These Mirrored Cabins Are Designed to Blend Into the Forest

A series of mirrored cabins designed to reflect its natural surroundings have been built in a forest in Ontario, Canada. Architect firm Leckie Studio and design agency Aruliden teamed up to design Arcana, secluded cabin rentals built a few hours north of Toronto. (The specific location of the cabins will only be revealed to guests after they’ve booked the rental.) For nature lovers who can’t get to Canada, though, allow these photographs to transport you to the secluded forest. 

Each Arcana cabin is about 275 square feet and contains basic luxuries, including electricity and running water. (The designers will also design off-grid versions that could be built in much more remote locations in the future.) The amenities include a contemporary kitchen, private bathroom with a shower, custom-built fire pits and grills on the deck area just outside, and, of course, beds — which are situated right in front of floor-to-ceiling windows to allow guests to gaze out into the forest. 

Hiking trails are also available to guests around the cabins, as well as guided activities like forest bathing (a Japanese mindfulness practice that involves walking amongst the trees and nature) and foraging expeditions. 

The interiors of the Arcana cabins contain warm, natural earthy pine hues — but it’s the exterior of the cabins that completely steal the show. Built with wooden frames and sheets of stainless steel, the cabins are mirrored and act as a reflector of its lush green surrounding. According to the designers, the metal claddings offer slightly distorted reflections for birds, too, to prevent the animals from flying into the cabins and hurting themselves. 

“As a brand that’s rooted in respecting the power and beauty of nature, it’s been a priority to design our structures so that they aren’t a hazard to birds and other creatures that reside in Arcana’s habitat,” the designers told Dezeen. “It’s difficult to distinguish in the artist renderings, but the reflective cladding is an imperfect mirrored surface, which is naturally a deterrent to birds; additionally, we are applying film to all reflective surfaces that are unnoticeable to the human eye but can allow birds to identify the cabin as an object in the landscape.”

For more information about the cabins, visit Find Arcana.