Keel Cabin

Keel Cabin is a ready-to-build plan for a one-bedroom cabin in the Appalachian mountains — a compact footprint sized for a wooded or sloping lot, with the main room turned toward the long view.

Heavy timber does the structural and visual work. A framed truss carries the front gable over a full wall of glass and French doors, with beams and brackets left exposed under deep eaves. Black metal — window frames, doors, hardware, the roof — draws every edge tight against the wood.

The exterior is meant to age rather than date: stained board-and-batten cedar, a stone chimney mass and base, and a flagstone terrace that steps down with the grade. A low garage wing sits back from the gable, keeping the cabin the taller of the two.