Forest Siting & Feasibility
Reading wind, slope, sun, drainage, and fuel load before a single line is drawn. We walk the land, map its hazards, and identify the defensible footprint your cabin will live within.
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Cabin Design Services
Forest-Sited Cabins, Crafted for the Long Burn
From the first walk of the land to the final hand-finished detail, we design cabins that belong to their forest — built fire-wise, sited with respect for wind, water, and wildfire, and shaped by the rhythms of mountain living.
What We Do
A studio for the whole cabin — siting, shell, and soul.
We work as a small, hands-on team. Every project starts in the forest with a notebook and ends with a cabin that knows its place. Six practices, one continuous thread of craft.
Fire-Wise Building Design
Class-A roofing, ember-resistant vents, defensible geometry, and non-combustible detailing at every eave, deck, and sill. Beauty that doesn't flinch at the fire line.
Learn moreCustom Cabin Architecture
From 600-square-foot single-room shelters to multi-structure family compounds. Timber frame, post-and-beam, hybrid — drawn for your land, your seasons, your people.
Learn moreMountain Interior Design
Wool, oak, blackened steel, hand-troweled plaster, and the soft glow of a well-set wood stove. Interiors that hold warmth, weather boots, and the long quiet of January.
Learn morePermit & Code Navigation
Wildland-Urban Interface codes, septic, water, snow load, and county review. We translate the regulatory forest into a clear set of decisions so the build can move.
Learn moreBuilder Partnership & Oversight
We stay on past the drawings — answering RFIs, reviewing shop drawings, and visiting the site at framing, weather barrier, and final punch. No design left behind on a USB stick.
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The Process
From a treeline to a key in your hand.
Most cabins take ten to sixteen months from our first site visit to move-in. The path is steady, transparent, and built around the land first — never the other way around.
01
Walk & Listen
Two days on your land with you. We map wind, sun, slope, water, and fuel, then sit on the porch and listen for how you actually want to live — weekenders, full-time, family, or solo retreat.
02
Concept & Massing
Hand sketches and 3D massing studies of three to five directions. We test how each option handles the defensible space, the view, the snow, and the budget before committing to a plan.
03
Schematic & Permit Set
Floor plans, elevations, structural direction, and the WUI code package that the county actually wants to see. A clear estimate at this stage — no surprises at framing.
04
Construction & Care
Site visits at foundation, dry-in, and finish, plus weekly calls with your builder. We catch the details that decide whether a cabin ages gracefully — flashing, sealant joints, stove clearances.
Why Pinery
A studio shaped by fire season, not by trends.
We have been drawing cabins through three fire cycles and seven winters of record snow. That experience lives in every detail we spec — and in the things we deliberately leave out.
220+
Cabins drawn since 2014
From 480-square-foot shelters to 4,200-square-foot family compounds across Colorado, Montana, Oregon, and British Columbia. Each one tuned to its watershed.
100%
WUI-aware detailing
Every cabin we deliver meets or exceeds Chapter 7A, Ignition-Resistant Construction. Roof assemblies, vents, decks, and eaves detailed to the assembly, not the brochure.
1:1
Principal involvement
You work directly with the designer drawing your project — not a project manager. The person on the site walk is the person on the construction calls.
Engagement Options
Choose the depth that matches your land.
Most clients start with the Full Custom package, but we have designed lighter engagements for people who already have a builder and just need a hand with the drawings, the siting, or the fire-side review.
Foundation
Site & Feasibility Study
A two-day site visit and written report before you commit to design.
- Wind, sun, slope, and fuel mapping
- Defensible-space recommendations
- Three buildable footprint sketches
- Ballpark cost range by assembly
Full Custom
Architecture & Interiors
Our core engagement — concept through construction administration.
- Concept, schematic, design development
- WUI-compliant construction documents
- Interior material and lighting design
- Three site visits during construction
Specialist
Fire-Wise Retrofit Review
For existing cabins that need a second set of expert eyes before fire season.
- Vulnerable assembly audit
- Prioritized retrofit roadmap
- Grant-ready documentation
- Coordinate with your local fire district
Advisory
Hourly Studio Time
For architects, builders, and owners working on their own drawings.
- WUI code consulting
- Detail review and redlines
- Material and assembly guidance
- Scheduled weekly or as needed
From the Porch
Words from people who light the stove.
The best measure of a cabin is the first winter in it. These are notes from clients who have made it through a few.
They walked our ridge in the snow and came back with a plan that put the cabin exactly where we would have wanted it if we had known the land for twenty years. The defensible-space plan is the reason we still have a home.
What I appreciated most was the restraint. They were the first design team we met who said no to a great room with a 24-foot glass wall facing the prevailing wind. The cabin they drew is smaller, calmer, and survives the worst weather without flinching.
We hired them first for a fire-wise review of our existing cabin, then brought them back for the new build. The continuity — knowing our site, our stove, our dogs — made the second project feel like a continuation, not a fresh start.
Bring us to your treeline.
Tell us about the land and the life you want to build on it. We will reply within two business days with the next step — usually a 30-minute call, sometimes a drive.