Divine proportions: Station Cabin
Nestled within a bucolic Otago farm, this small cabin by Crosson Architects speaks of a respect and love for the country lifestyle.
Located on a high country sheep station, the cabin provides a spot from which to appreciate the landscape.
The exterior is wrapped in grey Colorsteel; the shed already had an attractive gable form, and the project involved inserting the interior spaces within this form.
The original barn doors and a set of double-glazed bifold doors open the dining room/kitchen to the landscape.
A built-in day-bed nook offers extra seating and a place to lounge in the dining room/ kitchen
The living room features floor-to-ceiling glazing to take in the view of the mountains. This also helps to extend the sense of space.
Shuttered windows add to the barn aesthetic; built-in elements help to extend the sense of space throughout.
Upstairs, the bedroom door is cut to fit under the sloped ceiling.
Exposed joists on the ceiling are a reminder of the building’s former life as a barn; bathroom cabinetry is built into the wall.
Designed to fit within the shell of an existing shed on an Otago sheep station, this cabin is small yet perfectly formed, with some quirky design features that expand the space in clever ways.
While only a handful of minutes from Wanaka, the vast high country farm where this cabin is located feels deliciously remote. The owners of the property wanted a bolt-hole that could be used as accommodation for family and friends wanting to experience station life and the mountain views that surround the site. The shed was originally designed by the station’s manager (who was an architect in a previous life) so its existing form was ripe for development into an inhabitable space.
Architect Ken Crosson didn’t touch the ply interior walls but created an insertion within the space using horizontal slatted cedar. “We exposed the structure so that you can see the joists of the floor above from the living and kitchen areas below. We created a seat at the end of the dining space, which is really a pocket where you can sit and read a book in the warmth and be a part of the discussion at the dining table too. The nice thing is the little moments – they just extend and make the space more interesting,” says Crosson.
There are more of these moments upstairs, where shutters open from the bedrooms to offer a view down to the lower floor and straight across to the interior walls. “We wanted to feel the old shed and define the interior structure so we tried to give it plenty of volume and excitement,” says Crosson. “Even within a small space, having a variation of ceiling heights helps to make the spaces more interesting.”
Similarly, there is an opening on the stair landing that allows a view through from the kitchen to the living room. This makes the small staircase feel more open and also gives the cabin a tree-house feel that is popular with young visitors.
The downstairs spaces have a lower-than-standard ceiling height, which helps to create a cosy atmosphere and, also, causes a sense of contrast with the edges of the room. “The sitting room faces the view and the fire and has a good amount of space. It feels low and secure and warm – and then you pop out and the space is lofty,” says Crosson.
The fireplace surrounds and kitchen splashback feature honeycomb tiling in black, which seems to elevate the cabin into the realm of contemporary interior design. These are backlit in the kitchen and, around the fire, they spill onto the floor as if folded. A matching tile is used in the upstairs bathroom in both black and white. Fitted under the sloped roof, this space features built-in cabinetry, flush with the interior wall, and timber floors that match the rest of the cabin.
Barn doors open up the kitchen and dining room to the outdoors, providing some passive air conditioning in the summertime while, in the winter, this is the perfect place to hunker down in front of the fire and enjoy the snow-topped mountains from afar.
