Hidden within the indigenous forest above Wilderness Beach, Sage Cabin at Cocoon Cabins offers a quiet retreat for two. Designed to dissolve the boundary between architecture and landscape, the cabin invites guests to slow down, reconnect and retreat into nature’s embrace.
Sage Cabin reveals itself slowly. Its approach winds through dense vegetation before the landscape suddenly opens, forest falling away toward the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. Suspended between canopy and coastline, the cabin feels at once sheltered and expansive: a secluded hideaway for two, cocooned within the forest yet framed by distant sea views.
Completed in 2025, Sage is the second cabin on the site, following the earlier Coal Cabin. Designed by architect Penny Vorster of Liminal Architects, the project was conceived as a retreat, a place where the rhythms of nature guide the experience of the space.
‘The cabin was designed around creating the feeling of escape through submersion into moments and spaces,’ explains Vorster. ‘The client and I wanted there to be nooks where you can be together, but also spaces where you can withdraw, small moments that allow you to reconnect with each other and with the environment.’
The pristine site became a powerful design driver. Carefully positioned windows and apertures capture glimpses of the ocean throughout the canopy, ensuring the presence of the sea is felt throughout the cabin. Even the shower features a discreet ‘peephole’ window, offering a fleeting view of the water beyond the forest.
For owners Robyn and Anton Steinlechner, Sage Cabin was imagined as more than accommodation. Named after their daughter and inspired by the restorative qualities of the colour itself, the cabin was designed as an immersive experience.
‘With Sage Cabin, we wanted to create something that feels organic,’ they explain. ‘The architecture flows with the curves and rhythm of the surrounding landscape so that the outside naturally extends inward. It’s a space designed for a slow stay, somewhere guests can pause, be present and feel gently enveloped by the environment.’
Materials that age with the landscape
The architectural palette was deliberately restrained and tactile, allowing the cabin to age gracefully within its coastal setting.
Externally, Balau timber and steel form the primary materials. The timber introduces warmth and natural texture, while the steel cladding will gradually develop a soft patina over time.
‘We wanted materials that would evolve with the landscape,’ says Vorster. ‘Nothing that feels frozen in time.’
Inside, alder timber cladding wraps the interior in warmth, echoing the tones of the surrounding forest and reinforcing the sense of being nestled within the trees.
Green tones appear throughout the interior, in paint, ceramics and surface finishes, subtly referencing the vegetation outside.
Tiles that mirror the forest
Tile selections play a key role in reinforcing the connection between interior and landscape.
For the kitchen, coffee bar and a distinctive curved opening into the shower room, the owners selected the Home Forest Kit Kat tiles from the exclusive Funky Tiles range available at Stiles. Their green tone and vertical texture echo the layered foliage beyond the windows while introducing subtle movement as light shifts across the surface.
These tiles are paired with Cape Thin Brick Chai Travertine, grounding the palette with earthy warmth and quietly referencing the weathered steel exterior. Texture, Vorster explains, was an important design consideration. ‘We wanted to create spaces where every sense is engaged. Texture allows the architecture to be experienced not just visually but physically.’
In the shower area, the couple selected the Materika Rounded tile in Ocean Gloss, also sourced from Stiles. Paired with a fluted glass screen, the tiles introduce a gentle interplay of light and reflection as one moves through the space.
Baths, sanitaryware and tapware were also sourced from Stiles, helping to establish a cohesive material language throughout the cabin.
The architecture of cocooning
Although compact, the cabin is carefully articulated into a series of defined spaces, each created to reinforce the idea of cocooning.
A bath nook cradles the Luximo Cowley bath and offers views of forest and distant ocean. A semi-circular reading nook invites quiet moments with a book, while a breakfast bar hatch opens from the kitchen to the deck, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. A suspended cargo net lounge offers a playful place to relax.
The experience continues with lowered seating on the deck, an outdoor shower and a KolKol wood-fired hot tub, where guests can soak beneath the canopy of trees.
For the Steinlechners, every element was chosen to support the idea of retreat.
‘Every detail was considered to heighten the sensory experience,’ they explain. ‘Guests don’t just stay in Sage, they become immersed in it.’
The result is a cabin that lives up to its name: a carefully crafted cocoon where architecture, material and landscape come together to create a space of quiet restoration.
Browse the tiles, tapware and sanitaryware products mentioned in store or online at Stiles.
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Picture: Supplied
