Neon and Day-Glo meet Pine at this rental cabin in the Wisconsin woods
One of Danny Lindstrom’s earliest love memories of an apartment building dates back to when he was nine years old and saw Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller. from north to northwest for the first time. The massive limestone and timber walls and cantilevered steel beams of the film central house, supposedly on top of Mount Rushmore, excited him. “It was so modern and bold, but fit into that mountainous backdrop. I was and still am so disappointed that it doesn’t actually exist.”
Twenty years later, cinema is still part of the work of the architect-designer. “I love the idea of theatrical architecture, where the story and experience of a building unfolds as you walk through it, with cinematically framed sets,” Lindstrom says. A feeling of pleasure at the limit of abandonment also finds its place in his creations.
It all takes shape in rented cabins he built with his business partner and roommate Duff Davidson in Fall Creek, Wis., where farmland gives way to white pine woods two hours from their Minneapolis home. “Trees have a distinct Northwoods vibe,” Lindstrom says.
Off-Grid Inn, Unit 1, their first foray, quickly became Wisconsin’s most sought-after Airbnb. Then came Unit 2, a 260 square foot cabin that soon after its completion played in a ironic video tour which went viral on TikTok, where Off-Grid Inn has some 100,000 followers.
“Twenty years ago a marketing agency wouldn’t say, ‘Tell us everything that’s wrong with the house,’ but I did,” Lindstrom says. (Among these features: a “bit useless” spiral terrace, a queen-size bed that’s “not a king”, and windows that open wide for “more nature – super quirky.”) “C It’s so much more valuable than what would’ve usually been normal – and that’s just being ourselves.”
“It always hurts my soul to see a beautiful forest and then two hundred feet of grass with the house in the middle,” Lindstrom says.
That sense of irreverence, coupled with the love of Carhartt and Kanye West, comes alive throughout the cabin. “One of the best things about renting is that you’re not limited to functionality alone,” Davidson says, pointing to the bright yellow tub, small kitchen sink, and lack of storage space. “Obviously there is a function, but we provide an experience.” And because it’s a short-term experiment, the two had the freedom to take risks. “A yellow bathroom can age if you see it every day,” says Lindstrom. For guests, however, that’s part of the fun. The same goes for a glow-in-the-dark handrail (also bright yellow) and a “conversation pit” living area.
But the wooded surroundings are the real star of the show. That’s why Lindstrom chose an otherwise simple slate of natural materials: red cedar on the outside, white pine on the inside. Even the birch light fixtures, which he and Davidson made, blend in. The monochromatic scheme brings out the richness of the landscape, as does a curved wall ending in a massive window, which draws your gaze outside. “The space is almost like an open box,” he says. “It makes you feel like you’re closer to nature.”
For Lindstrom, the architectural approach connects in spirit to films like Fargo and There is no country for old people, directed by fellow Minnesotans Joel and Ethan Coen. “They’re serious yet funny, artistic without being pretentious, and prove that even the most ordinary characters, places and situations can be worthy of a gripping story,” he says. “I think Off-Grid Inn resonates a lot with that.”
And while they’re constantly asked about building custom units, the pair remain focused on renting. Davidson explains, “It feels like a way to make architecture accessible and allow more people to experience places like this.”
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