Handsome lakeside cabin supports a cantilevered timber gallery in Wisconsin

Minnesota-based Salmela Architects completed the Family Retreat, a secluded lakeside cabin that boasts a cozy and contemporary style.

Located on the family’s former camping site, the getaway and its accompanying sauna are nestled in the forested shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. The building’s most eye-catching feature is the cantilevered timber gallery that hangs above the entrance to provide shade and floor-to-ceiling views of the outdoors.

The Family Retreat comprises a cluster of structures: the cabin, south-facing deck with fireplace, storage building, and sauna. Wood is the primary building material, but the architects’ careful selection of different timber types and styles add interest to the facade and create a nearly maintenance-free exterior. Black paper-resin composite siding clads the main cabin and small sauna, and aging cedar planks are mostly used on the other structures. A V-shaped roof tops the cabin to direct rainwater away from the sides of the building.

The cabin interior is paneled in clear basswood and punctuated by bold accents in the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The floors lined with dark tiles and wood ground these bright warm tones. An open-plan living room and kitchen are located on the ground floor, while the guest rooms, children rooms, and master suite are placed on the above floors. Large windows strategically frame views of the outdoors, from a field of native grasses and wild flowers to Lake Superior.