Daniel Arsham Unveils a New Bookable Cabin That Captures His Design Ethos

Photo: Kohler Co.

The village of Kohler, Wisconsin, just off the shores of Lake Michigan near Sheboygan, is no stranger to exceptional artist-built environments, as it’s just nearby the world-class John Michael Kohler Art Center’s Art Preserve. And while that institution is well worth a visit, a new arrival in the neighborhood will allow you to make yourself at home in one. The Arsham Cabin is the latest addition to the Kohler Cabin Collection, a quintet of rentable retreats at Destination Kohler, the brand’s five-diamond resort. It’s also the latest result of Kohler’s ongoing partnership with the artist and designer Daniel Arsham, whose work injects a playful curiosity into traditional architectural forms.

For the cabin, Arsham tells AD, “Kohler gave me carte blanche to create a total environment.” They had a previous blockbuster collaboration under their belt: 2020’s Rock.01 limited-edition 3D-printed bathroom sink. “It sold out within an hour,” says Kohler Co. chair and CEO David Kohler. “After that success and with a mutual desire to redefine experiences, we knew we wanted to collaborate again and in a much larger way.” An extant cabin just a few minutes from Kohler’s American Club resort-hotel offered Arsham a blank slate—along with a wraparound porch with views of Lake Michigan and lush woodlands.

First, he stripped off the cabin’s finishes; then, he remade it in his own image. The result is a full expression of Arsham’s point of view, tucked into a cozy retreat. His own furnishings fill the two bedrooms, kitchen, and living space. Finishes echo the ones he used in his own house, where he’s also tried out each of his Kohler products.

Of course, the bathrooms are a major focus thanks to a full installation of Arsham’s new collection, Landshapes. There’s a Veil Smart toilet and WasteLAB tiles made of recycled materials; both are inspired by what’s revealed as sand and minerals erode. A vessel sink offers a more fulsome iteration of Rock.01, with glass faucet handles inspired by the form of water drops. Above hangs a mirror that Arsham originally carved from a solid block of stone, then cast. “It’s a play with materials,” he says of the final wood version. As are the sconces. “The lights appear almost as if you draped a sheet of glass over a sphere, and the glass is holding a rippling fabric.”

That sense of play becomes literal with half a dozen large-scale sculptures the artist has installed around the beloved golf courses, including Ryder Cup host Whistling Straits across the property. “Placing sculptures there gives us another read on the golf course as a kind of sculpture park,” Arsham says. One, that is, filled with monumental depictions of Pokemon and a bronze Venus de Milo.

The cabin guests can’t miss a few smaller sculptures, which Arsham has placed in a new rock garden, including a patinated bronze cast of the bicycle from the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It’s an out-of-this-world bit of magic in a project that reimagines more earthly materials. “The cabin collection is a private escape into nature,” David Kohler says. “We want our guests to immerse themselves in Daniel’s world.”

And Arsham is excited to see what guests make of all the art and design he’d first created for his own home. “I think it comes together as elegant. There’s a whimsical quality that doesn’t take itself that seriously—but for one of the biggest manufactures in the world to achieve the level of craft we did on this project is, I think, quite admirable.”

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest