Best New Home, Under $400,000

Modern Structure - Blue Pines Cabin

"Blue Pines Cabin on Pine Lake was built as a long weekend retreat. This cabin was built deep in a forest surrounded by trees and on the edge of a 50-acre private lake. The customers wanted a place where they could relax and enjoy the nature surrounding them. The cabin is a post-frame structure but sits on a large bond-beam foundation and fully insulated slab, which has been polished & waxed as the finish floor. The Blue exterior was a Bold choice by the wife, and it is beautiful to look at through all the green! The interior finishes were focused on an industrial style that highlighted raw materials like - all the rainbow-striped poplar native to the area, concrete floors, and countertops. The kitchen looks small but packs a lot of storage, as all the toe-kicks have been converted to additional sliding drawers. The 16x24 screened patio area holds an area for outdoor cooking with numerous grills & smokers set for all the weekend cooking! The Bathroom is completely lined with Trusscore Panels that are fully waterproof to hold up to years of messy kids & dogs! The 1,700-square-foot cabin has a total of 21 large windows, so you don't miss out on the view!

The second story loft was designed to house guests and flex space and maintain the open feel. The custom metal railing, heavy-duty stair stringers, black stainless cables, and poplar treads and rails were a must for the customers and highlight the whole space. There was a lot of thought that went into this cabin to make it unique and one-of-a-kind! The living room has an off-grid pellet stove with an accent concrete heat wall behind it. Galvanized Spiral Duct work to add to the industrial style. Since this cabin is set deep into a forest area, city water was going to be costly. So, we came up with an onsite water collection system to use. All the water that is collected from the metal roof is directed through two filtering systems and is fed to a 1,200-gallon buried cistern. Then, it is pumped back into the cabin and filtered for regular use. With all the windows in the cabin, we beefed up the insulation for the space with 5" of open cell for the walls and 7" for the ceiling.

This was an extremely fun and rewarding project for us to highlight our bold and unique capabilities!"

Local Association: Southwestern Indiana Builders Association