“When my parents were rebuilding their decaying cabin, going modern meant breaking free of both local clichés and some of the structures of my somewhat severe ancestors,” writes
@jackbaldmo about his family’s cabin in the Adirondacks. “My great-grandfather originally followed a church leader to summer in a rural area by Lake Champlain, where a group of fellow ministers camped in small cabins that were more like monastic retreats—no indoor bathrooms, hot water, or any other decadent amenities. Even interior doors were frowned upon. (Playing cards was forbidden, to say nothing of more mature activities.) After years of ad hoc additions, my parents’ cabin had sinking floors, leaning door frames, and innumerable cracks for creepy crawlies to climb inside. Having endured enough rustic charm, they were ready for a sleeker house that might, perhaps, have doors. Architects Jacob Esocoff and Henry Ng of
@ideasoforderstudio created for them what is on one hand a pretty standard cabin and on the other an anomaly. Not only are there doors, but elegantly detailed ones. Mexican alebrijes (animal figurines) and textiles weave in my mother’s heritage, and Japanese pottery and paintings bring in splashes of my father’s history of growing up in Japan. A modern house, my parents learned, doesn’t have to be totally detached from traditions. Instead, it can learn from the past and frame new traditions worth keeping.” See more photos of the perfectly balanced cabin at the link in bio, or in our American design issue.
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Photos by
@will_pippin 
