A renovated cabin shows it's new covered porch, built with thick pine logs and honey pine railings to match. The balusters are round, straight black metal pickets. There are three steps up to the deck. Skirting is below the deck. Green metal roof.

Cariboo Cabin Addition

Construction of an open back porch which is a side deck. Large pine posts hold the structure solidly. Lake side in BC's Cariboo.

Where It Began… What It’s Become

What began in 1979 as a simple 20’ x 24’ cabin with a loft (and no bathroom!) has now been reimagined with a 37’ x 12’ rear addition and loft, expanding it into a comfortable 1,100+ sq ft cabin designed for multigenerational holiday living.

Small cabin with lake view is about to start a landscape project in the Cariboo before the construction for the renovation begins. 100 Mile House cabin lake front property. Renovation Construction Cabin in the Cariboo.

Lake front cabin property undergoing new construction: an addition. Two new walls have been framed as construction is underway in BCs Cariboo region. Cabin in the woods gets an addition on the back of the cabin.

Main floor construction of an addition on a cabin is underway. Framing of lumber and plywood are attached on the back of a cabin. The peak of the old build is visible and the anticipation of the new loft is anticipated as that is what is missing.

The framing is nearly complete for this cabin addition. The plywood walls and skeleton of the roof is complete. Next up the final plywood, wrap and finishing materials.

Professional “After” Photos: Lisa Novak Photography, Kamloops, BC

Before/During Photos: Kelly Grimes

A Space-Saving

Floor Plan for a Small Cabin

2D plan of the original cabin footprint along with the addition. The cabin is square-like and has a yellow outline indicating it's build. Adjacent is the addition, rectangular in shape and outlined in green to show the new part of the cabin build.

The image below shows the original main floor layout (to the left) and the new structure attached onto the back of the cabin (to the right), protruding at either end, to take advantage of the lake views.

Sometimes…

the Plans Change

The original plan placed the bathroom in the old principal bedroom (shown as the “mudroom” in the plan above).

But after exploring several design options, we ultimately chose to locate the bathroom away from the main cabin. Now, you enter through the main entry, pass into the storage room (mudroom), and then continue into the cabin.

This redesign also clarified the purpose of the original bedroom: it now functions as the new storage room.

And because eliminating hallways freed up additional square footage, we gained enough space to add a second bedroom which was a welcomed bonus.

Altogether, the updated cabin is just over 1,100 sq. ft.—still modest for multigenerational living, but now every bedroom offers a comfortable place to sleep.

And yes, there’s finally an indoor bathroom, so no more late-night encounters with curious bats.

Bonus Space

is ALWAYS a win

Cabin addition on a lakefront property in the woods in the Cariboo area of BC. The addition is rectangular with a covered side porch on the left, windows to a bathroom and bedrooms are centred on the build. To the right is the extended right bedroom.