A Retro Catskills Cabin Becomes Home Away from Home

Name: Lauren Zaser and Ryan Oskin
Location: Big Indian, New York
Size: 2,300 square feet
Years lived in: 5 months, owned

Originally built in the 1950s, my boyfriend, Ryan, and I put our ’70s modern twist on the house. Filled with big windows, wide plank oak floors and bluestone fireplaces, we instantly knew we had to make this house our own.

Surrounded by about five acres of woods with a small creek running on the side you can really feel peaceful seclusion away from busy city life. After months of driving our car around all of NYC gathering furniture from Goodwill, Craigslist and then the Brimfield Flea Market, we created our favorite escape in the Catskills.

We try and make it up there at least once a month. When we’re not up there we rent it out on Airbnb and so far everyone loves it. It’s nice knowing that people are able to enjoy the house and the area when we’re away.

We love to cook and host people, but our Brooklyn kitchen is just about the smallest thing you could imagine. When we were looking for a getaway upstate, a large entertaining kitchen was high on our list.

We walked through the front door and instantly fell in love. There is a large bar area so it’s easy to cook for friends and still chat. We hosted a Thanksgiving diner there and we had six people cooking at once and it didn’t feel crowded. The dining room is surrounded by windows and has a great view of Slide Mountain.

The last piece of art we bought was a hand-embroidered piece of folk art I actually bought on shopgoodwill.com for $5. It’s hanging in the master bedroom to the left of the window.

Buy things you like and don’t worry too much about how it’ll all go together. If you keep buying things that catch your eye, it’ll turn into a home you love!

Thanks, Lauren & Ryan!

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