Photos by Spacecrafting/Rob Grosse
If you’re searching for your next autumn getaway, check out Ski Hill Cabins & Saunas: a cozy retreat consisting of four modern cabins, each with its own brightly colored private sauna, tucked away in the private and scenic community of Lutsen.
Owners Patrick Kindler and McCabe Plaas, both Twin Cities natives, found the inspiration for the unique rental property from a 1968 A-frame chalet that Kindler discovered in Lutsen and purchased as a vacation home in 2012. After moving there full time in 2019, they envisioned creating a year-round escape that would take full advantage of the beautiful forest setting, with architecture that would enhance their guests’ experience.
“They weren’t looking to create another knotty pine cabin up north,” explains architect Carl Gauley of Grayspace Architecture, who designed the cabins and saunas. “They wanted to create something that would stand apart from all the other vacation rentals you find up there.”
Inspired by traditional Scandinavian villages, Gauley clustered the 1,200-square-foot cabins together to create a minimal footprint, elevating them on concrete piers to account for
the site’s sloping topography and annual snowfall. Cedar siding and corrugated metal cladding make up the exteriors, while the interiors feature energy-efficient Marvin windows and durable, low-maintenance finishes.
Each cabin sleeps up to 10 people and includes a fully equipped kitchen, living and dining areas, two bedrooms, two baths, a loft area, private fire pit, and Nordic-style sauna complete with a changing room. Kitchen backsplashes are color-coded to correspond with the cabins’ appointed sauna outbuildings, while CNC-cut plywood accents add visual interest throughout. “The loft’s railing balances function and form,” Gauley explains. “Engineered from a single sheet of plywood, it’s structurally sound but light and playful as well.”
Subtle shifts in position maximize the cabins’ connection to nature while helping create a thoughtful level of privacy between neighboring structures. Gauley says, “It really does feel like a small village tucked away in the woods.”
Ski Hill Cabins & Saunas
To strategically delineate public and private areas, each cabin features a private wing housing the main bedrooms that offers a respite from the bustle of the main living space, while a set of ladder-style stairs off the kitchen leads up to a cozy loft area with additional sleeping space.
Rendering by Grayspace Architecture/Carl Gauley
