Whether you’re dreaming of building a cabin or ready to start the process tomorrow, the below books are must-have for your journey.
A Note on Building Your Own Cabin: Why These Books are Necessary
Building your own cabin has many benefits: the more you build yourself, the more money you will save, you’ll be able to add custom features, and you’ll have the incredible experience of building your own home.
BUT building a cabin takes knowledge. It takes deep knowledge of how the building process works and what you want your cabin to look like at the end.
And it takes a lot of planning.
That’s where these books come in. These books are the starting point to discover how to build a cabin, if it’s right for you, and what it will cost. They’re necessary resources to help you dream, plan, and learn.
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1. How to Build Your Dream Cabin in the Woods: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Maintaining a Backcountry Getaway
An in-depth guide written by an author who has first-hand experience with building his own cabin. This is number 1 on the list of best cabin building books because of the sheer volume of information that it has, including:
- Step-by-step information on the cabin building process (with blueprints & illustrations)
- Thoughtful resources for all aspects of cabin life: using your land, preparing for weather, and day-to-day day cabin experiences (living in the woods, a solitary lifestyle, etc.)
- Building add-ons for your cabin: shooting ranges, fire ring, outhouse, and more.
The author’s own experiences make this book come to life, and it’s a fun read for those who are ready to start building or wanting to visualize their own cabin lifestyle.
2. Cabins: A Guide to Building Your Own Nature Retreat
This is the ultimate guide to building a cabin. It covers information such as:
- The different types of cabins & how to build each one
- Illustrations of the cabin building process
- Start to finish instructions: learn about everything from preparing your cabin’s site, to building it, to furnishing it
If you dream of building your own cabin one day, this book is a must-read. It’s the right starting place to familiarize yourself with the process.
3. Compact Cabins: Simple Living in 1,000 Sqft or Less
With over 50 designs, this book is an incredible reference for how to design and build a small cabin. Most of the plans are 600 sqft or less, and focus on the best ways to use space for design and function.
Here’s why this book is such a great tool to have on your shelf:
- 50+ floor plans (not blueprints) that give examples of using space and materials in different ways
- Many of the plans in this book can be built for low material cost
- With so many options, this book will help you determine why style of cabin you want
If you have your heart set on a small cabin, this book will help you find the direction for how it should look. It has floor plans to spark ideas and start your building process.
The Next Step to Building Your Cabin
Each of these books offers a slightly different approach to building your cabin. My recommendation — read them all. As you prepare to build, the more resources that you have, the better.
The first steps of planning your cabin are the most crucial. They’re when you ask yourself questions like: how big should my cabin be? How much do I want to spend? What type of cabin do I want? And many more.
The answers to these first questions will shape how you build your cabin and your daily life once you move in. Take time to truly reflect on what you want out of your cabin — because the more you plan ahead of time, the smoother your building process will be! And the more likely you are to create a home that fits your dreams of cabin living.
Do you have any other picks on your list of best cabin building books? Drop a comment below to share recommendations.
And for more posts like this on building cabins, how to care for cabins, and cabin life: check out our Cabin Resources section.
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