Nearly 30 years after buying the alpine getaway, a Melburnian brings in Chamberlain Architects to improve its insulation, fire resistance, and flow.
When Andrew Bruce first spotted a weather-beaten pine cabin in the small town of Cobungra, Australia, nearly 30 years ago, he wasn’t looking for a forever home. "I was single, working long hours in Melbourne, and just needed an escape," he says. The cabin, a rough builder’s spec house on a steep, tree-lined block, seemed like the perfect place to retreat. "It hadn’t really been lived in, so it was already falling apart, but I didn’t care. It was near Mount Hotham where I ski, and that’s all that mattered."
In those early years, the cabin was as basic as they come: two bedrooms, one bathroom, no TV, and a woodstove that barely fought off the mountain chill. "It was always cold," Andrew says with a laugh. "But I loved it. It was remote, quiet, and had this incredible view over the valley. The snow would stick around for weeks after it melted everywhere else."
Before: Front Exterior
Before: The original pine cabin was a simple builder’s spec house with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a woodstove that barely warmed the space.
Courtesy Chamberlain Architects
After: Front Exterior
"We didn’t want anything flashy," says homeowner Andrew Bruce. "Just something that felt like it belonged here." The cabin’s gabled form has been preserved, extended, and reclad in black Colorbond steel that blends into the surrounding bushland.
Photo: Brook James
Over time, life changed, and so did the way Andrew used the cabin. He met Jill, a Boston native who shared his love of the outdoors, and together they began spending winters at the cabin. Their children, Bruno and Pia, started skiing almost as soon as they could walk, and they later trained with Mount Hotham’s Race Squad and competed with the Steamboat Winter Sports Club in Colorado when the seasons flipped. "Our daughter’s first trip to the cabin was when she was just five days old," Andrew recalls. "There’d been a big snow dump, and Jill said, ‘In Boston, we take babies out in the snow all the time.’ So off we went."
As the family grew, the erstwhile rustic bachelor pad started to feel cramped. "Two bedrooms, one bathroom, four people, it was chaos," says Andrew. He initially planned to knock it down and rebuild, but Jill wasn’t on board. "She hated the idea of everything going to landfill," he says. "And the planning rules up here—bushfire overlays, BAL ratings—make rebuilding complicated." Instead, they decided to give the old cabin new life.
After: Parents Bedroom
The parents’ suite, added during the renovation, is fitted with an Eva timber bed, Step Step stool, Aatos chair, and Linus lounge chair.
Photo: Brook James
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: From Bachelor Pad to Family Chalet, This Little Cabin Grew Up With Its Owner
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