Our Favorite Features of Leanne Ford’s New, Old-School Cabin

Leave it to Leanne to zero in on a 112-year-old hunting cabin in L.A.’s Echo Park and imbue it with every last drop of the ingenuity she brings to her Restored by the Fords projects in Pittsburgh.

Want Leanne's full walkthrough? Say no more:

It’s hard to know where to look first in her spectacular “make-under” (“this cabin looks older now than when I got my hands on it,” she says with pride) — but we’re fixated on a few elements of her west coast HQ that are especially cool. Join us in lingering over the details.

There are “beat-up,” original cabin windows everywhere

Leanne salvaged and re-used every last piece of wood on the property, and the windows she sprinkled around (and inside) the cabin are essential to the indoor-outdoor vibe she’s cultivated. Sunshine and birdsong stream inside all day long.

She cozied up the living room with textures (and textiles)

This space is rustic and comfortable, thanks to the chunky knit Leanne tossed across an occasional chair, her casually weathered leather sofa and the woven blankets she stashed beneath her console.

A bit of Pittsburgh made it into the kitchen

Leanne could’ve sourced a sink from any number of L.A.-area vendors, but she opted to haul one from Pennsylvania to California. We love that nod to her childhood summers in the woods back home.

Her all-new concrete table sports a 70-year-old typewriter

Remington portables like this one had pride of place in offices all over Los Angeles in the ‘40s. Leanne’s adds to her artist’s-retreat vibe (and looks awfully sexy between her commissioned piece and her Scolari-style chandelier).

She weathered the plumbing in her bathroom

Leanne didn’t want anything in the cabin to feel “too done,” so while she outfitted her bathroom with new waterworks, she used a “secret concoction” to weather exposed pipes surrounding the shower.

Though the cabin is teeny, the kitchen table is massive

Could “small house, big table” be the new “wear black, paint white?” Leanne loves entertaining, so a 12-foot dining piece was a must. Bonus: It’s a subtle but effective way to transition from the kitchen to the living room.

She DIY’ed a spectacular stone fireplace

Leanne’s favorite feature is one of ours, too: She hauled stones in from the yard and constructed a one-of-a-kind setting for her midcentury gas fireplace. It’s the heart and soul of what she calls her hideaway’s “space cabin” character.

While we can’t confirm the rumor that Leanne and her husband Erik’s cabin is the oldest one in Echo Park, we’re confident that it’s the dreamiest. Feast your eyes on even more of their getaway-in-the-city with our photo tour. (Don't be surprised if it gives you the itch to find a rustic retreat of your own.)

Welcome home, Fords! We'll share space with you at that big old kitchen table anytime.

Tune in to HGTV for a Restored by the Fords mini-marathon beginning this Friday, August 16, at 1:30p|2:30c.