Backyard Retreats

Katie Hutchison, whose North Share-based Katie Hutchison Studio provides "meaningful architectural and design" services, and which publishes the online magazine House Enthusiast, announced recently that she's embarking on a book project with The Taunton Press.

I'll be writing about appealing, small retreats -- backyard and beyond. The featured retreats will be from the U.S. and will each be less than 750 square feet. They may include such uses as: an artist studio, beach pad, bunk house, pool cabana, tea house, writer's shack, dining pavilion, summerhouse, garden folly, mountain escape, tree house, etc... Some will be antiques, some will be adapted from other uses, and some will be more recently created. I aim to illuminate how they portray eight characteristics of good, small-retreat design, so readers can create their own special places.

Sounds like a great project. I've dreamed for years about having a backyard retreat like Roald Dahl's writing hut. Here's a photo of the interior:

Alas, the closest I've come to realizing this dream is when I camped out for a few afternoons one hot summer in a playhouse that used to belong to my stepmother. It was just big enough for a child's table, a cooler full of beer (which doubled as a seat), and a radio tuned to Red Sox games.

Hutchison asks readers to email her photos of small retreats, for possible inclusion in her book. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Via Design Observer.