Architect Omar Gandhi created this two bedroom vacation cabin to capture the cocooning feeling of its forest location in Nova Scotia.EMA PETER/Supplied
“I’m constantly designing places for the best nap of your life, because I aspire to have them. They don’t happen often enough,” says Omar Gandhi, the acclaimed architect who splits his time between Halifax and Toronto. That sleepy inspiration was, in part, the impetus for Gandhi’s latest project, White Rock Guest Cabin, in Nova Scotia’s Gaspereau Valley.
The cube on stilts was designed by his eponymous architecture firm and is built into the sloping forest across the road from the Benjamin Bridge winery. White Rock, which is available for booking through Airbnb and VRBO, wasn’t initially meant to be a holiday home – at least not one available to the public. Gandhi and a couple of friends bought the land with the intention of building a dwelling for themselves to have a place to retreat in nature. But once the 140-square-metre, two-bedroom cabin was built, they discovered they were often too busy to spend time there, so they offered the space to friends and family.
The cabin is the perfect place for getting a peaceful night of rest.EMA PETER/Supplied
“It became about providing a spot for our colleagues and a place as a mental health retreat – a place to get away and have the best sleep of your life and be in wine country,” he says. “Then, because of the feedback we got, it just felt like, well, this is something we need to share.”
For design fans, it’s an accommodation worth building a trip around. The weathered steel exterior is balanced by an interior almost entirely lined with smoked white oak in varying widths and patterns. This, and the stainless-steel kitchen, act as reflectors for the sun that streams through floor-to-ceiling windows, highlighting the raw texture of the space. “It’s a dichotomy in every way, about light and dark and compressed and wide, modern and traditional,” Gandhi says.
The furniture was designed with Shaker and Japanese lines and mannerist proportions.EMA PETER/Supplied
The furniture was designed with Shaker and Japanese lines and mannerist proportions, best exemplified by the elongated dining table in the open-concept living/dining/kitchen space, with other pieces coming from Luca Nichetto, Mjölk and Montauk. Textiles, comprised of antique linens and hand-dyed fabrics, are neutral shades of grey, sand and beige.
The highlight of the cabin is the rooftop terrace, which has both dining and lounge space. Surrounded by a canopy of maple trees, it’s a quiet, secluded spot for relaxing. Gandhi also has a soft spot for the winding driveway, “a long meandering path … with a hairpin turn,” he says. “I always imagined when Bruce Wayne was going to his Batcave and he’s driving through the forest and then, all of a sudden, his lair emerges.”
Gandhi promises all these elements add up to an experience focused on being present and creative. “It’s a place for music and food,” he says. “It’s just so unbelievably peaceful and dark and quiet.”
Stays from $975/night through omargandhi.com/guest-cabin.
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