Rating: 3 out of 5

I’ve had this book gathering dust on my shelf for years. It’s about cabins and alternative spaces - exactly the kind of thing I usually love. I’ve stayed in log cabins and converted industrial spaces, so I thought this would be right up my street.

The photography is beautiful. Seriously gorgeous. Many of the spaces are studios or writing cabins, which makes sense - architects designing their own creative retreats. But something feels off. The writing beside each image reads like a bland estate agent description. There’s no heart to it.

I wanted stories. I wanted to feel the magic of these spaces - why they matter, how they change the way people live or work. Instead, it reads like a catalogue. Technical. Distant. The subtitle says “The architecture of cabins, cocoons and hide-outs” - so maybe I shouldn’t have expected more than a technical overview.

If you’re an architect or really into design, you might love this. For me, it’s just… flat.

Originally posted to my Goodreads account