This Thoreau-inspired cabin is the perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life

Britten’s tiny cabin features just 400 square feet of uncluttered living space, along with a small loft and a porch with views of the Smokey Mountain valley.

Since simplicity is Britten’s goal, he’s stocked the sparse space with little more than a bed, a few plain chairs, and a small table with space for a dinner companion. “At first I thought that this would be a temporary situation, that we would finish off the cabin with furniture, a fully outfitted kitchen, and some more decor,” he writes. “But after three months of weekly getaways, I have no desire to move beyond the sense of raw simplicity that the cabin exudes.”

Local craftsmen made the exterior doors and fashioned the spartan countertop from a plank of two-inch walnut found at a local sawmill. Water is drawn from a well dug 325 feet down into the bedrock beneath.

A small stove serves as the cabin’s only heat source. “I stoke the wood stove with a few sticks to take the edge off the morning chill, sit in a straight back chair, and watch the light change,” he writes.

Rough-sawn hemlock forms the cabin’s exterior, while the interior is constructed of North Carolina-harvested hemlock, oak, and cypress, along with timber reclaimed from local barns.

Britten’s plan was to build a cabin that blended seamlessly into the natural beauty of the Appalachian surroundings. “We tried hard to make it be as if it rose from the local woods,” he writes. “Hopefully it echoes the Appalachian traditions of small is beautiful, and richness in simplicity.”