Collection by Janet Miller
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After renting in San Francisco for a decade, DIY couple Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the pair and their friends built a cabin compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, and an outdoor shower. The cabin is made from locally sourced, rough-sawn redwood, which the couple stained with nontoxic Eco Wood Treatment to give the panels an aged appearance and a dark patina.
The home consists of three cottage-inspired forms that are connected by a more contemporary, flat-roofed central structure. “One of the main challenges was how to bring the competing aesthetics the clients desired—they sought a simple, historical vernacular architecture with a more contemporary aesthetic,” says architect Matthew Erickson.
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."










![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."](https://images2.dwell.com/photos/6133527995429490688/6658134717705375744/original.jpg?auto=format&q=35&w=160)
