4.52

5

October 6, 2015

Burn Your Possessions and Move to the Woods

Remember that time you read Walden your sophomore year and vowed you'd stop wearing deodorant and live a life closer to nature only to get sucked into that marketing internship because Uncle Bob owed your mom and favor and now you're an account executive at a nameless corporation that you secretly hate and every now and then you look wistfully out the window and dream of what it would be like to live (you know like really live, man) out in the forest where you chop wood and catch fish and make moonshine and wear clothes that last forever never go out of style and you wake up at dawn and howl at the moon at night and your house is this beautiful cabin that you built yourself with a pot of strong coffee on the stove and dried elk meat in the storehouse and you have everything you ever wanted as you puff your pipe on the porch during a warm summer night and you breath the cool air and the fireflies illuminate the dusk and you pause and you remember the exact instant when you decided to press reset on your old life and start over again.

It was when you bought Cabin Porn.

5

September 29, 2015

Come for the photography but stay for the stories!

Like most fans of the blog, I expected to see breathtaking photos of cabins against familiar and exotic backdrops, but have also enjoyed the stories of how these cabins came to be. The stops and starts, the 'bite off more than you can chew' challenges will ring true for any DIYer, but it's also full of interesting solves like a Maine hostel that heats its outdoor shower by coiling plumbing through a compost pile.

1

February 9, 2016

Cabin porn? I don't think so.

This book's name is off. I never expected chapters on: How to live underground,how to revive a bungalow, how to live 30 feet in the air and how to build a yurt to name a few chapters in a book called cabin porn. I wanted to see cabins ! Not tree houses and grain silos. I wish I had known about the web site and saved myself the money on this book. I waited impatiently for this book and was extremely disappointed.

5

February 2, 2016

Can't go wrong if you love the outdoors.

I bought this book as a gift for my outdoorsy friend, and he loved it. We've spent hours sitting on the deck sipping scotch (Laphroaig, of course), paging through the book and talking about cabins, locations, building things with your hands, and the outdoors. That sounds incredibly pretentious, but if you've got a healthy appreciation of the outdoors and rustic living, this book is a great way to relax and pass some time.

The imagery is beautiful and the descriptions of various locales and cabin styles are an interesting read.

5

Nov 25, 2019

The reactions to this book are mixed from the reviews I see, for varying reasons. Some of them are quite funny, others serious. The pictures in this book are gorgeous, with various cabins, some pretty small and little more than a shed, to some quite nice multi-room cabins.

Some may dismiss having a vacation cabin to be a luxury or privilege - and that ain't exactly a lie in many cases, but that doesn't mean one can't enjoy this book. The title indicates what this book can and should be - The reactions to this book are mixed from the reviews I see, for varying reasons. Some of them are quite funny, others serious. The pictures in this book are gorgeous, with various cabins, some pretty small and little more than a shed, to some quite nice multi-room cabins.

Some may dismiss having a vacation cabin to be a luxury or privilege - and that ain't exactly a lie in many cases, but that doesn't mean one can't enjoy this book. The title indicates what this book can and should be - something for sheer enjoyment. If you don't care for cabins or country living or tiny houses, then this book isn't really for you.

But if you want a view of an eclectic lifestyle, and the various creative ways people have made these cozy refuges in nature and the wild, or looking for inspiration, then you should absolutely enjoy this book! 4.5/5 stars. ...more

5

March 2, 2016

Beautifully curated and artful book, a great piece for a coffee table or hip gift.

This is a beautifully crafted and curated book, with material and photos culled from the blog of the same name. This book is the perfect antidote to a day of urban angst. Sit back and dream of your own special escape. Great photos, and some interesting and insightful writing to browse. This is an excellent coffee table book, and makes a really hip, beautiful gift for almost all relations.

0

Jan 09, 2016

Description: Many people yearn for their own quiet space. Somewhere remote - a place to write a novel or compose an album of love songs. A new book celebrates the work of those who have realised their dreams.

We live this dream.

Source

1

February 11, 2016

One Star

Pictures very dark, not at all appealing, I returned it !

4

Oct 22, 2015

Great narratives and fascinating cabins around the world. The website (cabinporn.com) seems better than the book as the site contains so many more photos of cabins to puruse. The book is limited in the number of cabins photographed and discussed.

5

January 17, 2016

Good ideas and good read.

I bought this for my husband. He has build two cabins now on our property. This books has great ideas and stories of folks that have build cabins and outdoor shelters. Although I bought for my husband, I read the book. The author starts out telling about the piece of property he bought and how his friends have come up to build more cabins, a hot tub with water running from the creek and a sauna with firewood stove. Good stories follow through the book.

1

July 28, 2016

Change the title and I would be interested.

This looks like a book I would be interested in, however I will never buy any book with "Porn" in its title. What are people thinking when they name a body of work?

1

March 1, 2016

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY

I expected decent photos if not insightful commentary. This book has neither - an overhyped waste of money.

2

June 7, 2016

There are many other books on this subject far better than this one...

I have great interest in architecture, simplified living, eco-friendly building materials, and tiny homes in general. This book did not satisfy any of those interests. It barely scratched the surface of any of these topics, but spent tons of time telling a story of a few hipsters who built a few cabins in the woods without going into almost any detail of their techniques or inspiration. I have an issue with the images in the book as well. Most of the featured "cabins" are so basic that they are not even livable by anyone but a crazy hermit (think mud and twigs and nothing else). Not only that but the photos are shot in such low-light that only the most hipster of the hipster population would think these are good. Ultimately, this book is aimed at hipsters who live in the city, drink Starbucks everyday, and like to tell people they have a "cabin" they built in the woods out of locally sourced materials so they can increase their hipster ranking, and have this book on their shelves in the city so guests ask about it.

2

Jun 02, 2018

I don't know if cabins are as much an offshoot of white male privilege as this book suggests. Some bros compiled a book about bros, news at 11. If you turn your brain off and just look at the pictures, it's fairly soothing until you get about halfway through and realize the book is completely the wrong size and shape for the content. It's becoming hard to read the text in the crack because the book doesn't open as far as it needs to, meanwhile the crackling plastic dustcover makes a racket while I don't know if cabins are as much an offshoot of white male privilege as this book suggests. Some bros compiled a book about bros, news at 11. If you turn your brain off and just look at the pictures, it's fairly soothing until you get about halfway through and realize the book is completely the wrong size and shape for the content. It's becoming hard to read the text in the crack because the book doesn't open as far as it needs to, meanwhile the crackling plastic dustcover makes a racket while you're trying to read in bed. If you think these details are not relevant... are we talking about aesthetics or aren't we? ...more

3

Dec 19, 2017

Very beautiful photos but not very diverse - seems like every person who built a cabin was a white man with a beard. Lovely to flick through and choose your favourites though.

5

May 17, 2017

Far better than expected!!

I bought this book as a gift for someone else and then accidentally decided to quickly page through it. Oops! I totally got sucked in, reading at least three quarters of the book before finally wrapping it up and sending it off. The gift recipient called when he got it and just raved about it. Neat book, highly entertaining and way fun. Great pictures. Very, very real stuff, not made up.

1

August 16, 2016

Unfortunately, poor binding renders this book useless

This was a Father's Day gift, and I didn't realize until I visited him 2 months later (I live out of town), that all the pages came loose from the binding. Apparently this started happening right away, but he never told me, not wanting to complain about a gift. I wish there was a way to at least exchange this item as it was supposed to be a nice coffee table book. But now it's headed to the recycling bin instead.

1

November 27, 2015

Re-title the book next time

Poor choice for a book title.

Seriously, is this a new trend among authors? Adding "Porn" as a marketing gimmick to sell a book.

If this was a name they had all along for a literary project, I feel sorry for them. It wreaks of "simple minded loser".

2

August 14, 2016

I love the content

I love the content, but the binding cracked and one large section began falling apart the first time I opened it. After browsing I’ve had to start taping pages together to keep them from simply falling out. Good book. Cheap book-binder. Someone should be ashamed ... and send me a new (tested) copy.

2

June 14, 2016

Very low quality pictures

I bought the book because i was a big fan of the blog. Unfortunately the physical book let me down. The story and information is great, but the actual physical book is really low end. The quality of the printing looks like all the photos were printed on a home inkjet printer, very dark and low resolution...coming from a blog that was entirely beautiful pictures, this was a huge letdown.

4

Jun 10, 2019

This book offers good stories and beautiful visuals. Whilst most stories are inspiring and rich of ideas, it made me feel unfortunate to live in a country that is so regulated. No scenario could possibly be undertaken here to create a living space that is both legal and up to the code. It is still a great book, but it features (only or mostly) Americans who have the chance to live in mostly wide open spaces where one can do as he pleases in terms of shelter. Land was either inherited and/or This book offers good stories and beautiful visuals. Whilst most stories are inspiring and rich of ideas, it made me feel unfortunate to live in a country that is so regulated. No scenario could possibly be undertaken here to create a living space that is both legal and up to the code. It is still a great book, but it features (only or mostly) Americans who have the chance to live in mostly wide open spaces where one can do as he pleases in terms of shelter. Land was either inherited and/or cheap to get. I wish a new version of this book could feature real people stories, from countries with a realistic population density and urbanistic laws. This frustration prevents me from giving Cabin Porn a 5-star rating. In the meantime I'll keep looking for an alternate way of living that doesn't make me an outlaw or a legally homeless person. *sighs* ...more

4

Jan 01, 2018

I have an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to isolated cabins around the world, and thus, Cabin Porn looked like a book I would very much enjoy. It is peaceful to read, and provides a step up from the craze of hygge. The photography which has been included is stunning, and the placement and layout of the entire book are great, and work effectively. Cabin Porn has provoked rather strong wanderlust within me, and I will definitely be booking a couple of cabins to stay in in the future.

4

Dec 10, 2018

Beautiful and inspiring book. The stories went into enough detail to give you an overall view of how each kind of cabin/structure came into being. It doesn't go into how they are built, it is more of inspiration into starting the process and backstory of the builders. A downside for me was the lack of diversity of builders. Where are the women and other minority groups?

3

Jun 16, 2015

Reminded me of Kinfolk. Wishing for a trip to Vermont or Maine after looking at the pics. A great coffee table book . . . if you're into that kind of thing.

5

November 14, 2015

Would definitely recommend!

Came in perfect condition! Great book if you love looking at cabins. Has tons of photos of different kinds of cabins in different locations, and also has information about building things that would be useful when living in a cabin. It is a great book that would make a great gift for someone who is interested on going on a vacation into the woods or for someone that loves nature.