Our little cabin is 384 square feet in total, and includes a bedroom/living area with closet, little 'dining' area, small kitchen with pantry, and a bathroom. I'm not calling it a tiny home, because it isn't.  

When I first started the design of our little cabin back in 2013/2014,  I hadn't even heard of the tiny house movement.  If I had, we might have done a few things differently in terms of the layout of the different spaces and incorporating various organization features, based on all the innovative things I've seen on various tiny house blogs and the DIY channel. But the final outcome would have been the same: the construction of what will initially serve as a little vacation cabin and will ultimately become one of several bedrooms in a larger residence, once we get around to building it.  



I talk about the design process of the cabin here and here.  For an summary of the whole construction process (which I was sure would never end), click here.


So...here is an overview of the entire cabin with its various spaces.  I will, over time, share more about the many projects that were encompassed by the larger cabin project, i.e.: furniture make-overs, kitchen sink conversion, bathroom vanity conversion, pillows, wall art...

I had a huge amount of fun selecting the furnishings and decor items for the entire cabin.  The overall guiding vision for the cabin looked to the character of this gorgeous, scenic part of Utah, whether it be elements from the surrounding mountains and mesas, the Romance of the West that saturates every nook and cranny of this part of the U.S. (after all, we drive by Butch Cassidy's birthplace when traveling too/from the cabin), rough and ready mining camps, or the pioneers that rattled their way west and settled and farmed wherever there was water.  




I also did my best to give a nod to nearby national parks, the breathtaking scenery visible from every window, the joys of camping, hiking, exploring, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, drinking hot chocolate by the campfire... (but the best part is that we don't have to sleep on the ground or use a smelly outhouse, since we have a comfy bed and a nice bathroom-- I am very much over tent camping).




All this went into the selection of furniture, wall art, decor, bed linens, fabric, fixtures... I wanted something fun, quirky, and rustic, but at the same time completely comfortable for both of us. 

Living/Bedroom/Dining Room


All of the furniture here is either an antique or vintage piece that I purchased, or something we already had on hand (the bed and dining chairs).  




Except for the two bedside tables, everything was a 'project' that required some work, from a few layers of  new paint to full deconstruction (the armchairs).  I wanted a balance between unpainted, stained wood and painted furniture.




Too much unpainted, stained furniture would result in an overly 'brown', dark space; too much painted furniture might be too 'cottagy' and feminine. 




The fabrics I chose for the many pillows that I sewed (I went a little crazy with the pillows, it's quite a process to de-pillow the bed every evening before bedtime and then put it all together again the next morning) consisted of mostly simple checks and black ticking-- all reminiscent of cowboy camps and frontier homesteads and adventuring into rugged areas by horseback.  






I also used painter's drop cloth for several pillows as well as the cushions for the deconstructed armchairs  and shower curtain because (1) it's cheap, (2) it's paintable, and (3) it reminds me of the canvas saddlebags that were used on the pack burros my mom used to rent to carry camping gear on our family backpacking trips.  



Elk and stag ornaments, other miscellaneous woodland creatures, and botanical prints and motifs, make an appearance throughout, because, after all, we are surrounded by hundreds of acres of pinon/juniper woodland, pine forests, scrubby mesas... 








It may have been less fun for my husband to implement some of them, but he is ingenious Mr. Fix It who was able to turn a galvanized metal feed tub into a functioning, fully plumbed kitchen sink with a custom-made, salvage wood base. 

The polished chrome faucet adds a bit of vintage charm while making it feel like a real kitchen.


These are my mom's blue and white dishes-- the simple pattern is a perfect touch, and I think of her every time I use them.




Ditto the bathroom...so much fun to design, and so much fun to use!  Again, my husband's excellent skills made it possible for this to come together the way it did.  




The shower curtains are another drop cloth project. I highly recommend using pebble tile for a shower floor-- nothing beats standing on those pebbles in your bare feet.

Building the custom shower pan and working with sheets of corrugated metal was not easy, but my husband pulled it off and we both couldn't be more pleased with the results.








I need to thank my husband for figuring out how make all my ideas, no matter how crazy, a reality.  Thanks to his ingenuity and fabulous DIY skills, we have a wonderful, unique cabin to enjoy and escape to.

The finish work on the cabin is trudging along at a snail's paste and I am ready, ready, READY to start decorating.

We missed our February deadline.  I was able to negotiate a one year extension to next February with the water board (day job skills kicking in here), but this just gives us permission to dawdle even more.  



If you aren't familiar with the big, scary deadline that has been looming over us for the last several years, click here. The short story for those who can't tear themselves away from this riveting tale of OCD shopping: keeping our water permit is contingent on us getting our certificate to occupy by a specific deadline.

So, because I'm frustrated with the slow pace, and because there is little I can do to help finish the cabin (I can paint, apply wood stain, and stand around and dictate design decisions...we'll see how that works out; I'm feeling a little iffy about the shower, which was my idea), I've been shopping madly.  Systematically scouring all the local antique stores, looking, looking, looking for all those elusive items that will spell unique, cabin perfection and guarantee a lifetime of relaxed happiness in our little place far from the madding crowd.  

Things on my list have included:





Thanks to some really terrific finds over the past few weeks, I've been able to cross several of these items off of my list and add to the growing pile of cabin stuff waiting to be transported to the finished cabin.  

My husband and I are so delighted that our house is turning into a warehouse for the storage of cabin furniture and other related items.

Read on for an overview of my latest haul of cabin loot...



Bedside Tables

I'm so excited about this little table.  This is probably the one and only time that I didn't go through my normal indecisive routine where I walk around the store for 30 minutes trying to decide whether I really want the thing or not (or leave, think about it for a few days, and then return, to look at it again and think some more).  

It was absolutely the right size and shape, had enough storage options, and had the right look for what I have in mind.  So I bought it immediately.






It is solid wood (looks like oak) construction and simple, geometric details leads me to believe it is likely an Eastlake piece (probably mass produced in the U.S.), a type of furniture produced between 1870 and 1890.  According to this website (click here), the creation this style of furniture was in response to English architect Charles Lock Eastlake urging late 19th century designers to veer away from the over-the-top, intricate ornamentation typical of Victorian-era furniture and decorating styles.

The simple, straightforward detailing of this table will be perfect in a mildly rustic cabin setting that has a touch of vintage style.

Still looking for a companion bedside table to go along with this one.  

In the spirit of recycling and re-using what we already have, I'm going to paint/re-finish a bed frame that my husband made years ago (no photos available right now).




I found this a few weeks ago and thought I was done with my bathroom vanity mission.  It's vintage.  It has the right amount of simple ornamentation.  Its rich brown finish will contrast nicely with the white painted ship lap on the walls and galvanized metal shower.  The mirror is beveled (for some reason this is very important to me; I think it has something to do with wanting an extra bit of elegance in the wilderness)....





And then I found this last weekend....It has all the criteria I list above plus storage.  I can never resist storage.  However, it will likely not work with the vanity light that I have already purchased, which doesn't stick out far enough from the wall. 

Which means I may need to buy a different kind of vanity light.... we'll see.