Hey guys, it’s me: your resident urban cabin enthusiast. I’ve been hung up on this “urban cabin” idea for awhile now. I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about it, but maybe I’ve never exactly explained the concept.

First of all, let’s talk about the term “cabin” – or as some Wisconsin people like to say: “cottage”. The cabin is a place that all of us Midwesterners know and love. Not trying to exclude other genres of locality here, but this is a very Midwestern thing.

Here in Minnesota we live in the land of 10,000 lakes, ya know. When you go to a cabin, you’re not really going to a shack in the woods. You’re going to a lake with a house on it. There’s usually at least one boat there, if not more, and you usually spend most of that time on, in, or near the water.

The making of a day at the cabin:
Your day starts off slowly. Usually sometime around noon you will partake in long, leisurely breakfasts full of salty and delicious foods and lots of different breakfast cocktails. Post-breakfast you’re feeling pretty cool – so cool that you may even decide to take a nap, or chill in a hammock. There’s nothing to do here but hang, guys. That’s all life asks of you. Before you know it the pontoon is full of snacks and portable cocktails, and your buddies tell you it’s time to hop aboard. Bring your hat cause you’ll be out for hours; there are chains of lakes up here, and they don’t stop.

Boating is not just a ride along a shore line. It’s a slow adventure that goes on and on. Around sunset you’ll be arriving home, if you didn’t nap after breakfast, you will definitely be napping now. Don’t worry, it’s only sundown but no one cares, go ahead take a nap. You’ll head off to your cozy room feeling numb and warm. Don’t sleep too long, because you might just miss the late night dinner feast that’s coming your way. Dinner is always delicious and the jokes are usually especially good. Now here’s the one hard part: it might be your turn to do the dishes. Shucks, really? Just stop whining and do it already, because when you’re done, you can celebrate your hard work by playing cards, listening to some jams and taking a late, late night dip in the GD lake. This is cabin life.

How I do:
From the second the clock strikes 5pm on Friday afternoon ’till we go to bed Sunday night, I want my house to exude cabin life. I’m not saying that this is an homage to gluttony and drinking problems, but more about the art of relaxing and enjoying friends and family. To do this you need to encourage some cool vibes, I’m talking cabin vibes here. You may be asking how I encourage cool cabin vibes in this city setting? Besides having some delish meals, an occasional cocktail, and a few friends to share them with, there also needs to be an aesthetic feel. It takes a delicate blend of a few design elements. I’m not talking knotty pine walls and birch furniture. I obviously know that’s crazy, duh. However, I still would like to give a noble nod to that cabin lyfe I so love and adore.

Naturally, the porch would be the perfect candidate for a faux cabin. I know there’s no lake or pontoon, or even a hammock for that matter, but it does have sun, a sofa, breezes, jams, and no distractions beyond kids needing stuff every once in awhile. Like I said, the knotty pine is out, so how does one achieve “urban cabin”? Lemme tell you how. Basically, “urban cabin” is a mix of cabin kitsch and modern-semi-ironic cool stuff. I mean regular old deer heads are cool and all, but I like them better in resin with brightly painted antlers. Horse shoes are tyte but I prefer them powder coated in NEON RED! Get it, a mix of modern whimsy (I hate that word but I think it’s appropriate for urban cabin), combined with a little Wes Anderson, and finished off with a touch of knotty pine.

Whadayathink? Did I pull it off? Do you get it, does it work? I kinda love it.

Watch out Jeff, Scoops is about to go Etsy shopping!

▽ Horse Shoe in Neon Red To make you extra lucky. ▽ Vintage Turntable For the jamz. ▽ Melamine Rafia Cups in Gingham For the cabin cocktails, it’s plastic so it won’t break when you “accidentally” drop it. ▽ Arrows Cool campy (get my funny pun) decorations. ▽ Resin Antler and Deer head Because you can’t take the cabin decorating too seriously, otherwise you just have a cabin in the city, and that’s weird. ▽ Vintage Cribbage Board Everyone’s favorite cabin game. ▽ Pleasure Chest Cooler Duh, it’s called a pleasure chest, c’mon! ▽ Wool Pendelton Pillow Perfect cabin combo; vintage, wool, pendelton, triangles. ▽ Vintage Atlases and Books For those rainy days. ▽ Cabin Block Printed Pillow A modern nod to the cabin. ▽ Vintage Thermoses Because every cabin needs a kitschy collection. ▽ Handwoven Placemats Because you need a place to eat all your urban cabin meals. ▽ Patchwork Vintage Quilt You know you’ll need a cabin nap. ▽ Birch candle holders Doesn’t every cabin needs a tiny bit of birch, it’s not a cabin without it.