The log cabin in the woods has long been one of America's most treasured icons. But the modern love affair with these rustic homes began in the late 19th century, long after most American settlers had forsaken their rough log homes for more refined lodging. Around that time such families as the Vanderbuilts, Rockefellers, Harrimans, and Whitneys began to build decidedly upscale camps in New York's Adirondacks, and their popularity, together with the Arts and Crafts movement of the same era, helped reinvigorate back-to-nature sentiments.
But the absorbing story of the Great Camps is only the beginning of what has become a resurgent fascination with the north woods rustic tradition in architecture and interiors. From Florida, Maine, and Michigan to Montana, Oregon, and California, and across Canada, too, cabin fever is raging. Featuring wide wooden porches scattered with Adirondack chairs, Mission-era rockers draped with Hudson Bay blankets, Navajo rugs in front of great rubblestone fireplaces, birchbark lamps on twigwork tables, cowboy paintings, antique fishing lures, and red plaid hunting caps, the north woods or cabin tradition is one of the most purely and quintessentially American styles ever splashed across the pages of shelter magazine. Its more commercial manifestations can be seen everywhere, from the hugely successful L.L. Bean and Orvis catalogs to the Ralph Lauren interiors collection and even in his clothing ads.
Dazzlingly designed and chock full of 250 full-color photos of beautiful and cozy cabins, inventive interiors, and the rustic life in general, Cabin Fever is the very first style book to present this tremendously appealing and popular vernacular tradition. More so than other style books, however, Cabin Fever is about a life style, not just an approach to interior decoration. In addition to its personal and quirky architecture and furnishings, the rustic outlook extends to the realms of clothing, painting, antiques, and, of course, activities.
In addition to glimpses into some of the storied old Great Camps and grand hotels built in this style, then, the book shows what cabin style looks like today, including views of marvelous rustic libraries in sophisticated big-city apartments and log-style houses in wooded suburban settings. In recognition of the passionate following the rustic tradition maintains, Cabin Fever closes with a catalog detailing where to find the furniture, fixtures, tablewares, wallpapers, rugs and blankets, and decorative accessories that define cabin style today.
