After renting in San Francisco, California, for 10 years, Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman wanted more: more autonomy, more of the outdoors, and more space to host their tight-knit community of friends. The couple just weren’t sure what “more” would look like.

They considered buying a house in the suburbs or moving somewhere more affordable, but in the end they decided to stay rooted in their city and find a piece of land nearby on which to build and experiment. So, in September 2016, they bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the two had often gone on motorcycle excursions.

Even then, Molly and Jeff weren’t sure what to do with the steep, unruly site. While bushwhacking and camping on the land, they eventually built a fire pit and picnic table using plans found on the web. From there, the couple embarked on increasingly elaborate improvements, each one allowing them to learn new skills and involve more friends.

To date, the pair and their pals have built a compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, an outdoor shower, and, now, a redwood cabin where an ever widening network of friends gather for skill-sharing workshops and events.

Here, the DIYers recount the process of building the cabin.

Jeff: Everything we built there, at the time that we built it, was the pinnacle of our experience and knowhow. So, at one moment, that picnic table represented the totality of what we were capable of making.

Molly: Jeff is someone who borders on obsession.He’s a tinkerer, MacGyver, and jack-of-all-trades by nature. When we finished our tree decks, we started experimenting with the design of the cabin.

Jeff: We went through more than 50 designs on paper or SketchUp and asked, “How does it sit in the space? Are these materials that we can get to the site?”

Molly: Even when we started digging to put in the first concrete footing, we asked ourselves, “Is this something we can do?”

Jeff: You kind of just put one foot in front of the other.

Molly: If it were us in isolation doing this project, we wouldn’t have been as motivated. We were very intentional about bringing in friends, giving them a sense of ownership. We were pleasantly surprised by how many people wanted to roll up their sleeves.

Jeff: We had a build party just putting the platform together for the cabin. We all framed it and put down the subfloor—there were maybe 15 of us.

Molly: We ate dinner on it.

Jeff: The first time we flipped a switch and a light came on, Molly and I marveled. It was mind-blowing.

Molly: It’s just an unparalleled sense of accomplishment knowing that you made it and it’s functional. I also think it’s really important as a woman to learn how to fearlessly hold a chainsaw or a power tool—and to loop in other women who are interested in trying out those skill sets in an environment where they feel comfortable.

Making It Theirs

Repurposing materials, using Craigslist, and being efficient helped Molly and Jeff keep the cost of the cabin and deck under $35,000. For instance, Molly and Jeff scored a Panoramic Door from Craigslist for $3,000—a fraction of the retail price—and kept it in a storage unit while they tweaked the cabin design to fit the used windows they’d found at Urban Ore, a salvage yard in Berkeley.

The couple attached IKEA countertops to Uline wire shelving with closet rod hardware from Amazon, then fitted a Ramblewood propane stovetop into the countertop under the window and a Naiture drainboard sink into the one along the wall.

Because they like to read and do crosswords in bed, the couple used an app called iHandy Level to pinpoint the most comfortable angle for the sloped headboard, which opens to reveal two storage bays and includes open shelving for easy outlet access.

“Some of our Pacific madrone trees were smack dab where we wanted to put the cabin—and at risk of falling over—so we felled them,” says Molly. They cut boards from the trees using a Granberg Alaskan chainsaw mill and dried the wood for a year.

Scraps of Pacific madrone trees were sanded and rubbed with linseed oil before being used for the ladder, the bookshelves, the kitchen shelf, and a bench." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Benjamin Rasmussen" photoUserId=""/>

Project Credits:

Retreat Website: Elevated Spaces / @elevatedspaces

Photographer: Benjamin Rasmussen / @benjaminras

Editor’s note: Jeff and Molly’s redwood cabin was lost to a wildfire in August 2020, however they have started to rebuild the site.

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