Build Your Dream Small Cabin: 15 of the Best of 2023 (2024)

More and more people are choosing to leave their busy city lives for a more simple and understated life in the country, and one of the most aspirational goals for country life is having a log cabin in which to while away the hours.

Small cabins provide a traditional and cozy place to call home, with just enough space for the necessities and things you need, they encourage a more simple but wholesome life.

Whether you’re thinking about buying or building your own, or you just like perusing beautiful buildings, you’re in for a treat!

Sit back and relax as we take you on a journey of a wide range of small cabins, from handcrafted quality kits to homes built for just $100 using local trees.

15. Orcas Island Cabin

A small cabin roundup wouldn’t be complete without the Orcas Island Cabin, based around a forest fire lookout tower that has 360-degree views.

This home was created to make the most of the beautiful views, with a 150 square-foot loft added to the 350 square-foot ground floor.

Built-in a really unique cross shape, this creates defined spaces within the open area, so that each of the alcoves contains either the kitchen, dining area, and bathroom.

From the ground floor, there is a ladder that provides access to the loft bedroom, which has roofed dormers to create more ceiling height.

14. Creekside Small Cabin

The Creekside is a perfectly sized home for a couple or small family, with a footprint of 537 square footage.

Creekside has a beautiful room, and a few steps which lead up to a small porch area to the front of the home.

To the inside is a great open space, with plenty of room for a sofa, a dining table and chairs, and a small kitchen.

The living space has a cathedral ceiling which the loft area looks out over, two bedrooms, and one bathroom.

13. The Settler

There are a few options available for the layout of the Settler Cabin, but the 546 square-foot, 624 including the porch, layout holds solidly in this lineup.

A great low-budget option, this layout can have up to two bedrooms and one bathroom and is fully customizable to meet your needs.

It is available as a shell or fully finished with a complete interior, electric, bathroom, and kitchen installation.

Zook is a reputable company and is well-known for providing quality prefab and log cabins.

12. Alaskan Log Cabin

If you need any reassurance that you can build your own cabin, this couple had no previous experience and completed the exterior in just five months, working weekends only!

This small home has an open concept living area, with stairs leading up to the bedroom loft area.

Everything is handcrafted from the kitchen cabinetry to the rustic looking porch, to the rock fireplace. You can feel how much love has gone into creating this home.

You can follow this build step-by-step in our guide, or watch the process here:

11. Lakeview

This open concept offers plenty of storage and space with its appealing simple layout.

With a footprint of 20 x 28’ and 920 square feet to use, this small cabin has space for one bathroom and two bedrooms.

The Lakeview Cabin has a cathedral ceiling, with a loft area that is open to the living space below.

Coventry Log Homes are a well-known and respected company that has been building log homes for almost 30 years.

They also offer a price match guarantee on like for like buildings, and promise to always be lower than their competitors!

10. Hobby House

This is the smallest cabin that we are featuring in this roundup. If you love the look of tiny living, then Hobby House might be a great option for you!

With only 220 square feet of space, the ground floor has 160 square feet, and the loft area has 60. This model is also available in four other larger sizes up to a total of 360 square feet.

It has a steep roof which allows for a large loft area that can be reached by a ladder in the living space.

The cabin itself is only one room, so you’ll need to get very creative with space!

9. The Chalet

With beautiful large windows which fill the entire top section of the gable wall and french doors below, this home allows so much light to flood in and also allows you to make the most of idyllic views.

Not only is this a visually spectacular cabin, but it is also highly practical and efficient. Built with a steep gabled roof, this building can withstand heavy snow loads.

The deck area of the Chalet Cabin is ideal to enjoy any beautiful location, from lakeside to panoramas to being nestled in the woods amongst the trees.

The layout is fully customizable and can be anywhere from 996 to 2229 square footage.

8. The Mountain King

The Mountain King is a 1,080 square-foot small cabin and a best seller from Conestoga Log Cabins.

Its simplistic layout combined with the top quality provided by this reputable company make the standard kits price tag, just over $60,000, worth it.

This luxury log cabin kit takes the log home experience to the next level, with an open, spacious living area and two bedrooms to the loft area.

It has a six-foot deep porch which is ideal to enjoy those late evenings sitting out listening to the sounds of nature surrounding you.

The Mountain King can be used for a multitude of purposes, from a weekend getaway to a permanent residence for a small family.

7. The Traveler XL

Described as ‘the most beautiful tiny houses in the world’ by Forbes Magazine, Escape Traveler gives a high level of attention to detail to each small cabin they design and build.

This eco-conscious company uses sustainable wood to build their homes, and every little inch of Escapes homes are carefully planned to make the space as efficient and practical as well as beautiful.

The Traveler XL has a total of 344 sq ft of space, with an open living area including kitchen, dining space, and lounge area on the first floor and 89sq ft of loft space.

There is a private queen size bedroom on the first floor and an upper loft area that can double up as a sleeping or storage space.

6. Vacationer

This is the ideal getaway log cabin, for couples or small families. It has 727 square feet and feels quite spacious.

The Vacationer has an open living, dining, and kitchen towards the front of the home, and at the back of the house are two bedrooms and a bathroom.

There is plenty of space for storage in the loft area which is accessible via a ladder from the main area.

This cabin is fully customizable and the layout can be switched around to fit your needs, and extras added such as a deeper porch, or floor-to-ceiling windows.

5. Small Cabin Built for $100

Perhaps you feel like you have the skills necessary to build a cabin, but can’t afford to buy one.

An Oregon couple prove that with a love of the land, access to plenty of straight trees, and the right hand tools, you can build one for next to nothing!

Following a simple Norwegian style, this cabin is only 10 x 13 feet inside, this traditional build might not have any electricity or plumbing but is cozy and comfortable.

Inside the cabin, there is one room with a wood stove and a ladder that leads to the loft bedroom.

4. Brandywine

Conestoga offers a wide range of log homes, and Brandywine has a footprint of 27’ x 20’ making it an ideal-sized small log cabin.

There are two entrances on the ground floor, one through the six-foot deep porch area, and another through a potential laundry room on the side of the cabin.

In the main living space, there is a kitchen with plenty of cabinet space, room for a dining table, and a small couch.

There is a double bedroom and a full bathroom towards the back of the ground floor, and going up into the loft via the solid staircase, there is enough room for another bedroom or a playroom for the children.

3. Martha the Hunting Cabin

If you don’t want to buy a kit or have someone else build your home, why not just look at some cabin plans and build your own.

Pin-up Houses have plenty of cabins of all shapes and sizes, including this Hunting Cabin.

Martha is a traditional hunting cabin and is small yet homely. With just one storey and one main room, this would make an excellent recreational cabin.

The open living space can be used for multiple purposes including cooking, eating, relaxing, and sleeping.

There is also space for a small bathroom. To the front of the home, there is a small porch area that is covered by the roof.

2. Juniper Small Cabin

Juniper is an ideal family getaway, or even a small permanent home, with a deep front porch to enjoy plenty of outside time.

With 924 square feet of floor space, this leaves enough room for two bedrooms and one bathroom, all situated on the ground floor.

The living space has a cathedral ceiling which makes this cozy space feel larger than it is.

The stairs in the open place kitchen, dining, and living room area lead up to a spacious loft which could be used as a small office or as a storage area.

1. DIY Budget Cabin

If you’re looking for a challenge and want to build a cabin by scratch for yourself, using trees from your own land, let Joalex Henry talk you through all the steps that he went to build his own small log house.

If you dream of building a log home, you can learn the process from cutting the log and laying the foundation, all the way to raising the walls and putting the roof on.

This cabin was built using mostly reclaimed materials, by just one man and it cost under £2,500.

If this is something that interests you, you can read more about how to build a log cabin from scratch here.

Small Cabin Inspiration

Did any of these homes inspire you to build your own small cabin, or even just long to talk a weekend break in one?

Perhaps it was one of the more luxurious ones such as the Mountain King, or maybe you like the thought of a back-to-basics, simplified, and hand-built structure such as the Alaskan cabin?

If you’d like to see some more beautiful cabins, check out these 10 Rustic Log Cabins.

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below if you’ve ever thought about building your own cabin!