Cabin Interior Design Ideas, Layouts, and Inspiration

A cabin in the mountains is the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of city living. Whether you’re planning a log cabin interior design feature in your own home or looking for inspiration for a recently acquired vacation home, we’ve got solutions to help you create a rustic, cozy space.

We’ll show you how to incorporate the key elements of cabin decor into your home design. Even if you live in a high rise in the middle of the city, when you step inside your living space, you’ll instantly be transported to someplace far away. That’s the power of good design.

The Call of Nature

The most basic and obvious design feature of rustic cabins involves bringing the outdoors in, which provides a good jumping-off place for cabin decor ideas. It may seem impossible to create a log home look if you live in a stucco home. Luckily, adding touches of natural materials can give you the same feel.

Dark wood accents, exposed wooden beams or paneling, stone fireplaces, and wood flooring will all help build a cabin-style home interior. Don’t have log walls? With a little DIY know-how, you can create a pallet wall with reclaimed wood that will definitely give you cozy cabin vibes. 

You can add natural finishes by being selective with your textiles. A large, faux leather rug or paper mâché antlers on the walls are instant focal points in any home. Items like unique rocks, house plants, or a carefully-placed cowboy hat can add an outdoor feel to an otherwise drab shelving unit.

Log Cabin Decor That Works

Even though we see the beauty in log cabin homes, the creative elements that make them so are also practical. Even modern cabin design style values function over form. For instance, you’ll often find bunk beds in bedrooms, a bedroom idea that makes clever use of all available space (and makes it even easier to host all your friends over time). 

In a cabin dining room, you may find more than just a dining table. You’ll likely spot additional storage for linens, candles, or appliances hidden in a wooden sideboard or an unassuming decorative cabinet. Every piece of square footage matters in design, especially if it’s a small space cabin.

Color Matters

Earth tones are a given for creating a believable cabin interior. If you already have natural lighting and large bay windows, consider matching your interior colors to your outdoor color palette.

Evergreen trees create a beautiful backdrop for wooden browns and leaf-like greens. Open spaces of grass can coordinate beautifully with stone gray or warm reds. Using color to create the illusion of nature indoors is an easy way to capture a cabin look without any home renovations or remodels — a win for renters and homeowners alike. 

To mimic this in city living, pick up indoor conifer plants like the Norfolk Island Pine to shine brightly in indirect sunlight.

Light It Up

Swapping out light fixtures is one of the most foolproof ways to change the look and feel of an entire room with ease. Adding sconces to your walls, wooden chandeliers to your entryway, or earthen-accented pendant lights over your dining table can transform any space and give it a log cabin charm. 

Even changing your light bulbs from clear white light to warm, amber light gives a space a more relaxed feel that can be more comfortable and inviting. You’d be surprised by how much of an impact this quick swap makes. The best part? It won’t cost more than about $10.00, which leaves more room for that indoor wooden sauna in your interior design budget. A girl can dream!

Cabin Design Ideas for Every Room

Designing your dream cabin interior may be as easy as adding a few stylistic touches to each room. For ideas that involve relocating furniture and redesigning the entire space, check out Spoak’s online design tools. With our simple tooling, you can map out your space from ceiling to floor, add different textures and layers, or even plan the perfect gallery wall in advance of doing anything IRL. 

Combining our design tool with the following helpful hints will get your creative juices flowing to transform your space into the perfect cabin getaway. 

Cabin Living Room Ideas

The cabin living room is the central area for gathering, relaxing, and conversing (plus a whole other list of fun activities). In addition to an ample seating area, you’ll want elements that create cabin-esque feels. A fireplace, a rustic chandelier, and simplistic artistic pieces create an inviting space with a Scandinavian feel. 

Keeping with the function-before-form mentality, add color and design with practical elements like throw blankets, throw pillows, and sturdy, oversized furniture for optimal lounging. 

Cabin Bathroom Ideas

It can be a bit more challenging to capture a true cabin feel in a bathroom, especially one that has already been designed and built. If redoing your bathroom isn’t an option, you can still create the look of a cabin bathroom by adding design elements that embody cabin design. 

Start by keeping it simple. The beauty of rustic design is that it is minimalist by nature. You can always add more if you feel like you need it later.

Try these simple switches to give your bathroom an outdoor feel:

• Replace plastic storage bins with metal bins or baskets.
• Switch your lighting fixtures to ones with natural wood finishes.
• Level up the flooring by adding in a textured bath mat or small rug.
• Swap out toiletry holders and soap dispensers with stoneware pieces.

With simple touches like these, you can get the look you want without the hassle of building permits or living in a construction zone. 

Cabin Kitchen Ideas

The cabin kitchen is the place where hearty meals are made and hot coffee is brewed. It’s also another spot in your cabin design where function must take precedence over form. Don’t worry: This doesn’t mean a compromise of style but rather the search for unique pieces that are aesthetically pleasing and serve a purpose. 

• Exposed shelving. Wood shelving, open cabinets, and visible storage make it easy for you to grab essential items quickly while you cook; they also lend to the functional design of your kitchen. You can have fun styling the shelves while still prioritizing function as well.

• Custom backsplashes. Nearly every kitchen has a backsplash area, and you can add a textured backsplash to create a more rustic look. Stone, brick, and wood are top-notch choices for adding earthy elements and creating a more primitive look. If you’re going rustic with everything else in your cabin, try adding a pop of color in your kitchen backsplash. The color will balance out the natural finishes throughout the space.

No matter the size of your kitchen, don’t forget about your wall space. The use of walls for storage is clever and entirely on target with cabin style. It’s not uncommon to store pots and pans in an overhead pot rack. Add to your decor with shiny copper pots and matching utensils. 

Cozy Cabin Bedrooms

Your most comfortable spot might be your primary bedroom. Consider this your private getaway from life’s demands and a place that invites you to rest. Wooden bed frames, cedar trunks, and antique rocking chairs are timeless pieces that make your room inviting and warm. 

Changing your bedding from a solid white duvet to a quilt can add charm and give purpose and use to items you may have inherited or been gifted. Adding additional pillows and throws adds quaint character to your room and is also practical for chilly evenings or mornings. 

Escape … Without Leaving Your Home

Designing the coziest getaway of your dreams may be as simple as recreating your favorite cabin vacation spaces in your own home. Find ideas to inspire, object to adore, and design inspiration on our discovery feed. There, you’ll find a never-ending source of design-obsessed individuals sharing their content to help inspire your cabin fever.

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^{Photo Credit: (Left) Airbnb}

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^Sources:

^{The Key Elements of Cabin Interior Design | The Spruce}

^{How to Create a Wood Pallet Accent Wall | Hunker}

^{Everything You Need to Know About Scandinavian Design | House Beautiful}

^{Conifers As Houseplants – Tips On Growing Indoor Conifer Plants | Gardening Know How}