Moody Elevated Cabin Design – Our First Project of 2024

We’re thrilled to share our first design project of the year with you! Mom and I have made the decision to share our projects in real-time on our YouTube channel in 2024. We’ll only be taking on a limited number of projects to ensure that we can be actively engaged in sharing every detail with you. Our goal is to provide inspiration and practical tips for your own projects.

😍😍😍 SCROLL DOWN FOR INSPIRATION 😍😍😍

Our first project of the year is a dilapidated cabin that oozes potential but needs significant tender loving care. The property’s owners, John and Tracy, have an exciting vision for transforming it into an Airbnb. During our initial consultation, we had a such a fun time observing the dynamic between John, who is mindful of the budget, and Tracy, who has a refined taste and a love for luxury. For example, Tracy is keen on incorporating a copper bathtub into the downstairs bathroom, which can be quite a costly addition.

I can’t wait to take you on this journey and see if we can successfully fulfill both of their objectives with this project. Here we’re sharing the cabin currently, the design dilemmas, our inspiration and our design boards for the project.

CABIN CURRENTLY

DESIGN DILEMMA 1: NOT ENOUGH LIGHT

As you scroll down, you’ll notice that the inspiration can certainly be categorized as dark and moody, but you don’t want it to feel like you’re in a cave. In order to solve this dilemma, we need to incorporate can lights, discover methods to enhance the natural light coming in through the windows, and add lighter touches with texture in the home.

DILEMMA 2: Symmetry vs Light

In the living room we’re working through placement of the fireplace. Typically in design we lean into symmetry but this would put the window in front of the window. The other location is the corner which would give us great options for furniture placement but wouldn’t make the fireplace as much of a focal point. What would you do? See layout options below.

DILEMMA 3: Take the Wall ALL THE WAY OUT?

There is a wall between the kitchen and the living. Tracy and mom think taking it out all the way is the best option. I think keeping a small portion of the wall to make the spaces feel more dedicated would be the best.

If you’ve been following design trends, dedicated spaces are definitely where it’s at. This doesn’t mean your spaces can’t be open but a separate does help!

DILEMMA 4: POSTS IN THE ISLAND

John suspect we’ll be able to take these posts out but removing the wall means we might have to keep them. We’re brainstorming how we can make a beautifully designed kitchen where the focal point is still the copper vent hood we have planned with posts in the island. Scroll down for inspiration on this dilemma.

INSPIRATION

Here are our top inspiration photos for this project. You can also check out our Cabin Pinterest Board with all the inspiration we’ve found (It’s ALOT)!

All images are clickable to their original source

DARK & MOODY

It would be much easier to brighten up this home and stick with our typical design approach. However, considering that it’s a cabin and intended for Airbnb guests, we want to fully embrace the rustic experience. The home is a genuine log cabin both inside and out, and our intention is not to conceal the logs but rather to showcase and celebrate them in the main living areas.

COPPER VENT HOOD

One feature Tracy really wants is a copper vent hood. You’d be surprised how challenging it is to find inspiration of this. I used Midjourney to create an AI generated image with all the elements I wanted to see together in the kitchen. This is not the exact layout or the exact look we’re going for but it’s very helpful inspiration for this project.

I plan on making a video on how to create AI generate home design inspiration images this week. If you have specific questions on this leave them in the comments.

POSTS IN ISLAND

If you read the dilemmas you saw we MIGHT have to design the kitchen with the posts in the island. These inspiration pictures make me feel better about this idea!

BUNKIE ROOM

The bunkie room is smaller than we’d like it to be BUT these inspiration photos are helpful to know it’s so possible!

DESIGN BOARDS

We haven’t finished the design of every room but you can see the direction we’re going with the living room and bunkie room design boards. We still have presented these to our clients so we’ll see what they have to say!

If you click the icons on the mood board you can shop the look!

LIVING ROOM DESIGN

BUNKIE ROOM DESIGN

I can’t wait to take you on this journey! This marks our first time sharing the entire process from start to finish, and I’m thrilled to provide you with every detail, including cost-effective strategies and the successful execution of the design as intended.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. What would you like to see during this process? What inspiration are you looking for?