Budget Breakdown: Inside a $117K Extreme Off-Grid Cabin in the Patagonian Forest

This 430-square-foot cabin in the middle of a dense forest in Chilean Patagonia is, admittedly, pretty out there. Engineer and designer Felipe Lüer says it himself, with a shrug: "It’s not a normal house, and we’re not normal builders."

But this allegedly "100-percent sustainable home"—a vacation property for a general manager, a psychologist, and their kids in the Los Lagos region—paints a compelling picture of what a truly off-the-grid life could look like. 

To avoid impacting the landscape, the cabin has no driveway—instead, wooden walkways wind through the forest, connecting a small parking area to the hut. "You enter the house like a squirrel," says Lüer with a laugh. "You’re going to get wet."