We Can Dream: Nurturing Escapes for Penning a Poem

An occasional outdoorsy break is recommended for a healthy body and soul, and doesn’t have to mean braving hot or foul weather. Protected hideaways like these allow you to feeling connected to nature while remaining cozy and quiet. If you’re not lucky enough to have a retreat like these in your backyard, rent a tiny cabin or sneak a weekend at a friend’s getaway in the country or by the sea — it may be the best short-term way to rejuvenate the senses and clear the mind. And don’t take your work with you. Instead, take time to go on long walks, make afternoon tea, read a book, play chess, pen a poem or even snooze the day away.

Teahouse Retreat
“Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.” — Zen saying

Anyone for a tea ceremony and haiku? This Japanese teahouse was actually a former garden building that was totally renovated into a serene, contemplative garden cottage. The house is part of a complex of Japanese buildings that includes a teahouse, an entrance gate, a sheltered bench and a bridge. Inside the tearoom, the floor is covered in tatami mats, and the space includes a kitchenette and an alcove for displaying art. It is enclosed by sliding shoji doors and surrounded by a veranda.

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Soft Landing
“God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, ‘Ah!’” — Joseph Campbell

Come the cooler months, take some time to write an ode to the beauty of the garden from a whimsical vantage point. Sited in an English country garden, this perfect globe has a 360-degree view from atop a rock platform, offering a prime viewing spot overlooking a small running stream.

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Open Library
“I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books than a king without the desire to read.” — Thomas Babington Macaulay

Live life in the slow lane in a garden pod for one. Away from the hustle and bustle of your workaday life (and the main campus of your home), a few hours of uninterrupted reading can be one of life’s simple pleasures and just the tonic you need to clear your mind of the pressures of work. A neat idea for those with unused space on their property is to consider a prefabricated building such as the small studio pictured here, designed by Australian company Backyard Room.


Winter Wonder
“In the depths of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

No matter how chilly it gets, a cozy forest hideaway with a wood burner and lots of windows with views to snowy mountains will inspire blissful contemplation. This house was designed by Ethan Waldman of Morrisville, Vermont, who was inspired by tiny-house blogs to build a movable home using quality materials such as local cedar for the exterior siding. The untreated trim will age to a silvery gray.


Corner Spot
“I wake up some mornings and sit and have my coffee and look out at my beautiful garden, and I go, ‘Remember how good this is. Because you can lose it.’” — Jim Carrey

More than a mere office studio at the bottom of the garden, this small retreat offers the inhabitant the opportunity for quiet contemplation of a beautiful garden.


Welcome Wagon
“Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.” — Norman Cousins

Roll up your wagon to a picturesque spot, pull out the folding table and chairs, pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in and watch the world go by. This gypsy trailer is sited in an English field. Note the horseshoe on the Dutch door — no doubt hung there to catch good luck!


Open-Door Policy
“I’m an introvert. … I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky.” — Audrey Hepburn

Open fields of countryside are just the place to take a long and ambling walk, but when the day is done, there’s no place like home. And the perfect retreat? A well-equipped caravan with plenty of space for a visitor or two. The mobile trailer pictured here is beautifully appointed inside and has a small kitchen, a dining area and a bathroom, and can accommodate two guests.

Learn more about this trailer


Far Horizons
“Nature poets can’t walk across the backyard without tripping over an epiphany.” — Christian Wiman

Banish computers and mobile devices in favor of games that challenge the mind. Chess allows its participants plenty of time to consider strategies as well as take in their surroundings between moves, and the game is particularly meditative when played in an outdoor setting.


Serenity Lake
“Four-fifths of all our troubles would disappear, if we would only sit down and keep still.” — Calvin Coolidge

Lakeside, seaside, riverside — we all love to sit and gaze at a water view. The movement of water, whether calm or turbulent, stirs the soul and evokes an emotional response that has inspired many an author to write a magnum opus. If you ever get the chance to take time out to live for a while by the sea or a lake, perhaps it’s time to write yours.

This cute cabin is nestled in nature on Picard Point, Lake Pend Orielle, Idaho.

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Garden View
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” — Claude Monet

An overgrown garden is a delight to the artist who may, like Monet, be more likely to look to color and movement than clipped hedges and manicured lawns for artistic inspiration. For pops of purple color, plant easy-care alliums, as seen here in the foreground of this rambling garden.

How to grow alliums


Luxury Lounge
“Everyone can identify with a fragrant garden, with beauty of sunset, with the quiet of nature, with a warm and cozy cottage.” — Thomas Kincade

A converted garage became a sweet home away from home here. Sweet slumber can be had from the comfort of a bed that looks out onto the natural world, allowing troubles to float away and pleasant dreams to take over.

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Sky Dome
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” — Lao Tzu

A weekend away in an unusual environment, like a yurt, a treehouse or a dome, can lift the spirits and inspire a new mood, especially when the sun goes down and the night sky lights up. Watch the stars cross the sky from a well-positioned vantage point. This geodesic dome home with viewing platform would make the perfect place from which to observe the night sky. It’s nestled in a birch forest on the edge of a small cliff in Scotland, and visible only from the sea.



Green Gables
“To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.” — Jane Austen

Even in winter the sun shines, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, where this delightful garden shed with seat is located on the edge of a heritage Sydney harbor property, overlooking a quiet inlet. Wouldn’t it be a delight to sit on its small veranda on a crisp, cool day and be warmed by the sun?



Falling Waters
“There is a waterfall in every dream. Cool and crystal clear, it falls gently on the sleeper, cleansing the mind and soothing the soul.” — Virginia Alison

The beauty of this landscape design is that it incorporates a small babbling brook that passes by a teahouse retreat. Running water is a symbol of purification in many cultures. Even listening to a running stream can soothe a weary body and soul. Located in an extensive garden in Colorado, the teahouse is not the only Asian accent that graces the landscape. There are stone benches, arbor seats and teak chairs strategically placed to contemplate a visual feast for the senses.


Tent or Tepee
“May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the great spirit bless all who enter there.” — Cherokee prayer blessing

If you can’t escape to the country, build your own hideaway at home. A tent set up in the garden is a perfect place for singing, chanting or orating. Or invest in a snug tepee — just add loads of bedding and cushions for a cozy sleepover outdoors.


Mountain Vistas

“If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options.
You can climb it and cross to the other side.
You can go around it.
You can dig under it.
You can fly over it.
You can blow it up.
You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there.
You can turn around and go back the way you came.
Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home.”
— Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Hermits, take note!

Tell us: What would be your dream getaway?

More: Explore more ideas for backyard studios, retreats and garden sheds

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