Dan Pauly builds guest cottages, playhouses, garden sheds, and saunas all appearing to be perfectly suited for an enchanted forest. The small, asymmetrical buildings have a long slanted roof, crooked chimney, and charming front window with built-in flower box. Each cabin designed by Pauly and his company The Rustic Way is built with reclaimed wood, each piece restored to reflect its natural weathered condition.
Pauly’s woodworking history goes back four generations, back to the 1800s when his family emigrated to the US and built several barns in Minnesota (some of which are still standing). This history is embedded into Pauly’s fascination with reclaimed wood. “As I uncover an old barn or shed,” Pauly says, “I realize that it could be the same lumber that my great-grandfather used more than 100 years ago. I think that respect for the craftsmen and craftswomen of the past, and for the wood they used, make a difference in each new piece I create.”
You can see more of Pauly’s cabins on The Rustic Way’s Facebook page.
