APPLE CABIN
Perched on a bluff overlooking the White River, the Apple Cabin is a modern family retreat that balances simplicity with subtle complexity. The brief called for restraint: a modest, modern cabin for a family of five, located just an hour from their primary home. The solution is an economy of means elevated by an attention to craft.
The simple rectangular form is topped with a clean low-profile gable. A subtractive entry on the back side of the house creates a moment of compression and transition before revealing the expansive river view beyond. The second floor is deliberately abbreviated, stud walls rise to just four feet, combining in height with the attic for usable square footage, making every inch purposeful. A sleeping porch extends this form opening the solid form towards the view of the river.
The interior is modest in scale but rich in experience. An open main room centers upon an oversized window that brings the forest into home. Upstairs, a shared commons with a washbasin anchors three functional bedrooms. The architecture prioritizes collectivity over privacy, drawing the family into shared rhythms of use.
Built by master craftsman Al Larsen, the project is defined not by opulence, but by precision. Cladding choices reinforce the architecture’s quiet coherence. The exterior is wrapped entirely in charred wood, shou sugi ban, while the interior employs a single wood species across floors, walls, and ceilings, rendering the home as a seamless wooden vessel. There are no trim conditions, no visual noise, only crisp edges, careful alignments, and subtle shifts in light and grain.
APPLE CABIN
YEAR 2018
BEAVER, ARKANSAS
Photos by Lucky McMahon
Construction by Al Larson
Special Thanks to Little Apple Inc.
A singular material palette, rigorous detailing, and precise composition produce a home that feels both humble and refined. An architecture that is a study in reduction. The Apple Cabin is an architectural meditation on economy and permanence. A place where memory is embedded in the quiet generosity of well-made space.