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At Lake Yale, each of the cabins looked alike, with the same paint color, building size, and layout. This made the camp look institutional, which was far from the atmosphere the camp was trying to create.

For about $200, the camp went to a local saw mill and bought cypress wood, which matches the Florida setting. Each cabin received faux shutters and cypress signs depicting native animals for which the cabins were named to make them more unique. It was a great way to personalize each cabin, and yet all cabins were congruent and felt part of Lake Yale.

In addition, the camp is fortunate to have a volunteer artist/interior decorator. She is designing customized painting and stencil work for the cabins. To help other volunteers now and in the future, she put together an instruction manual.

While you might not have these artistic skillsets on-site, you might think about other ways to simply decorate the outside of the building with shutters, signage, and plantings. Either way in your decision-making, you might consider future maintenance needs and staff/volunteer skillsets.

Thanks to Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center for their willingness to share great ideas with others.

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