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The headboard was built from three pieces of prefinished maple plywood that cost $80 each. “We’re obsessive about measurements because everything you transport in has to go back out if it’s not used,” says Jeff.

Below the sink, a cooler slides out on a plywood board with the help of casters. The whole kitchen was built for $1,000.

“We’d go to the salvage yard every weekend and painstakingly go through hundreds of windows, see one that might work, write down the measurements, run out to Jeff’s truck, and put it in the SketchUp model,” says Molly. The chair is by Christophe Pillet for Emu.

I’ve been in places where it didn’t feel like I could try and fail. Here, you can bring over a friend and say, ‘Take a hammer and nail. No one’s around. Give it a go,'

The couple also built an outhouse for the bathroom area.

Molly and Jeff wanted their guests to have creature comforts, so early on they built an outdoor shower that’s illuminated by string lights at night.

An upcoming visit from a friend who needed a break from wedding planning gave the couple the incentive to finish the tree deck, which has a wood-fired hot tub on the lower level.

The couple and their friends spent hours clearing brush and felling at-risk oak and madrone trees. “There was no view at all,” Molly says. “You had to duck and peek through thick oak brush just to see that there was anything on the horizon.”

A sleeping area is tucked away underneath the rafters. Large windows brighten the space and provide views of the forested surroundings.

Jeff climbs the hand-built ladder to the sleeping loft. Both the ladder and bench in front of the sofa were made from fallen Pacific madrone trees on the property.

Large windows brighten the space, which looks out over a large deck.

The simple yet functional kitchen uses countertops from IKEA and shelving made from fallen trees on the property.

Molly preparing food in the kitchen. A Crane Light by Andrew Neyer hangs over the countertop, which is accompanied by a pair of Nerd stools by Muuto.

In search of a Bay Area retreat, Jeff Waldman and Molly Fiffer purchased a piece of land on which to experiment and gain new skills, one task at a time.

The west-facing window of this Australian work-shed gets plenty of morning light.

The old roofing became the new cladding. “Besides a few holes, it was still in good condition,” says Troup.

One of the biggest expenses was the Corten shrouds used around the windows. "It was the one splurge," explains Troup. "It was a necessary juxtaposition of a new material that seems old next to an old material that feels new."

Floor Plan of Apricot Studio by Trouthouse