Sea Sauna Brings You One Step Closer to Reconnecting With Nature and Yourself

Such is the case with the Sea Sauna, a project by Brendan Ravenhill Studio. Suppose you've never heard of this company. In that case, it's been around since 2010 when Brendan Ravenhill started hitting the market with projects of interior designs, lighting, you name it, until eventually stepping into creating entire structures, of which the Sea sauna is one of them.

Well, to get an idea of what the Sea Sauna is, you have to get to know a bit about Brendan. Having spent time growing up in Maine and even designing and constructing a timber frame barn on his family's property, the Sea Sauna seems to stand as a sort of place of reconnection for the designer. So, for 10 weeks out of the year, according to Ravenhill's website, the Sea Sauna can be found floating in a harbor in Maine, bringing peace to inner souls.

Now, why the heck would I be showing you something like this? It's simple. No, really, it's all so simple, from the design to building techniques. So simple that you could very well build your own with a bit of weekend research and experience in handling wood.

The base for the construction is similar to another floating sauna we've featured before on autoevolution, the Loyly, a design from Tolle Rudebeck Harr inspired by Japanese and Finnish design. And like the Loyly, the Sea Sauna is inspired by Japanese constructions too.

As it stands, the Sea Sauna is only 8 feet (2.43 meters) by 6 feet (1.83 meters) and is completed mainly using cedar wood as the building material. After all, it is a sauna, and like any sauna, wood is a significant contributor to the entire setting. Why cedar? Well, because it resists wet and humid settings and because it offers that wooden scent of a classic sauna.

Funny enough, not much money was spent on building the Sea Sauna; most materials were received through donations or salvaged. For example, the stove inside was welded back in 1979 and donated by jeweler Sam Shaw. The timber frame and flotation were given away by two local lobstermen, while the hearth was completed using roof slate remnants from a local museum. While a total cost or constructions haven't been revealed, I think you can put one of these together from scratch with a few grand and proper building techniques. Imagine getting your building materials donated to you.

Inside the Sea Sauna, don't expect to see much; it's a sauna, after all. But be prepared to have a space to sit, relax, and even enjoy a view of the rising or setting sun. Heck, I bet you can find a way to spend an entire night in a Sea Sauna. According to the project's website, the interior of Sea Sauna can reach a scorching 175 Fahrenheit (79.4 Celsius). Well, yeah, it's a sauna, and this is achieved with that antique stove and rocks from a local beach.

Like I said at the beginning of this article, our modern lives have begun to make some of us feel like getting back in touch with simpler times, and the Sea Sauna seems to achieve this with ease. All you need now is a ton or two of wood and timber, and off you go building your own floating sauna.