When Los Angeles-based actor Chloe Farnworth began searching for a cabin to use as both a retreat from the city and a short-term rental property, she was expecting the process to be as arduous as purchasing her main residence had been, where she says she bid on around 40 properties after a year of viewing homes before she had an offer accepted.

But in Big Bear Lake, located just under 100 miles east of LA in the mountainous San Bernardino National Forest, Chloe saw 10 properties on her first day of house-hunting and felt ready to make an offer the same day. Hers was accepted, and just days after she began her search, Chloe owned a Big Bear cabin.

The cabin she chose needed a serious makeover, but Chloe says she was enchanted by its potential: “I wanted something really unique, with high ceilings, ideally some sort of A-frame, and something that needed love because I love restoring.”

And that’s what she found in the 800 square-foot cabin, though the exterior was an eyesore and the inside looked to have been left untouched since the 1970s. The cabin was affordable, in a great location for skiing, and had the bones Chloe was looking for. Despite those obvious benefits, she was a little concerned about purchasing a cabin she would remodel and use as a short-term rental.

One factor about the cabin's location was top of mind: the gentrification of traditionally middle-class towns like Big Bear and Joshua Tree is an ongoing concern for locals and those searching for some of the last affordable family vacation spots in the state. “There are a lot of long-term residents in these vacation spots that now have a shortage of homes to live in because second-home buyers like myself who have come in and bought a property in one of these vacation locations,” she says. Initially, she was concerned that neighbors might be wary of yet another Los Angeles resident looking to buy property in a cheaper area.

However, Chloe’s neighbors seemed to be thrilled that someone had taken on the challenge of updating the cabin. She says the other residents on her street are a mix of long-time residents and those using the rustic cabins around Big Bear as second homes and rental properties like herself. They all seemed to agree that the sooner Chloe could get started, the better.

“I think that house kind of stood out on the street and made other people's houses look bad,” she says. “When I got it, people were just like, When are you gonna paint it?”

Chloe was also looking forward to updating a property that had been neglected. A native of Herefordshire, England, Chloe grew up helping her father, a hobbyist who flipped houses in his free time, refurbish the farmhouses that had fallen into disrepair along the countryside. In addition, Chloe had completed smaller remodeling projects on her Los Angeles home, like building a floating vanity for her half bathroom from $60 worth of scrap wood she bought from Facebook Marketplace, while also replacing the tile and toilet. Her home updates and the time she spent assisting her father made Chloe feel confident that she could handle tasks like repainting and pulling up the carpets.

In addition, the SAG-AFTRA strike meant she suddenly had much more time to focus on renovation, though she had limited income to invest in repairs. Quotes from San Bernardino County contractors put the cost of renovation anywhere from $125,000 to $250,000, completely over budget for an actor without work. But Chloe realized she would have more time than expected to thoughtfully plan the renovation of the cabin herself. She had about $25,000 to spend, and she also had a secret weapon—a passion for finding bargains on the aforementioned Facebook Marketplace.

So she decided to completely gut the kitchen and bathroom, enclose the primary bedroom, replace the stair railings, and create a cozy office nook at the top of the stairs. By the time she finished demolition, Chloe says she had basically taken the house “down to the studs.” She had never tackled any projects as big as the renovation she ended up completing on her cabin, and readily admits that the process was full of trial and error.

Look beyond the (ugly) exterior

At first glance, the cabin wasn’t exactly a dream home. “It was super ugly,” she says, describing the exterior paint of the cabin as a “Smurf-like” blue with salmon pink trim. Inside was no better, with moldy green carpet and bright pink walls.

She envisioned a Scandinavian chalet by way of California and dreamed of a minimalist approach that maximized space in the A-frame while showcasing beautiful native wood in accents like the stair railing and mantle. A longtime fan of finding treasures on Facebook Marketplace, Chloe was already scouring social media for possible building materials while her offer on the cabin was being considered.

Facebook Marketplace is your best friend

While waiting for a decision on her offer for the Big Bear cabin, she perused Facebook and struck pay dirt when she found two large paving stones for just $200 from a seller who had leftovers from an outdoor project. Chloe knew at once those could make excellent bathroom tile.

“I wanted big format tiles, and I wanted some kind of a natural stone but all of the ones in the store were like a ton of money,” she says. “That’s when I turned to Marketplace looking for a cheaper version leftover from other people's projects.”

And though the stones weren’t necessarily intended for the project she had in mind, Chloe had become an expert for looking for diamonds—or in this case Terrazzo-inspired tiles—in the rough.

“To be honest, I don’t think they are bathroom tiles,” she says. “I think a lot of people use them outdoors because they were big paver stones but were made from natural stone. But I could see that they had all of these beautiful, neutral undertones to it, a little bit like Terrazzo.” She bought additional bathroom tiles from a set designer selling leftovers on Marketplace from a movie set. Boxes containing 40 square feet of tile cost her just five dollars.

The other rooms in Chloe’s cabin also benefited from Chloe’s persistent Facebook shopping. “I got all of the kitchen tile off Marketplace, these little kitkat tiles in the kitchen,” Chloe says. “I got a bunch of lumber as well from different people who had stuff left over. I got this beautiful, 100-year-old beam off Marketplace from a guy who had a bunch of old beams from a renovation for like 80 bucks. I found an antique dining table at an estate sale that was advertised on the marketplace and I refinished it—it’s gorgeous. It’s the same color as all of the wood I used in the house.”

“I would say measure everything about six times.”

After economically sourcing her materials, Chloe relied on YouTube videos and advice from friends who are contractors to realize her vision. She cut her paving stones with a saw she rented from the village, then further broke the stones with a small hammer to create a hand-laid, custom mosaic floor that continues midway up the shower wall to a shelf.

She used repurposed redwood to build custom stair railings and an enclosed area at the top of the stairs for a small office, painting the tongue and groove ceiling of the A-frame a gentle white to give the feeling of more space.

When completing all these projects, as well as installing a new walk-in shower and both bathroom and kitchen sinks, Chloe says she would often eyeball measurements, which lead to a lot of wasted materials and time. In retrospect, she wishes she had been more precise from the beginning. “I definitely jumped into doing a few of the projects without knowing exactly what I was doing and I was just eager to start and to give it a go. I redid the drain about six times because I messed up the plumbing on the subfloor to go underneath the house. I kept having to crawl under the house to undo what I kept doing wrong.”

Don’t dismiss diamonds in the rough

For finishing touches, Chloe had only to look outside her front door: She reclaimed stumps from the yard to make end tables and refinished two single beds left behind by the previous owner that were also made of logs for a chic, yet rustic feel in the cabin’s second bedroom.

At the end of her six-month renovation project, she had created a space that was a hit not only with her short-term guests but also with neighbors who were thrilled to have a house that added to the beauty of Big Bear’s natural landscape.

“I got up there one day, and there was a note with a bottle of Budweiser on my doorstep after I painted the house,” she says. “The note said ‘Thank you so much for painting the ugliest house on the street.’”

Top photo courtesy of Chloe Farnworth

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