Looking to build a modern cabin that blends Scandinavian aesthetics with flexible living potential? In this customer spotlight, we chat with Philip, who built his dream cabin using the Outpost Plus — a sleek, compact design from DEN Outdoors tailor-made for comfort, function, and short-term rental success.
Nestled on a quiet piece of land in the North Woods of Wisconsin, Philip's cabin is more than just a getaway. It's a highly personalized version of a modern cabin with loft, configured to support both everyday living and vacation hosting. In our conversation, Philip shares how he approached the land search, how he modified his cabin plans for better flow, and how his interior design choices — rooted in Scandinavian cabin minimalism — enhance both usability and style.
Whether you're exploring prefab cabin kits, researching how to build a cabin, or just love beautiful modern architecture in a forested setting, this interview delivers practical insight and inspiration from someone who's done it.
Why Philip Chose to Build Modern Cabin Plans from DEN Outdoors
Nate: Philip, can we just get you to say your first name, the model you're building, and where you're building it?
Philip: My name is Philip, my wife is Heather, and we are building a DEN Outpost Plus in Northern Wisconsin — a little bit north of Manitowish Waters, very close to the upper Michigan border.
Mike: All right, so let's jump right into it. What made you decide to build your own place instead of just buying something?
Philip: It's been a journey. My wife and I have been outdoors people — we're in the Twin Cities of Minnesota — and we'd often go up to Cook County and what we call the North Shore here in Minnesota. Looking at a lot of land and cabins and new developments happening up there. At one point we looked at a seasonal cabin place and saw like five cabins and thought, "Wow, what a cool idea to have a series of cabins that we would rent out for folks in this beautiful part of the country."
Philip: We kind of put a pin on Minnesota. I'm from Wisconsin and started looking there because, somehow it's the same beauty and same sort of remoteness, but maybe a little less discovered in some of the quieter areas of Wisconsin. We found a great piece of land in the North Woods — 300 feet of shoreline on a little 80-acre lake that's quiet and off the beaten path, but still on a paved road. We started as a camping endeavor on that land, but had visions for what it could be.
Finding the Land and Planning the Cabin Build
Philip: We knew we wanted something different and interesting. We wanted something that was not like buying an old rustic cabin and perpetuating what seemed to us as an outdated way of doing cabins. We didn't want to do something huge. We wanted to create something that was right-sized for visitors and right-sized for what we think is the modern update on the cabin experience.
Philip: We had looked at a lot of different things — we actually went through some of the initial DEN designs that were a little smaller in footprint. But when the Outpost Plus came out, we kind of said, "This is the right size for what we're looking for," and it would offer the comfort and experience we hope to bring and provide for folks.
Mike: That's awesome. You are my cabin brother from another mother — everything you just said is exactly what we are trying to broadcast into the world. Unrelated question: what does the water temperature get to in that lake in late August?
Philip: It's a deep lake — about 88 or 90 feet at its deepest. So it takes a while to warm up. August is definitely the place. When it's a warm day and 80 degrees, it's exhilarating. For those who want a warmer swim, late July and August are ideal. But for those of us who like the cold water plunge stuff — we go in whenever we can.
Customizing the Outpost Plus Cabin Plan
Mike: Which DEN design did you end up picking, and was there something special about it that clicked for you?
Philip: We went with the Outpost Plus. We were looking for something really architecturally unique and interesting — obviously love the idea of a lot of glass, this notion of having a cathedral in the trees, where you're looking out and seeing as much of the outdoors coming in as possible.
Philip: We saw that in several of the designs, but when we saw the Outpost, it seemed something unique. I grew up near an A-frame in Wausau, Wisconsin — I always appreciate A-frames and that styling — but this felt like an update to that: a nice lofted experience and something really visually unique and stunning to look at.
Interior Design: Scandinavian Style Meets Modern Cabin Functionality
Mike: How does the layout work for you and how does it either fit your lifestyle or the guest experience you want to provide?
Philip: I think it's gonna be awesome. Some of the comments we've had are, "Wow, you could really live here." It's plenty of space. Once you add that loft and have that extra 300-plus square feet on the second level, the living space on the main level is for me ideal — it accentuates this idea of "it's enough." Enough to be inside and be comfortable when you need to be, but it also pours out into the outdoors pretty quickly. So it straddles that pretty well for us.
Philip: The isolated single bedroom on the backside of the design will be great for guests. You'll have the comfort of a main-level bedroom, with the opportunity to add additional sleeping and living space on the loft. And then just having enough on the main floor for your kitchen, couch and chairs — to sit and grab a book and read, or do the things you need to do to prepare meals.
Designing a Modern Cabin with Loft for Flexible Living and Hosting
Mike: The project is currently in progress. What's been the best part of this whole building adventure so far?
Philip: Just seeing things go vertical. Every step of the way has been incredible. We've had some protracted parts of the project — getting the framing done and then waiting, dealing with the seasonality of it and finding the right people. But once we were framed and seeing the size of it and just the angles and unique parts of it — that was super exciting.
Philip: Another big milestone was when the windows came in. We started with window openings, and windows are a long, long order cycle from ordering to delivery. When they came in, it was just another exhilarating moment — because you're imagining this view. For us, the main level is at grade with the lake. So you have this view directly out to the lake, kind of on even footing with that, and you've got all these trees around you creating that cathedral-in-the-trees feeling.
Sustainable Materials and Energy Efficiency in DEN's Modern Cabins
Mike: Conversely, right — like I bet it wasn't all smooth sailing. You mentioned a couple of protracted periods. What has been the biggest headache you've run into during construction?
Philip: This is probably not relative to anything with the DEN designs themselves. For us, it was just knowing the right people to come in and support at the right places. We're from the Twin Cities, and the area we're building in is a little bit further afield. We brought some folks in from the Twin Cities area to support framing on the front end, and that became difficult to manage from afar. So we've kind of broken in and found some great local folks to help us build. There's some elements we're going to do ourselves on the interior side, but I've really appreciated finding the right mix of local contractors who know the area well.
Philip: I'll add this: localizing the engineering of the builds is an important step. For us in the northern parts of Wisconsin — basically upper Michigan climate — snow loads are a huge thing that we're going to have to manage. That's something you really just need to consider as you're working through the design.
Customizations, Costs, and the Process of Building from DEN's Modern Cabin Plans
Mike: We love to hear that. As we design DENs, we have to pick a general use case, but we've also built a process that enables localization. We constantly encourage customers to work with local engineering firms, local designers, and local trades. So what a great tip. Now — apart from DEN, who is an architect or designer that really inspires you?
Philip: There's a fabulous architect out of Duluth, Minnesota — Doug Salmela, I believe is how it's pronounced. He's very much inspired by Scandinavian architecture, he has a lot of work in the Twin Cities as well as up in Duluth and the North Shore. He's a constant reference point for us when it comes to architectural movements. There's also local architects in the Twin Cities, like Solid Designs. And then just your run of the mill stuff you'd see in any issue of Dwell or any modern architecture reference.
Mike: Based on how it's coming together and the time you've spent in the house, what is your absolute favorite spot?
Philip: Oh, that's gonna be a tough call. I do think it's the loft — sort of being up and feeling like you get a little bit of that "in the trees" feeling when you're a bit higher. But it's gonna be a tough call between that and just being in the main floor living room, where you feel like you're at eye view with the trees and lake and can look up and look out and feel that sense of awe from having the outdoors coming in.
Mike: Did you stick to the original plan or did you throw in some of your own ideas?
Philip: A couple tweaks. The original Outpost design was built on sono tubes, and we decided we wanted to do slab on grade so that we could do in-floor heating — an element we thought would provide real comfort. We also made some adjustments to window framing. We really enjoy the modern bathroom and living room windows, but we wanted to expand them a bit to make the views more picturesque. We brought the height of the living room window up slightly. We did change the bathroom window configuration too — with our sensibilities and long-term maintenance in mind, we wanted natural light in there but didn't want to worry about it long-term.
Philip: I can't think of anything else that's been too custom at this point, but once we get to more of the finished side, we'll see. I'm thinking particularly about the bench and cubby space adjacent to the steps going up to the loft. We have visions for creating some shelving there for a library or storage for guests.
Mike: If a friend was thinking about building their own DEN, what would you tell them?
Philip: I push a lot of people to the DEN site just so that they can see some of the incredible designs and sort through what's out there. The fact that designs continue to get updated and reimagined or expanded upon — starting with some initial designs and then really kind of pushing them — affirms to me that this is a place of innovation and leading-edge design. So I would say just check it out and take a look. See if you find something that you like. If you need to localize it or think about ways to create a bespoke version, it was really easy to purchase the designs, think through that, and send off the drawings. We've had compliments from the folks building on how easy the plans are to follow and how comprehensive they are.
Mike: So what advice would you give about budgeting or pricing a project?
Philip: We were pretty much in the ballpark cost-wise based on the original guidance available on the DEN site. We had a sort of target that we wanted to keep to about $250 per square foot, and I think we're dialed close to that. We've been making decisions along the way to keep in line with that — whether it's custom cabinets from a local contractor or deciding on different flooring options. Fortunately for us in northern Wisconsin, that $250 per square foot figure has proven pretty true to reality.
Future Plans for Oma Rest & Philip's Building Philosophy
Mike: You mentioned wanting to build out some sort of compound. Last question: would you do it again? Would you go bigger? Would you go smaller? Do you want to build another DEN?
Philip: Yeah, every time I see a design, I think a lot about how the Barnhouse would be, or the Alpine. We have an adjacent lot to our place — we purchased a second lot, so we essentially have 600 feet of shoreline on this beautiful lake. I don't know that we'd do it as a short-term rental, but my folks are getting up in those years and we'd love to do something as a second guest house for them.
Philip: When we looked at some of the designs early on, we thought about doing something in conjunction with some of the local recreation sites. We've got a great cross-country ski and mountain bike trail system just 20 miles to our south. ABR is a well-known cross-country ski destination in Ironwood, Michigan. Great skiing 30 minutes north of us. So we think all the time about where the sweet spot would be — not necessarily building on our quiet little lake, but finding the right piece of land where we could continue to cultivate this idea of a short-term rental that helps people take advantage of nature and recreation opportunities in these areas that we feel like people really need to see and experience for themselves.
"The fact that designs continue to get updated and reimagined — that affirms to me that this is a place of innovation and leading-edge design. We've had compliments from everyone building on how easy the plans are to follow and how comprehensive." — Philip
Mike: What a thoughtful approach to real estate development, investment, and providing an experience to your guests — while really just honoring some great ideas around sustainability and sensitivity to the environment.
Build your own lakeside retreat — the same plans Philip and Heather used for Oma Rest.
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