When I decided to do a before/after post, I had to go searching for the before pics and found them in a photo album that has those nasty plastic pages that cover the pictures which are so convenient, but not so great for the pictures. I didn’t care though…I figured the pictures were so ugly anyway, what’s a little deterioration or discoloration in the scheme of things? I didn’t even bother to remove the plastic when I took these pics so please forgive the occasional glare.
When looking at the before pics, I can’t believe how much work we have put into our weekend getaway. I’m surprised we weren’t scared off by what needed to be done in this house. We don’t go up every weekend, and once we’re there we want to have some fun after all, so let’s just say it took a while to finish everything….ok, about 3 years. But we enjoy working together on projects and we make a pretty good team, so no regrets in that department.
There’s still a LOT to do, but mostly it’s cosmetic. The next ‘big’ area I want to tackle is the outside, but that will have to wait a year or two.
The kitchen and living room are not part of this series of pics, because they were pretty much the only rooms that didn’t need a complete redo. I’ll show them another time, another post.
For the most part, the pictures speak for themselves, but there are some tips I want to share with you so I hope you will read the captions as we go along.
This under the stairs bar area makes good use of this often overlooked space. We purchased the most inexpensive cabinets we could find and gave them a rustic finish, cut plain plywood for the top and did a collage with some fun and interesting pictures then gave it a high gloss pour on polymer finish, cut plastic piping and made a ‘wine rack’ (looks like we need more wine!), covered the side of the stair and side of the wall in tree bark, added some copper embossed sheeting for the back, and along with the refrigerator we have a very practical, often used spot in our basement.
This next room is one of my favorites in the house. We spent several weekends putting up the paneling both on the wall and ceiling, made the stagecoach valences, repainted and well, we just about redid everything!
The ladder leads up to a loft area. Every child’s dream, and in fact our grandson loves it. Although this room isn’t large, it can comfortably sleep five!
Talk about a hot mess! Everything from the ceilings to the warped cement floor had to be redone in this walk out basement area.
Notice the ceiling. I didn’t want a typical dropped ceiling so common in basement areas so I did some research and came up with a wood product called Luann. It’s very thin and somewhat pliable, so it makes a perfectly suitable alternative. It can be painted, but we left it natural.
When I look at this table it reminds me of the movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’. Remember the scene when their friends were fighting about a wagon wheel cocktail table? I obviously decided to go with a western theme for this area, and even though I mentioned theme rooms are not a great idea in this post, I don’t regret it. It’s a very comfortable space and I didn’t go too overboard with the kitchy stuff :).
I don’t have any before pics, but there used to be closets on this wall.
We repurposed the wood and turned the closets into benches with storage.
Here’s a bedroom located in the basement. Cork on the sofit, purple trim with chalkboard blue paint…this room needed help! This bedroom is located in the basement level and is actually the largest of the three bedrooms.
There’s a story about these linens. My daughter in law worked for Tommy Hilfiger at the time and there was a HUGE sale at their headquarters. I got hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise for less than $20! Pillows for $1, sheets for $1, comforters for $1! I went with a friend and we must have looked hysterical, trying to stuff everything into the car when we really needed an 18 wheeler. It was a GREAT day!
And here we have what was one of the most difficult projects we encountered. This is the bathroom attached to the above bedroom.
I apologize for that weird looking line across the middle. Not sure what that’s all about. This room was super challenging because the ceilings are low and we had those annoying ducts to consider. We decided to do the best we could with the space we had, but didn’t go overboard with the choice of materials and pretty much got everything at Home Depot. There was barely enough head room for a shower, but we managed to get one in there.
A peek at the Master…
Ironically, the master bedroom is the smallest bedroom of the three, but it has a nice sized bathroom attached and a small walk in closet so it works for us. In the before picture, that’s actually paneling on the top half of the walls. We just painted over it and it made a huge difference immediately. I’ve recently started to lighten up the space a bit. It used to have the same stagecoach valances in a burgundy color as in the other bedroom. It wasn’t an easy decision to get rid of them because I remember how much work it was to make them, but it was time and I’m enjoying the added light and airiness now.
I have no before pics of the master bath, but suffice it to say it was just a space with studs and that was it. With the exception of the electrical and plumbing, we installed everything…the cork flooring, the paneling, the medicine cabinet, etc.
Of course, the house is always a ‘work in progress’. There’s always something to do, but that’s ok. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Roeshel says
Beautiful! A dream come true home. Thank you so much for sharing. It’s so nice to “e-meet” you! Looking forward to seeing more! 😉
Alisha @ Crafty Brooklyn Army Wife says
TFS!! Beautiful transformation!! Stopping by from The Shabby Creek Cottage linky party. Here is what I shared: http://craftybrooklynarmywife.blogspot.ca/2012/07/bow-pleated-purse.html
Liz says
That bathroom is fabulous. The whole thing looks like so much work, but so worth it. I hope you enjoy it.
Liz
Ashley S says
omg! you have done a terrific job. I’m sure it was hard work but it looks like it was much worth it. Turned out wonderful! Such an inspiration during my fixing up journey!
rene says
What a fun space!!
Rene
debbiedoos says
How cozy and warm! What a wonderful transformation. Thanks so much for sharing with the newbie party. Enjoy!
Tammy says
Wow! Those rooms all turned out great!! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Paula says
This cabin came out amazing. Every room is awesome. Your post is so inspirational. I would love it if you could share this wonderful post at our WIW linky party. I hope you can join us.
Paula
ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
Cecilia says
What fun! You’re right, when you’re not there all the time, those projects take time! Your cabin looks fantastic. Now following you. If you get a chance come visit me at thebfarm where we’re redoing our farmhouse a few weekends at a time.
RaNae says
love your cabin I pinned your bathroom to my soak board
u r very lucky to have such a wonderful home thanks for sharing came from HOH
RaNae
Paul and [email protected] says
I’m so glad you visited our site and left your comment so I found my way here. You have done an incredible job on your makeover. Your place has really come a long way!
Kathy Moody says
Wow, I love your cabin! You have done so much work and it looks awesome. Lucky you to have such a special place. Love the loft. 🙂
suzanne jones says
WOW! This is fantastic!! I just decided this is what I want! A cottage getaway. Would love to have one of my own.
Sherie says
That is amazing!! I want a loft area, like that. I can imagine how fun it would be to be up there, cuddling in a blanket, with lots of pillows and a fabulous book!
Vicky says
Amazing transformation. Thank you for sharing your journey.
House Crazy Sarah says
Great cabin redo! I love the kids bunk loft on top the closets… but I’d be afraid my kids would push each other off! (they do that sort of thing)