Thrift the Look: Cabin Decor

Finally, I thought of Bertha, my vintage motorhome that I've been refurbishing!! She would be the perfect canvas for a cabin theme decor makeover! Sooo, I am recreating the look above in Bertha! You can read more about Bertha's makeover progress HERE.

This is the area where I chose to recreate this cozy cabin look.

You may remember (plus you can see in the photo above) that Bertha has avocado green counters and range hood so I chose to do the buffalo check wall in shades of green instead of red. 

This would be the biggest DIY for this project. I considered wallpapering but using wallpaper in a motorhome is sketchy (high heat and moisture) plus I thought there would be a lot leftover and it was kind of spendy.

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I chose Moss Point Green {#PPG1121-6} and Guacamole {#PPG1121-5} by PPG. TIP: with a very small wall like this you can get away with the sample pots of paint. I way overestimated the amount I would need and bought a quart of each color and barely made a dent in it.

I used Frog Tape for delicate surfaces since I knew there wouldn't be a lot of curing time between coats.

To create buffalo checks on your wall first, measure the width of your wall in inches and divide that by the number of stripes you want on the wall. That is how wide your stripes should be (for example, my wall is 42" wide and I wanted 14 stripes across so my stripes are 3" wide).

Use the ruler and make a little pencil mark every 3" (or whatever your measurement is) at several different spots at the top, middle, and bottom of the wall. Tape off each stripe. You'll tape on the outside edge of every other stripe and then fill in that stripe with tape.

It was at this point that my dad came out to see what I was doing and said "Oh! You're painting a circus tent!" 😂 Yes dad, my cabin is actually a circus tent!!


Paint each open stripe with the lighter of the two paint colors.


Here is how it should look when you remove the tape. It still kind of resembles a circus tent! Allow this to cure for at least a few hours.


Next, measure and tape off the same way you did before but going horizontally from top to bottom. Your stripes going this direction should be the same width as the vertical stripes. Now paint the horizontal stripes.


Remove the tape and allow that to cure for at least several hours. It looks kind of like a game board now, the next step will create the buffalo check look.


Retape the open vertical and horizontal stripes. You will now have a grid of squares.


Paint each open square with the second, darker paint color. Once you remove the tape you will have a beautiful, buffalo check wall!!


So, now that I had the buffalo check wall from the inspiration photo recreated (green instead of red), it was time to move on to the curtains.

I struggled with how to get the same look like the curtains in the inspiration photo. I think they are vintage fabric and they have a fishing theme. I could not find anything like this at the thrift store and I even checked the fabric store, my stash of fabric, and my mom's stash too... nothin'!

Finally, my mom suggested that maybe the old curtains that were in Bertha when we bought her might work. We had enough of those curtains to sew them together and create one larger curtain panel to divide the cab of the motorhome from the living quarters... the colors were right... the theme was good... yes, yes, I think that will work! Thanks, mom!


Ok! We are making progress here! Buffalo check wall... check! Cabin themed curtain... check!

Next, I needed the wall mounted coat rack on the wall. I just happened to have a really cool one in the shop! It was quite long so I just cut a piece of it to use. I love the old metal hooks and the chipping paint!


The inspiration photo had a vintage red lantern. I used one that was in the motorhome when I bought it. It was boring black so I painted it green!


I borrowed the picture from my mom. I'm still on the hunt for one to use here permanently.


To finish my cabin decor wall, I borrowed one of the flannel shirts and a funky hat from my dad and thrifted the other flannel shirt plus the duck boots!


Seriously, these boots were such a great thrift store score... and in my size too!


I'm really happy with my interpretation of the inspiration photo what do you think?!



I used a little piece of torn flannel to make a hanger for the lantern.




I love how this looks next to the Cedar Shingle Motorhome Accent Wall!! Very rustic don't you think?! 😊


Here is a side-by-side comparison of the professional inspiration photo and my interpretation!

Make sure you visit the other ladies who are creating their own versions of cabin decor! Just click on their blog names below to check out their ideas!