Hytte Grydalen

Grydalen, Norway

Hytte Grydalen is a cabin in the Sirdal heights of southern Norway, inside a landscape conservation area with no road in. You arrive by boat or on foot in summer and by snowmobile or skis in winter; there is no sewer and no mains power, and the lights run off three solar panels. Ådne Trodahl of Trodahl Arkitekter drew it 3.5 metres wide and more than 20 metres long, 75 square metres with the entrance in the middle, the living room at one end and the bedrooms at the other, and four sliding doors that turn five rooms into one. His own line for it is "Hytta er planlagt som en båt", the cabin is planned like a boat, with a wall of shelves and crates and small cabins opening off the main room; it was nearing completion in January 2018.

Everything is pine, inside and out and without a drop of stain, the outside in villmarkspanel, the old Norwegian cladding that uses nearly the whole log, traces of bark and all. This is the living end of the cabin, which has the full roof height; the loft over the bedroom wing is so low that guests sleep on mattresses on the floor, so a bay was built over that wing to give it a view too. The stove is a Jøtul designed by Anderssen and Voll, the cushions are grey wool, the chairs at the table are Børge Mogensen's J39, and the one strong colour, the striped åkle on the wall, was woven by a grandmother in pink, red and orange.

Trodahl Arkitekter

Trodahl Arkitekter is a family-run practice based in Sandnes with a branch in Copenhagen; Ådne Trodahl was the architect on this cabin.

trodahl-arkitekter.no · Instagram

Design Trodahl Arkitekter (@teamtrodahl). Photography @niklashart. Build Bjergabygg AS. Seen via @micro.homes.

The picture comes from this post on Instagram.

Researched September 2026. I credit each piece as carefully as I can; if you know more about this one, message me on Instagram.