It was immediately agreed that the trapper cabin would be the perfect addition to the island—the only problem is that it was on the mainland and 285 miles away, in Wisconsin. Its logs, some 28 feet long, roughly three feet in diameter, and weighing more than a ton each, had to first be trucked from Wisconsin to Minnesota, then loaded onto a barge and transported to the island. To bring them to their final resting place atop the stony ridge, a path had to be cut leading from the waters edge to the highest part of the island. Two bobcats, fitted with massive straps, worked in tandem to coax the logs uphill, inch by inch. By the time the outer shells of both cabins were in place, Susan and Paddy had been connected, through their contractor, with a network of local tradespeople—the artisans who would bring the interiors of both cabins to life, along with a square log dovetail cedar sauna built by a local Finn, and a lakefront boathouse.
In collaboration with deVOL, Susan designed the kitchen using many of the brand’s staples: faucets, pot racks, pulls/knobs, pendants, and cabinetry. The kitchen was designed in and shipped from England to the US on one barge, and then put on another (much smaller) barge to be brought to the island. The cabinetry colour is ‘Bakehouse Green’ by deVOL.
Taylor Hall O’Brien
Susan, who has a great interest in interiors and antiques, took on the task of designing and decorating both cabins, and has created a unique blend of traditional log cabin aesthetics and European sophistication. Working with deVOL, Susan and their design team crafted the ideal kitchen, which would become the heart and workhorse of the cabin as the family love to cook. After watching a design talk by Farrow & Ball’s International Brand Ambassador, Paddy O’Donnell, Susan fell in love with the colour of his office and used the same shade in the primary bedroom. She commissioned Old Hickory to make custom furniture, including two swinging beds on the sleeping porch, where they sleep most nights, while the cabin is in use from May through October. For the few spaces where wall coverings were appropriate, the homeowners were looking for something unique; peeled birch bark was used as a natural wallpaper in the peaks of the sleeping porch and mudroom.
Another angle of the deVOL kitchen with copper countertops and a vintage platter from Limoges. Audubon print and Flora Danica dinnerware are stacked by the sink.
Taylor Hall O’Brien