Tour Jasmine Roth's Cozy Cabin

When HGTV Magazine asked me to guest-edit an issue, my first thought was, "OMG, yes!" This really is my dream job, because magazines are my happy place. Of course, I love TV shows (after all, I have one), but on screen, home reveals happen in the blink of an eye. When you read a magazine, you have time to sit with beautiful photographs and learn about the design. For detail lovers like me, finding all that inspiration and info in one place is a treat.

As I started planning this issue, I kept thinking about what a fun challenge it was. I'm super competitive, so I wanted to knock it out of the park — which explains why I decided to buy and totally renovate a house in six weeks for the cover story. We could have photographed an older project of mine, but that wouldn't have been nearly as exciting as finding an old A-frame (in Arrowbear, California), gutting it and turning it into my dream cabin just in time for our press deadline. I can’t believe I finally have a cabin of my own! Come look around ...

For years, I’ve been dreaming of fixing up an A-frame in the mountains. My husband, Brett, and I weren’t actively house hunting, but I had an alert set for houses that fit our criteria: close to a lake, commutable from our home in Huntington Beach, California, and never-before renovated (because I have to do my own thing). When this 1,085-square-foot cabin popped up on my phone, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then HGTV Magazine called and asked me to guest-edit an issue and feature a project of mine — the perfect excuse to buy the place!

I overhauled the exterior with a new porch, door, window and paint (Black Fox by Sherwin-Williams).

It needed some personality.