A couple turned an 'uninhabitable' cabin in upstate New York into a dreamy Airbnb rental. See the before-and-after photos.

When the couple lived in Brooklyn for two years in 2016, they used to go to the Catskill Mountains as often as they could, Gemma told Business Insider. They're originally from the UK and now live in Tulum, Mexico.

She loved small, cute cabins and wanted her own, but the low price had a catch — the home didn't have a bathroom or heating. "It was inhabitable, but I saw the potential in it," Gemma said.

Over three months, they transformed it from a shack to a stylish, cozy weekend escape they've now listed on Airbnb.

There's a creek that flows past the cabin, and the home is nestled in three acres of grassy meadow with mountain views on each side — it's magic, Gemma said.

When they first bought the home, it was burgundy red. Over a week, Nick painted the cabin black, he told BI. The renovation was a collaboration with local contractors and doing some work themselves.

At night, the woods are pitch black so you can see every star in the sky when it's clear. But as it's so dark, they hung up string lights throughout the forest, Nick said.

The cabin also has its own driveway that they installed. "That's the beauty of it. It looks quite hard to get to, but actually, it's really practical," Gemma said.

It's the best spot for relaxing and taking in the views as it's right next to the creek, Nick added.

They chose a wood that would blend in with the surroundings, but also feel like it's floating above the creek, Nick said. They added comfortable chairs, a table, and a deck-safe fire pit.

The previous owner was a playwright from New York who would come to the cabin in the summer months to write, Gemma told BI.

In the winter, the cabin was closed down, so heating was never installed. "It was a wooden little shell," she added.

Figuring out the heating system was tricky, as the weather is "brutal" in the winter, Gemma said. The couple wondered if they should also shut the cabin down for six months in the winter, but they decided to fix it.

The local gas company wouldn't come as they couldn't carry the tanks up the steps in the snow, she said. They had to install electric heating, which keeps the cabin toasty.

The first thing they did to the interior was paint it white. "We wanted it to look bright and airy," Gemma said. They got rid of the rocking chair and writing desk and replaced them with bespoke pieces from small businesses.

"I got a bit obsessive because it's so small. Everything needed to be perfectly measured out," she said.

"The whole thing was one step up from camping," Nick said. They extended the writing area by a foot and turned it into the bathroom.

They had to think out of the box for the toilet, Gemma said. Getting a septic tank would've cost $30,000, and the approval would've taken a while, which was time they didn't have due to their visa status.

"The existing cabin felt like it slotted right in with the landscape. It didn't feel right to put in a horrible, big septic tank up on the meadow," Nick added.

Instead, they chose an incineration toilet. You can use it for a week, and it creates a teaspoon of ash because it burns the waste at a high temperature, Nick told BI. You remove the ashtray once prompted and after a wash, put it back.

The shower is decorated with blue tiles and finished with brass shower fittings. "We wanted it to feel high-end, even though the space is small," Gemma said.

They extended out the loft, where the bed is, by four feet so they could fit a queen bed, he added. They added a memory foam mattress to make it extra comfortable.

One thing Gemma knew she wanted was a farmhouse sink. The local carpenter told her that the cabin was too small for one, but she was determined. After six weeks of searching, they found a mini farmhouse sink to install, she told BI.

"We've got handmade maple top cabinets. Because it's so small, everything was handmade by a carpenter," she added.

The kitchen has two full-size windows, flooding the cabin with light. "It's tiny, but it's quite comfortable to prepare food there," Nick said.

It's completely glass-roofed and open-sided with mosquito netting, Nick said. The couple painted the sunroom white and added furniture to the previously deserted room.

The cabin is a bolt-together house, a tiny home design from the 1970s featured in Family Circle Magazine, the couple told BI. The DIY cabin plan was designed by architect Jeff Milstein, and all the owner needed to do was buy the materials and follow the guide, like setting up Ikea furniture.

Interestingly, the sunroom is an add-on to the cabin as it's not featured in the original bolt-together house plans, Nick said.

They've seen all sorts of creatures in the creek. Once, they saw an otter run down the hill and dive into the creek to catch a fish, the couple said.

"I keep the window a crack open and you can hear the creek at night and look up and see the stars from the bed," she said.

The cabin feels like a magical wonderland, especially when the string lights are turned on, Nick added.