An Artist Transforms a Joshua Tree Cabin Into a Surrealism-Inspired Rental

When Los Angeles–based artist Shawn Button considered buying a rental property at the edge of Joshua Tree National Park during the height of the pandemic, he knew it would be a risk. But the stakes became even clearer when he set foot on the site of the dilapidated 1959 cabin. "The house was pretty busted up, but as I walked around the property, the sun was setting and I started having these crazy visions of what it could be," Button recalls. "I knew it would be a gamble, so I asked the universe for a sign. Then, I looked down, and I saw a pair of dice in the sand." 

With that unmistakable sign to move forward, Button called his realtor and took the leap. Over the next six months, the artist got to work transforming the crumbling desert property into an otherworldly vacation retreat. Inspired by the surrealist qualities of Joshua Tree’s rocky landscape—and the house’s sublimely extraterrestrial neighbor, the 1980s Kellogg Doolittle House, also known as the High Desert House—Button sought to create a getaway that would surprise and delight visitors. "I wanted it to feel like an art installation," explains Button. "My work as an artist is not two-dimensional, so I wanted to elevate this place into a full-on immersive experience."