Dwell 2015 11

modern world
outside
Aluminum pipes were repurposed
as ladder steps leading
from the sleeping loft (left) to the
roof deck. The sleeping bag is
from Gander Mountain. A Murphy
bed provides more sleeping
space downstairs (above). A
rainwater catchment system
feeds a cistern and outdoor
shower (below). The Butterfly
chairs are from Hayneedle.
“As an antidote, we built Nest,” he
quips. They started work on the structure—about
130 feet away from their
EDGE cabin, but hidden by the woods
and plopped on a platform of treated
framing lumber supported by concrete
piers—in July 2013. Working only on
weekends, the pair completed Nest in a
little over a year. To mitigate costs, they
used leftovers from prior projects and
filled it in with newly purchased supplies,
making an exact budget tough to
pin down. “Not counting time, it will
take between $15,000 and $25,000 to
build the Nest, depending on materials
selection,” says Yudchitz, who believes
almost anyone can do the job from their
plans. “We managed, and we’re not finish
carpenters. The only tool we used
that required any real skill was a miter
box. The Murphy bed was the hardest
thing in the place to make,” he says.
Measuring only 9 by 10 feet and
standing 12 feet high, Nest is a smidgen
taller than a typical storage shed. But
the similarities stop there; true to the
Yudchitzes’ vision, it’s artful and soulful.
The standard lumber used for the
framing and sheathing gets a dose of
modern style from black metal panels
on three sides; they’re actually standard
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NOVEMBER 2015
DWELL