Interior design · Cottage retreat

San Carlos Cottage

A compact hillside cottage in San Carlos, Costa Rica, in the middle of the jungle. Dark clad walls and deep timber roofs keep the building sheltered and understated, while generous glazing, stone terracing and a floating garden stair tie every room to the greenery around it.

Location: San Carlos, Costa Rica
Type: Jungle cottage · Private retreat
Scope: Architecture & interior design

Shaded by its broad roof, the cottage stays protected from rain and sun while its rooms open directly onto the hillside garden.

01 — Plan & distribution

Two cabins in one garden

The site plan shows how the retreat works as a whole: two private residences set side by side on the slope, joined by a central access path that crosses their shared deck. Native tree groves and planting islands follow the contours of the hillside, while a retention pond keeps the garden's water on site.

Drawing: General site plan · 1/500
Zones: Residence A · Residence B · Garden

General site plan of the San Carlos Cottage retreat showing two private residences connected by a central access path among native tree groves — General plan — two private residences, a central access path and a garden kept to its native trees and contours.

02 — Selected studies

On the hillside

The cottage sits on a sloping site. Floating stone steps climb through the planting to the entrance while dark, slender cladding keeps the building quiet against the greenery.

Dark clad cottage with a wide timber roof reached by floating stone steps on a green hillside — Approach — a floating stone stair climbs the slope to the entrance while the wide timber roof shelters the dark clad volume below.

Two cabins with sheltering roofs stepping down a hillside with a connecting stair — Twin pavilions — the retreat steps down the site as separate cabins, each lifted on its own base and connected by the garden stair.

Shaded terrace with timber railing opening to sliding glazing and a flowering garden — Terrace — sliding glazing opens the studio completely to a shaded deck framed by the flowering garden.

03 — Selected studies

Inside

Compact, calm rooms carry the outside in: a stone feature wall and exposed timber roof structure inside, with full-height glazing and clerestory bands framing the jungle beyond.

Studio interior with stone feature wall, exposed timber roof structure and window desk — Studio interior — a stone feature wall and the exposed roof structure give the compact room warmth and character.

Bedroom with full-height glazing, clerestory windows and a stone feature wall facing the jungle — Bedroom — full-height glazing and a band of clerestory windows bring the surrounding jungle directly into the room.

Compact kitchen alcove with dark stone counter, white cabinets and exposed timber trusses — Kitchen alcove — an efficient kitchenette with a dark stone counter sits beside the sleeping space under the exposed trusses.