A complete year-round residence, the modestly priced Weekender offers roomy comfort. Its compact, U-shaped kitchen is next to the bath. A small, glass-fronted dining area is left of a storage unit that faces the front door. A fire place in the living room and space to sleep up to eight completes the plan. The design is suitable as a guest house or rental unit. Building time and material costs are kept low with the use of fir plywood construction throughout. The modular system affords the budget-minded home craftsman the opportunity to buy and build piecemeal. Later the units can be trucked to the site for assembly.

The Loch Haven is the "ranch rambler" of the DFPA cabin series. Designed by Architects Rogers, Taliaferro and Lamb, it has a luxurious Arabian Nights touch in its sunken living room and screened sleeping wing. On the other hand, its construction is strictly the down to earth American variety... featuring versatile, durable, practical panels of fir plywood throughout. The Loch Haven is perfect for a sheltered lakeside or riverbank setting, with every room facing the view and screen windows admitting cooling breezes. The sunken 12-foot by 12-foot living room is completely separated from the rest of the cabin by a huge sun deck. Three separate small bunk-rooms provide sleeping quarters for up to 6 people if bunks are stacked two deep. At the end of the line is a complete compact bathroom featuring a striking ceramic tile finished shower-tub combination. The entire complex is tied together with a four foot walkway that also provides extra sunning deck plus a private outdoor lanai for each bunk room. This is another cabin design that makes it easy for you to develop your vacation paradise on a budget. Start with the living room only, and add bedrooms and in-door plumbing as you can afford. 

David George, Dallas architect, designed this wide open cabin for the wide-open vistas of Texas, but it's just as adaptable and attractive on a New England seaside lot or in the mountains of the West. Tailored into its small (448 sq. ft.) floor plan, you'll find a complete galley type kitchen; complete bath with a full-size shower; a 32 square foot closet and wardrobe; plus smart-looking built-in sofa beds that will sleep four in real comfort. There's space provided in a snug corner for a prefabricated fireplace that will furnish all the "central heating" you'll ever need. And, there's also a covered sun deck with 128 square feet of area solely for sunning and lounging... mighty pleasant on warm summer evenings. Here again, fir plywood construction helps to keep costs down style high. Exterior fir plywood serves as both inner and outer wall presenting a durable paintable surface to the elements on one side; a warm friendly atmosphere inside. Plywood's large consistent panel size makes it possible to take full advantage of the economies of modular construction . . . also presents possibilities for expansion into a full-time home later. 

Neat and trim as the Cape Cod style it was patterned after, this vacation home by architect Laurence Higgins is without unnecessary frills yet it incorporates a surprising amount of space for just plain-down-to-earth relaxation. The living room is 15'- 4" by 10'- 4" with room on the first floor for a 7' by 10" bedroom, a compact kitchenette and a complete bath with shower. In the second floor sleeping loft, which is reached by an out-of-the-way ladder, almost any number of children can be accommodated. The loft may be divided into more bedrooms, or left as an open sleeping dormitory. The Cape Cottage is made comfortable for year around living with an economical out-of-the-way central floor furnace. Storage poses no problem in the Cape Cottage either. In addition to the large guest closet inside the front door, there's a wardrobe size bedroom closet and a big 5-foot-wide fully-enclosed outdoor storage shelter conveniently located just outside the back door. The Cape Cottage, as is usual with most of the cabins illustrated in this booklet, can be completed in gradual stages as the budget permits and as space is needed. 

Here's another basic but striking A-frame cabin by Nagle and Associates, that's designed for the "blue snow" country. Built-up 2" x 12" beams rest on big concrete piers which are sunk into the ground 3 feet below grade. Of course, the steep pitched roof of Exterior fir plywood will not only shed the snow readily, but will resist mountain blizzards. To relieve the spartan A-frame lines, an extra pair of A-frames have been extended onto the spacious sun deck to form a shelter from the sun in both summer and winter. Inside, there's a wealth of wide-open wonderful space for taking your ease. Your eating pleasure is amply provided for in the compact 6' by 8' kitchen. A complete bath including shower fits into a few square feet. The living room contains 240 square feet with a cozy corner fireplace that's perfect for warming up next to after a hard day on the ski slopes. A 144 square-foot sleeping balcony overlooks the living room and is made readily accessible with a ship-type stairway. Fir plywood construction throughout the Ranger makes a tighter, stronger, longer-lasting vacation cabin. 

Here are most of the comforts of your city home in a 960 sq. ft. economy cabin by architect Henrik Bull. Designed for two-stage develop-ment, it can be built for around $3,200 in the first unpainted rustically furnished stage. This includes wiring, plumbing and carpenter's labor but does not include the lot or septic tank installation. Architect Bull achieves the construction economies and livability of conventional box-like structures but eliminates the boxy appearance with two rectangular units one for living and one for sleeping connected by a 16 x 20 foot sun deck sheltered with a "convertible" canvas covered gable. The bedroom wing sleeps a family of five comfortably and a large weekend crowd can be accommodated by using sleeping bags and turning the deck and liv-ing area into emergency bedrooms. When you decide to turn this into a full time home, it's a simple matter to add insulation, wall paneling and central heating. 

Architect Milton Schwartz de-signed this cabin for Johnson Motors Family Boating Bureau and it is completely oriented to marine pursuits. Planned for a waterfront lot with a steep slope, it provides for boat moorage under the living area, reached by ramp from the side porch. Ideal for a couple or a small family, Beach-Head has limited living space about 275 sq. ft. Yet it's designed for comfort and maximum use. Bunk beds fold down; kitchen and bath are compactly arranged at the rear of the structure. Entry is by ramp from the side. The deck area is 50 square feet; it could be enclosed to provide a sleeping porch if desired. Fir plywood flooring, roof decking, and combined siding-sheathing speed construction and keep costs down. The Beach-Head's basic materials can be purchased for around $1,400—not including wiring, plumbing, or kitchen fixtures. If your need is for a minimum shelter, with comfort, on a suitable waterfront lot, Beach-Head may be the best possible answer. And remember... the design is so arranged that it can be enlarged, either at the sides or in front de-pending on the type of lot. 

A touch of Old Japan, added to the occidental comforts and con-venience you've come to expect that's the charming Teahouse de-sign by architect Laurence S. Higgins. Into a compact 20 x 24 foot shelter, he's planned a lot of vacation living with more than the usual luxury. Yet because fir plywood is used to its fullest economy and most practical application the Summer Teahouse is meant for those who want to keep costs at a sensible level. Siding and sheathing is one material Texture One-Eleven, the grooved fir plywood that pro-vides a pleasing pattern of vertical highlight and shadow. Flooring, roof decking, and built-ins are of fir plywood, too. And because Architect Higgins has planned for construction simplicity, the wall sections and roof trusses can be pre-assembled and hauled to the site for easier, faster erection. Designed with plenty of window area to take advantage of a marine view, the Teahouse can be built on concrete piers, right at the water's edge. Yet it would be as suitable for a mountain or view location, if that's your favored site. 

Another enjoy-as-you-build cabin, designed by Architect Walter D. Widmeyer with a shoreside location in mind. Here, stage one is more than just a glorified camp; it has a 16 x 20 foot sleeping-living area complete with kitchenette, toilet and shower, dressing space, fireplace, and a spacious sun deck. If yours is a family which wants more than basic comforts, even at the beginning, this plan should fit your budget today with room for future growth. In the second stage, a 12 x 20 addition at the rear provides two bedrooms with sleeping facilities for up to six people. Because Architect Widmeyer specifies fir plywood for walls, roof, and floors, materials for the first stage should only run you around $1,000. Plywood makes it easy for you to build yourself; and even if you contract the work, easy-to-handle plywood will cut building time and costs. Materials for the second stage should be about $500; plumbing and fixtures, $600. The complete job, for materials only, should not run much over $2,100. The "Expandable" offers a wonderful opportunity to get started right now at getting away from it all on a scale that provides real holiday comforts on a budget. 

Do you have basic woodworking skills plus about $900 for materials? If so, you're in! For that's all you need to get started on this luxury camp that grows into a charming home-away-from-home. This first stage is simply a deck, roof, and a more-than-adequate storage space for camping gear. This is actually only a campsite but with a difference. And it's planned to be "at home" on lake, ocean, bay or stream. In any setting, it will serve you long and well with minimum upkeep. Stage two takes this basic easy-to-build shelter a bit further toward ultimate vacationing comfort. You add a cooking unit, hot water heater, shower and toilet. You provide for better sleeping facilities. Stage three when and if you want it gives you everything you could possibly desire for a weekend or a season. You can even insulate and make it suitable for any time of the year. At every stage, you'll find this cabin a delight and you'll find it easy to build, too. Big, light, strong fir plywood panels make the work simple if you do-it-your-self, help keep down costs if you have it built professionally. So, if you want to get started now, yet plan for the future as well, this three-stager is your best bet for a cabin with a future. 

"Give us a vacation house that's low in cost yet one with charm and livability." Faced with this challenge by Douglas Fir Plywood Association and the editors of Woman's Day, Architect George Matsumoto achieved the almost ideal solution. Starting with a simple structure and making full use of fir plywood's unique advantages he created a holiday home which the experienced amateur carpenter will have no difficulty building. Best of all, the cost of minimum construction materials and basic fix-tures for the main house will average only $1,500; more elaborate fixtures, higher quality materials, or greater attention to finished appearance will raise that figure a bit. But even so and even if you hire out all or part of the work you'll have an excitingly different summer place at a truly budget price. One big feature of the total plan is the completely separate living and sleeping areas especially important for the younger set. Another feature you'll like is the fact that the structure is planned to adapt to almost any site requirement. Here again, fir plywood's versatility helps to create a lot of cabin for little money. 

Architect Philip Thiel has put two completely conventional buildings together here in a way that departs from the conventional in an unusually charming and practical way. Two small cabins one for living and one for sleeping face each each other across a partly roofed, screened court. Carport, bathroom, and storage-utility space opposite the viewing porch complete enclosure of the court. The court can serve as a private garden, barbecue center, sunbathing area, off-the-beach playground or all four at once. This "compound" grouping lets you enjoy a longer season of leisure-time home enjoyment. Designed for a family of four, yet there's plenty of room and privacy in the sleeping wing for guests. Doors slide open onto the courtyard from both living and sleeping areas for spacious informality and easy traffic flow. Outside windows have hinged fir plywood panels sunshades in summer and shutters in winter. Here again, big, light-weight panels of fir plywood used for sheathing and subflooring speed and simplify construction keep costs down. The interior can be left unfinished for maximum ease of upkeep, the warm natural tones of the plywood creating an atmosphere of relaxed informality.