A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

SPACED // Tiny ‘Nature Villa’ in the Woods

It lacks a kitchen but we'd happily cook over a fire nearby just so we could sleep in that bed and hang on that deck...

Contemplating Life on a Handmade ‘Floating Island’

The big deck holds a BBQ, a herb garden, a hammock, and several other wonderful things besides (like a baby blue canoe).

We’d Like to Self-Isolate in This Off-Grid Tiny House on the Other Side of the World

To be able to escape the city for the sake of social distancing is a dream worth having in these weird and dangerous times.

We Dig These Cabins Designed For Sustaining Good Times in the Wild

The cool and remote constructions take full advantage of photovoltaic panels, grey/black water treatment and rainwater collection.

Cool Treehouse Has a Suspension Footbridge That Leads to a Soaker Tub With a View

Located in the wilds outside Austin, the Yoki Treehouse offers a cozy, snow-free escape from the urban doldrums.

We’d Totally Live in This Wine Cellar High Up in the Tyrol

Located high in the mountains near Neustift-Vahrn, the expansive underground wine cellars at Pacherhof could fit a family (or five).

We Want This Beautiful, Shinsuke Fujii-Designed Home in Yokohama

We want the hell out of this house. The beautiful cherry trees would have to come with it. Otherwise the deal is off.

‘Tree Houses’ on the Edge of the Wilderness

Milan-based Peter Pichler Architecture has imagined a series of sustainable hideaways in the Italian Dolomites.

Forbidding Concrete Exterior Hides ‘Tranquil House’

Japanese architecture firm FORM / Kouichi Kimura artfully makes a fortress-like home next to a factory and a highway seem liveable.

This Cabin Is Nowhere Near As Rustic As It Looks

The exterior of this dilapidated-looking hideaway in the Swiss Alps is hiding a surprisingly modern three levels of cozy.

This Plant-Heavy Ho Chi Minh City Home for a Sunny Stretch of Kits, Please

Designed by Vo Trong Nghia Architects, the stunning "Stepping Park House" in Vietnam took the concept of the house garden inside.

We Want This Parisian Live/Work Situation Here in Vancouver

We'd happily take this three bedroom house / workshop near the Rue des Martyrs if we could set it up here in Strathcona...

We Want to Take Shelter in This Locally Designed ‘Great Lakes Cabin’

Vancouver firms Backcountry Hut Company and Leckie Studios collaborated on this low impact prefab, and we want it.

Why Yes, We’d Love to Stay in This Cottage Made Entirely of Chocolate…

Chocolatier Jean-Luc Decluzeau designed and built this 200 sqft cottage constructed entirely of 1.5 tons of chocolate in France.

We’d Carry This One Room Cabin From New York to the Cowichan Valley

Designed by NYC firm JacobsChang, this place cost just $20,000 (USD) to build with the job being done over a weekend by the owners.

In a City of Shrinking Balconies, Could We Please Have Some That Bloom?

Architect Manuel Herz's 'Ballet Mécanique' apartments in Central Zurich could teach local developers a thing or two about balconies.

This Tiny Cabin for Beer Island, Please

With solar panels on its A-frame, the stilted construction has very little impact on its immediate environment and did not require building permits because of its diminutive size.

The Norwegian Hideout of Our Dreams

This cool construction by TYIN Architects was built with the help of a group of students in just three weeks. Imagine the quiet within.

Wanting This Concrete Cabin in Mexico Near a Tofino Beach

Designed by Aranza de Arino (and available on Airbnb), it's close to the big wave surfer's paradise of Puerto Escondido.

A Spartan Hideaway of Wood and Window

This minimalist, perspective-compressing 2016 home in Japan would suit an out-of-the-way slice of the Lower Mainland.

We Want This Tree-Inspired House in Toyko for Vancouver’s Ramenland

This house in Tokyo rises up from the street like a concrete organism, twisting and sprouting limbs in tree-like fashion.

An Isolated Cabin in Wales for a BC Backyard

We want this beautiful Welsh hideaway - clad in local slate with an interior of birch plywood - a lot closer to home.

We’d Totally Live in This Danish ‘Krane’ if It Overlooked Vancouver’s Crab Park

The engine room of this massive crane on the shore of Copenhagen was renovated to include a spa, a meeting room and a suite for two.

Trading a City Shoebox For a Mountain Retreat

This small house overlooking the Austrian Alps would suit the equally isolated acreage in BC that we have in mind for it.

A Zeppelin-Shaped Cabin for Finn Slough

The Jules Verne-like "Mr. Plocq’s Caballon" is located on the shore of the Loire estuary in France, but we want it much closer.

Imagining This Swiss Concrete Cabin Under an East Vancouver Bridge

If enterprising skateboarders can hide DIY concrete skateparks in tunnels and under bridges, why not a cabin or two?

Imagining this Northern Californian Retreat in Some Vancouver Island Woods

This beautiful family complex would make for an excellent place to hide from depressing housing statistics.

Dreaming of a Modern Swiss Mountain Fortress in The Wilds near Squamish

In the depths of winter it's natural to think of home as a fortification against the elements. This place takes it a step further...