Chapter 4

The Four Winds

... is a four-in-one-room lodge which will accommodate eighteen guests! Four convertible living-sleeping areas border its sunken living room.

Design by Hermanovski

THE fourth cabin by Egil Hermanovski is the largest and best suited to con­struction on level ground. Its breezy de­sign and spacious four-in-one capabilities nicely carry out the theme its name implies.

Whether you are planning to use The Four Winds as a summer cabin, or a hunt­ing and skiing lodge, its sleeping capacity is one of the most important factors to be considered. The more persons a cabin can accommodate the better it is.

The Four Winds in this respect is the most desirable of the four designs. The ab­solutely flexible layout provides one large living room during the day, a few folding doors converting this open space into five bedrooms at night. It will sleep ten people with regular beds or couches, eighteen if These could have hinged folding backrests which at night can be lifted and secured in a horizontal position, an improvement on the old style.

The kitchen is centrally located with long, continuous counters and cabinets. The recessed living and fireplace area has the effect of an amphitheatre, with seats (pillows) on the higher floor, and a three-way fireplace with a copper hood in the center of the room.

In the back of the fireplace, as a visual space divider to hide the kitchen area, is a counter and bar unit to be used from the kitchen side as a table and from the living area side as a bar with high stools.

Dropped living room with copper hood fireplace is set off by railing and bar. Beyond bar is kitchen. The areas at left and right of living room are converted to separate bedrooms by closing folding doors.

The bathroom is divided in two through the use of a sliding door. It can be reached from either side, without passing through other bedrooms. The closet units can be built as separate cabinets, the basic con­struction of the house providing sufficient roof support on posts and other walls.

For large parties there are two addi­tional dining tables at each side of the liv­ing area, which is divided in three parts with wrought iron railings during the day while at night the sliding doors are pulled across to convert the areas into bedrooms.

The construction of this very practical cabin is just as practical and economical. The plan consists of one simple rectangle divided in two by the split roof design. The overhead windows provide daylight even in the kitchen and halls.

The clear story windows between the two roof slabs are very important factors also for the orientation of the house, for the higher part of the roof can always be fac­ing the south, letting light in each room. A cellar boiler room, if desired, can easily be attached to the existing chimney. A front carport or terrace with func­tional, decorative supports, can be screened in or roofed, depending on the budget.

The wall construction as shown in the drawings can be of logs or, using standard framing rough siding can be utilized for the desired rustic exterior effect. The five ply built-up roof will have a gravel or marble chip finish.

If frame construction is used, the interior walls can be of sheetrock, knotty pine or plywood. If logs are used for the wall con­struction, they should be left
exposed for the texture and effect.

As the floor plan shows, the two sleeping areas at the rear of the cabin measure 11 ft., 4 in. x 10 ft. each. The kitchen area, con­taining the utilities, is five ft. deep, 10 ft. wide. The actual area is greater than this since the usable space extends to the spacer bar toward the living room.

The living room itself is a spacious 10 ft., 6 in. x 19 ft., and while the fireplace extends into this area, its open sides prevent it from looking too bulky. The sleeping and dining sections on either side of the living room are both large enough for comfort, each one coming to 15 ft., 4 in. x 8 ft., 6 in. The car­port should be made wide enough to not only enclose your car but to provide pas­sage space to the inside.

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