Cozy Cabin

The brief

A weekend cabin used year-round by a family of four. The upstairs loft bedroom needed to sleep two adults, hold the smell of woodsmoke in a good way, and feel like a hug after a day on the slopes.

The challenge

The A-frame ceiling pitched down to 1.4m at the eaves, so anywhere a head might lift had to be carefully placed. Original orange-tinted pine made the whole loft feel like a 1990s sauna.

The approach

• 01

  Limewashed the existing pine in a soft milk tone — kept the grain, killed the orange.

• 02

  Painted the gable wall in a deep clay-brown to anchor the bed and warm the daylight through the small dormer.

• 03

  Built a low bed platform with integrated nightstand drawers so nothing protruded into walking space.

• 04

  Layered a wool bedspread, two weights of mohair throw, and a vintage kilim runner at the foot of the bed.

Materials & finishes

Walls

Lime-washed pine + clay-pigment accent wall

Bed

Custom low platform in reclaimed fir

Textiles

Welsh wool blanket, mohair throws, vintage kilim

Lighting

Brass swing-arm sconces + warm Edison bulbs

The outcome

The family says the bedroom is now the most-photographed room in the cabin, even though they didn't intend it to be. The clay wall reads differently every hour as the mountain light moves.

Frequently asked

How do you fix orange-toned pine without painting it out?

Limewash. A milk-tone lime wash keeps the grain visible and kills the orange cast — the wood still reads as wood, just calmed down.

Why a clay-painted accent wall?

Deep clay-brown anchors the bed in an A-frame and absorbs cool mountain daylight, so the room feels warm even before the wood stove is lit.

Does the layout work under a sloped A-frame ceiling?

Yes — the bed and integrated nightstands sit on the centreline where headroom is full; everything that protrudes into the eaves is at sitting height.