Urban Cabin by Fábio Galeazzo

all photos © Fábio Galeazzo [via Archilovers]

Yesterday's storm sent me in search of cozy chalets to warm up your snow day, a little inspiration for those of you sipping hot cocoa in your pajamas. But what I found instead — this colorful "Urban Cabin" in São Paulo, Brazil — was just so much more appealing. Sometimes, a little escapism is all you need midwinter.

Retrofitting an old, abandoned house, principal architect Fábio Galeazzo reinforced the structure with a sustainable framework of bamboo beams and columns and added green thermal tiles to the roof. As for the facade, Galeazzo strayed from the common modernist path of integrating the home with the landscape. Rather, irregular shapes and a plethora of colors inspired by painter Tarsila do Amaral make the house boldly stand out from the dense vegetation surrounding it.

A stretch of nautical fabric creates a shaded carport, while a tiled barbecue area abuts the "swivel kitchen" (see drawing below), connecting the interior with the exterior.

Inside, an enormous circular shelf frames a picture window, furthering Galeazzo's purpose of bring the outdoors in. Of course, an interior this wild calls for equally impressive furniture, and pieces like the nest-like Chifruda chair by Sergio Rodrigues and the 2 in 1 dining table by the Campana Brothers finish off the look.

I'm feeling warmer already.