Cabin of the Week: The Shack at Hinkle Farm
Built by an architect as a family retreat, a West Virginia cabin harkens back to a time when houses offered little more than shelter from the storm.
Photo: broadhurstarchitects.com
Perched on South Fork Mountain in West Virginia, deep within a 27-acre site you can only reach on foot or with an off-road vehicle, there’s an uncomplicated cabin. Architect Jeffery Broadhurst built the place for his family and by his own description, it’s only a modest step up from tent camping. Here, there’s no electricity, and besides oil lamps and a wood stove, there are few creature comforts. There’s shelter from the elements, and a platform from which to admire the spectacular view.
Photo: broadhurstarchitects.com
As noteworthy as the design may be, in all its refreshing simplicity, the cabin also impresses with its clever execution. Most obvious is the overheard garage door that completely opens up one side of the cabin to the outdoors. But there are smaller triumphs as well. For instance, a metal mesh rodent barrier—the kind used to protect local corn cribs—lines the underside of the floor. So even though a person can see the ground through gaps between floorboards, furry pests can’t get in.
Similarly ingenious is the makeshift plumbing system. Beneath the cabin and accessible by a trap door, there’s a large storage tank that feeds (by means of a marine bilge pump) a smaller distribution tank mounted to the ceiling. From there, gravity delivers water to the sink faucet in a tiny, tucked-away kitchen area.
Photo: broadhurstarchitects.com
Broadhurst built the cabin himself, with help from family, friends, and neighbors. The materials used are no different from what the average person would find on the shelves at his nearby home improvement retail store. Sitting atop a quartet of pressure-treated lumber posts, just as a backyard deck would, the cabin features board-and-batten wood siding and terne-coated metal roofing. Though plainly utilitarian, both elements lend a timeless look of elegant, enviable simplicity.
Photo: broadhurstarchitects.com
