering space, a spacious grill, (or parrilla) is used for cooking outside, and to relax, a wood fired hot tub sits awaiting on a modest patio.
At 300 square feet, the living cabin is composed of a generous galvanized gable roof sandwiched between floor-to-ceiling windows on either end to give guests clear views of their surroundings. On the inside, a bed and kitchenette float in the middle of the space, while the wood stove sits off to the corner. A skylight invites light into the center of the space. No blinds or curtains were installed to further integrate the cabin with nature.
The exterior grounds feature multiple spaces for relaxing outdoors. A modest deck protrudes from the main living space, a hand-crafted bench and picnic table surround the outdoor fire pit, and a patio hosts the wood-fired hot tub and seating area. Elsewhere on the property, behind the cabin, an outhouse contains a bathroom and outdoor shower.
The Solena Cabin is an on-grid property, although, like any good hideaway, the wifi is spotty. Peaceful and self-contained, it explores the many different ways we rest and recharge with nature–and fire.
The Solena Cabin is currently available to rent for $80/night.
Published 11-01-2022
