Budget Breakdown: They Gave a Bland ’70s Cabin a Psychedelic Glow-Up for $120K

Melissa Dalton
·3 min read

For their first DIY renovation, Whimsy Soul cofounders Kara Harms and Robin Berenson infuse a woodsy getaway with vintage vibes, big color, wallpaper galore...and an ABBA bathroom.

Walls are covered in Clark+Kensington paint, ‘On the Green,’ while the floors are finished in Benjamin Moore Floor & Patio paint in Balsam 567, as well as three coats of Minwax polyurethane ($120). The sectional is from Burrow ($2800) and the shag rug found on Rugs USA ($500).
Walls are covered in Clark+Kensington paint, ‘On the Green,’ while the floors are finished in Benjamin Moore Floor & Patio paint in Balsam 567, as well as three coats of Minwax polyurethane ($120). The sectional is from Burrow ($2800) and the shag rug found on Rugs USA ($500).

When Kara Harms first saw this 1979 home in Arnold, California, it wasn’t so much love at first sight, as a maybe. "I had my heart set on an A-frame," she says. "I feel like all the girlies love an A-frame, and I was really looking." In fact, Kara toured one soon after seeing this cabin, but she was dismayed to find that it didn’t feel right in person. "The light was just not there," she explains. "I walked in and it was dark and cold."

On the three-hour drive back to the San Francisco apartment she shares with her husband, Robin Berenson, Kara listened to Taylor Swift’s album Midnights on repeat—it was October of 2022, and it had come out two days before—and by the time she arrived home, she had made her decision. The first cabin was the one.

Before: Living Room

Before: In 2022, Kara Harms and Robin Berenson, co-founders of lifestyle website Whimsey Soul based in San Francisco, bought this 1456-square-foot rental cabin in Arnold, California, with the intention to fix it up themselves.
Before: In 2022, Kara Harms and Robin Berenson, co-founders of lifestyle website Whimsey Soul based in San Francisco, bought this 1456-square-foot rental cabin in Arnold, California, with the intention to fix it up themselves.

Kara is no stranger to taking a leap of faith, which is how she also describes her move to the West Coast in 2014, after growing up in Wisconsin and going to college in Minneapolis. "I just really needed a break from the winter, to be honest," says Kara. "Robin, my now husband, then boyfriend, had a family member living in the East Bay and I had my heart set on San Francisco, even though I’d never been here before."

After: Living Room

Walls are covered in Clark+Kensington paint, ‘On the Green,’ while the floors are finished in Benjamin Moore Floor & Patio paint in Balsam 567, as well as three coats of Minwax polyurethane ($120). The sectional is from Burrow ($2800) and the shag rug found on Rugs USA ($500).
Walls are covered in Clark+Kensington paint, ‘On the Green,’ while the floors are finished in Benjamin Moore Floor & Patio paint in Balsam 567, as well as three coats of Minwax polyurethane ($120). The sectional is from Burrow ($2800) and the shag rug found on Rugs USA ($500).

After studying advertising and art in school, Kara worked in social media and marketing for start-ups before launching her own blog, Whimsy Soul, in 2015. Since then, it has grown into a lifestyle website covering travel and body-positive fashion and beauty. (Tagline: Find your everyday magic.) By purchasing and making over the cabin, the couple sought to extend the whimsy ethos to a series of rentable retreats they call Whimsy Homes.

"I’ve been in so many vacation rentals and hotels where I feel like if they just went a little braver in some things, it could have been one thousand out of ten," Kara says. "I knew I wanted to go for big, bold, and colorful." The cabin’s design was also influenced by a summer spent living in Copenhagen. "The Americans’ take on Scandinavian decor is very beige and gray and minimal, but I actually found it to be very vibrant," says Kara.

$2,929
Wall Finishes

$6,500
Flooring

$15,000
Roofing

$650
Hardware

$3,100
Electrical

$830
Lighting

$300
Countertops

$3,128
Appliances

$27,405
Furnishings & Decor

$3,300
Labor

$30,500
General Contractor Fee

$1,000
Waste/Debris Removal

$9,000
Bathroom Shower Remodel

$11,000
Cedar Hot Tub

$1,100
EV Charger

$180
Custom Cabin Sign

$2,800
Bear Trash Locker

$1,700
Yardzen Whole Yard Package

Grand Total: $120,422

The existing cabin had a lot going for it—namely the forested setting and cozy, nostalgic elements like post-and-beam ceilings and a chunky stone fireplace. "I saw a lot of white walls, so there was an opportunity to play around and build something really special," says Kara.

During: Robin preps the living room walls for paint. It took three coats, plus primer.
During: Robin preps the living room walls for paint. It took three coats, plus primer.

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: They Gave a Bland ’70s Cabin a Psychedelic Glow-Up for $120K
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