Before & After: A Dreary Woodland Cabin Gets a Sparkling Update for $20K

Nestled among towering fir trees and magnificent dogwoods in Cobb, California—just an hour north of Napa Valley—is the 700-square-foot cabin Hope Mendes recreated as an idyllic family escape. "We’ve always had a dream of owning and renovating a cabin in the woods," Hope says, "a place [where] we could take our kids when we need to get away from the hustle and bustle of our work lives."