Sunny-Side Up on The Lake

2025

By the mid ’60s A-frame cabins had become popular as second homes for recreational use. These basic triangular forms were cheap, durable and easy to construct. How could you go wrong …

A timely phone call discovered a family on the same lake who wanted to recycle their 1968 A-frame cabin. What followed was six months of team planning, engineering logistics & the convincing of the local Building Department. Highly skilled contractors took four weeks to prepare two separate waterfront lots for the structural move. A modular floating barge and tugboat took 2 hours to complete the 4 nautical mile journey across Sproat Lake, BC without issue.

Up-cycling started with a new concrete basement built directly under the cabin while it safely rested on steel beams and wood cribbed posts. Extensive sanding and re-staining of all the cedar walls and exterior vertical siding refreshed the cabin’s natural glow. Period correct furniture and artwork added more character. The steep angled shape with its twenty-one foot high glass wall has some drawbacks, yet it does embody the iconic leisure cabin on a lake.

Wabi-sabi: The Japanese concept for the beauty of imperfection.