Tommerhytte, a log cabin nestled in the forest canopy, is something straight out of a Norwegian fairytale. It is surrounded by an acre of woodland. It has two terraces which extend into the trees. Its name is the Norwegian word for log cabin.
This chalet —all exposed timber, stone and glass— is not in Scandinavia, or on a ski resort, but near Marlow in Buckinghamshire, not far away from the Elizabeth Line at Maidenhead. And for all its rustic charm, it doesn’t come cheap: it’s listed for £2.5 million with Sotheby’s International Realty.
Tommerhytte was designed by its owners, who bought the plot for £732,000 in January 2024, according to the Land Registry.
The structure already stood, but the owners —one of whom runs architecture practice AFI Studios— took the building back to brick and gave it a thorough redesign. “They wanted to do something completely different to what was available, and go against the grain,” says listing agent Josh Ratcliffe. “It was a bit of a project.”
“They went really heavy on the materials side and used dark, woody colours. They put in a huge DeVol kitchen with a big La Cornue range cooker as well. They liked the idea of having a blank canvas to build something that people wouldn’t necessarily expect.”
Clad in timber and stone, the two-storey building covers 1,928 square feet, with four bedrooms. On the first floor, the kitchen, reception room and dining room form a large, open plan space which is divided by an open fireplace.
There’s a balcony running off the reception room, with views of the surrounding woodland and Thames, and a paved terrace adjoining one of the ground floor bedrooms.
Inside, leaning into its chalet style, the walls are lined with pine logs, with an exposed stone wall surrounding the fireplace, wooden floorboards and a pitched roof. Full-height windows face the foliage, treehouse-like.
Outside, there’s an acre of private gardens which have been designed by Patrick Clarke and Flint Garden Design and realised by Chelsea Flower Show-winning contractor Yoreland Design.
“It’s got this log cabin-esque feel to it, like it could be in a ski resort, rather than this part of Marlow and Buckinghamshire,” says Ratcliffe. “It’s extremely quiet. You kind of feel like you’re on a camping trail, up in the woods…It feels like you’re on top of the trees.”
Tommerhytte in its newest incarnation has never been lived in. Now that it is complete, its owners, who live nearby, are selling it.
This, though, is no budget bolthole. Ratcliffe says that the price reflects the fact that the property has been newly designed, and the “limited number of turnkey homes at this level”.
“Given its proximity to London and the fact that you could be in Paddington within half an hour [from Maidenhead], there is a lure for people wanting an escape,” he says.
“I think it will go to someone who’s looking for a second home, that maybe has a house or flat in London. It’s a nice place that a family or a couple can use, and it’s by the river. You don’t even need a car.”
