This 800-Square-Foot Joshua Tree Cabin Is the Epitome of Rustic Charm

In order to make the cabin more cohesive, the couple opted for an open floor plan. "The original layout was cumbersome — it opened to an unnecessarily large front room which made the bedroom tiny," John explains. "The bathroom was claustrophobic; so small that the toilet was at an angle in the corner. It's really not a big place at just under 800 square feet, [so] there's not any reason to cut it up into tiny spaces."

Since it was the couple's first home purchase, most of their budget went toward the down payment and paying the bills. "We had little to no money to spend on furnishing or decor so we made a lot of elements ourselves, brought in natural elements from the desert, repurposed items from our home in Los Angeles, thrifted, and got crafty with deals online," according to John. "The previous owner left all the furniture in the house so we inherited several end tables, the globe lamp in the living room, and not one but three rocking chairs." The sectional sofa was custom made by Local Sofa, but they snagged the modern leather lounge chair from West Elm and the tripod floor lamp from Target.

One of the few pieces the couple did purchase also just so happens to be one of John's favorites: the media console. "We only had a very small space to dedicate to a 'media center' and we looked for the perfect one at a ton of places," he explains. "I loved going to Hutch Vintage when it was in Echo Park and we lived there, so I stopped into her new location and there it was, a little vintage Lane that was just the right size. The owner, Natalie, always finds the best stuff and sells it at such a reasonable price."

Every material that went into the renovation was thoughtfully chosen to bring out the cabin's inherent charm — reclaimed barn doors, quartz countertops, a farmhouse sink, and brass light fixtures from Target and Brooklyn Bulb Co. "I custom made the doors myself and Ashley came up with the design concept," says John. "We expanded the bedroom and added double doors and a three-quarter wall design to highlight the amazing wood beams and give the cabin a loft feel."

"In reconfiguring the bedroom and bathroom, we added square footage to the bathroom and added pocket doors to give access from both the living room and bedroom," says John. "We initially had cheap hollow-core doors and quickly found out they weren't going to cut it. Miraculously, we found two matching custom-made solid core pocket doors at Route 62 Vintage Marketplace and, although they [were] a huge chunk of change, we were very happy to pay to have them."

To make the most of the small bathroom, the couple turned to Kingston for fixtures and The Boonies (a.k.a. The Junkyard Co.) for custom storage solutions. "[The Boonies] are an awesome husband and wife design and fabricator duo that were living in Twentynine Palms at the time and Ashley found them on Instagram," John explains. "We had them make us a little custom corner shelf for the bathroom, as we didn't really have any counter space for our stuff."

In the adjacent living space, wall art playfully nods to the charming name the couple gave the home: The Moon Cabin. "When we start a renovation, we always give the project a name and a theme and riff off them as much as we can," says John. "There was a full moon on the first night we stayed after buying the cabin — and the name just stuck."

Though the couple set out to create a rustic modern desert oasis filled with homey charm, the overall theme at The Moon Cabin is Space Cowboy, says John. "We're not so literal with it, but having a concept helps us visualize and create a common vocabulary," he explains. "There are a lot of very rustic elements and many modern pieces that give it the celestial vibe."

To play on the theme, the couple "packed the bookcase and movie library full of classic sci-fi, westerns, country, and '70s glam rock," John says. "Curating the record collection is a lot of fun for me."

Because the couple was on a tight budget, they undertook a number of large-scale DIY projects themselves. "A lot of our penny pinching came with creating the big design elements ourselves and putting in long hours saving where we could on labor," explains John. "We spent all day Thanksgiving 2017 tiling the kitchen to the ceiling and had frozen pizza on a 'couch' made of boxes as our 'feast' at 10 p.m."