Bamboo Floors in the Cabin

One more project done......the bamboo floors are in and looking great!

We did it ourselves and it took two days but I can't tell you what a difference it makes.

Everything just feels so much cleaner.  That's because it is-so much cleaner-cuz we had plywood floors before.  Yuck.

Here is a shot of the kitchen area.  We still have all the molding to do but that should go pretty quickly.

Just in case you forgot what we started with.......   We did all the work ourselves, once the shell was built.  We didn't want it to look too fancy.  More like it was completed and furnished by a family over a long time with things that made them happy and had a lot of sentimental value.  Which is kind of true because it has taken quite a while to finish and we got a lot of the stuff at auctions, antique stores and our own homes (and the clearance section of Lowes).

 We added a kitchen and a bath.  That meant putting in electrical and plumbing.

 We put in a stove and covered all the walls and ceilings in pine tongue and groove.  This cabin is solid!  The rocking chair was a gift from my family years ago for Mother's Day.  The log table was built by an Amish guy.  The crock in the corner used to hold sauerkraut.  I love that everything has a story and was bought over time..  The picture on the ledge were painted by some of our grandchildren.

 The chest was made from barn wood, again by the Amish, and the couch is a hide a bed for extra sleeping.  Plus it is a great place to cuddle up with a book (or Kindle) for some quiet time.  The blanket was crocheted by my grandmother who passed away this year.  She made it for the cabin.  I made the picture over the couch from a poster that I modge podged onto canvas.

 I so love the kitchen!  Behind the little curtain is a fridge and microwave.  I don't have a stove but the toaster oven and a hot plate have worked great for small meals.  And small meals are about all I want to do here anyway.  I do have a crock pot, electric skillet and rice cooker too, just in case.  Oh, and a Kitchenaid......  I always have to have a Kitchenaid.

 Here is a peek into the bath.  It is small but the shower is huge so that makes it nice.  We have an on-demand water heater for the cabin so it is hot showers for us!

 We refinished this cute medicine cabinet for some extra storage above the itty bitty sink.

 Jenn and Chuck bought this cool light that is great cuz you can direct the lights where ever you need them.  

 Another look at the kitchen.  We made the shelf from some antique shelf supports I got on ebay and pine boards.  You can see the water heater on the wall in the corner.  The crock that holds my wooden spoons and such was a gift from my brother's family and has a picture of Kirtland on the front.  We all went there the last time his family came out here to Ohio.  The vintage red plastic canisters were an auction find.  We keep little treats in them.

 A close up of the bamboo floors.  The rag rug was picked up at an Amish auction and is handmade.

 Upstairs is a sleeping loft.  We put a queen sized mattress up there and it is so comfortable.  We even have a view of the pasture out our tiny little window.  In the winter the heat from the stove keeps the loft so warm we often don't even use blankets.  We are talking Ohio winters!

 This ladder is suspended from the ceiling with a rope and can be lowered when we need to go upstairs.  It can slide along a metal pipe to the center of the room (that's where the headroom is the highest in the loft) and then can be tucked out of the way when we don't need it.

 I love that we have a small entry area to take off shoes and stow away some of our stuff.  We put in a tile floor in that area to protect the bamboo floors from dirt.  That little bench has a lot of storage and was built by some students at our local developmental center.

 Where you see the trees outside is the creek bed.

 The shelf on the left holds some plates and cookbooks.  Behind the door is a pegboard made out of a log that is real handy for hanging stuff.

 One of the last things we got was a cuckoo clock.  I bought it on ebay and it wasn't working so I got it cheap.  My husband replaced a few parts and now it is one of my favorite things about the cabin.  I love to hear the tick tock and the squeaky little bird.

 The colors were so garish when I first saw it but up against the pine walls it really pops.

So Kitschy!

Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Diana

Spent the other day out at the cabin doing a little more work on the bathroom.  I painted the rest of the walls gray, sealed the tile and hung up the new shower curtain.  I still have a bit more to do but it is really looking like a real bathroom now!

 Went with a clear shower curtain so the room looks bigger.

 Plus you can see the cool tile we put in at eye height!

 We put in a soap holder......I don't mind the shampoo sitting on the floor but keeping soap down there is just icky.

 Here is a view of the sink and toilet.  You can see how small the bathroom's footprint is from this picture.  The shower tile is on the left lower corner.

 The window adds a lot of light.  At first the bathroom was windowless but my husband added it and I love it now.  You can also see the tile floors.  Soon we will have the baseboards in.

  

Anyone else think this is a pretty cool bathroom for a cabin?  Just wait til I add a few more touches!

Diana

Almost Completed!

First of all let me apologize for the poor lighting.  It was a overcast kind of day!  I hope to go out to the cabin in a few days and finish painting the bath AND get some new pics.

 I moved things around a bit and got a new trunk for a coffee table.  Made by the local Amish it is cedar lined.  It is also made from reclaimed barn wood.

 We got the shower tiled, the new slate floor in, and all the fixtures installed!  Don't know why I didn't take a pic of the accent tile in the shower........

 Teeny tiny sink.

Slate floor with a ton of sealer on it.

We still need to finish some molding and a bit of painting.  We also want to make a mason jar ceiling fixture, make new curtains, hang a shower rod and curtain, and install a medicine cabinet.  But at least it is operational again!

Diana

A Few New Additions to the Cabin

One thing we were missing out at the cabin was some comfy seating.  We decided to get a sleeper sofa so we'd get the seating and an extra place for more people to sleep.  We also bought a super soft bed for the loft!  Our first night on the bed was so nice.  Beats the blow up mattress we had been using.

 I also sewed up a simple skirt for the area that houses the fridge and microwave.

 I used route 66 fabric that I bought when we first started working on the cabin.

 I just love our sweet little kitchen. 

A few days ago I spent the day here all by myself.  I had a good book with me and a picnic lunch.  The windows let in a cool breeze and I even took a nice long nap on the couch.  Perfect day.  

Diana

Camper's First Overnighter

In the yesterday's post I showed you some of the projects we completed at the cabin in preparation for Girl's Pre-camp.  Today I will show you a few pictures of A Frayed Knot on her first over-nighter.  My daughter Jenn and her husband stayed in the camper during pre-camp while the other adults and the girls stayed in the cabin or in tents.

 Here is the camper all set up.

 Outdoor rug is from IKEA..

 The couch was turned into a bed with soft white sheets and an antique quilt.  The suitcases that normally serve as night stands tuck under the bed.

The camper was parked in the field near the cabin.  After setting everything up we took our grandson to the airport and did a fly over.

You can just make out the cabin just off the wing.  It was a lot of work to get everything ready but I love a dead line.  You always seem to get so much more done when you are under pressure.  And we were so glad to be able to share our getaways with the sweet young women in our daughter's ward.

Diana

Cabin Update

What a week!  Between getting the camper ready for her first overnight and doing some last minute projects out at the cabin, we are all exhausted!  Both were used this last weekend for pre-camp.  I will walk you through some of the improvements.

 We did a lot of paneling including the kitchen ceiling.  We also changed the layout of some of the furniture.  The table was moved into the kitchen to make room for the new sleeper sofa which I forgot to get a picture of.

 It is so nice to not see insulation and framing anymore.

 The bathroom got green board put up in preparation for tile, mud and paint.  We went ahead and hung some curtains for privacy.

The sink drain pipes were connected to the septic line.  That meant the sink could go in.  Of course all this will have to come back out to mud and paint but until then we are enjoying having a sink.  Next on the honey do list is hooking up the shower drain, finishing the bathroom and then putting up more paneling in the entry area.  Once that is done we will put down the bamboo floors and do all the trim.  We can actually see an end to this.  Whew!

Diana

Flood Video

Still pictures just didn't show how crazy this was!

Flood At The Cabin

Whoa!  Jenn, Abby and Abby's friend Kelsey went out to the cabin last night.  This is the first time any of us had ever been out there during heavy rain.  This is what they saw.  

A few minutes later and they would have been stuck on the other side of the creek.  The water quickly rose and covered the bridge, moving one end of it about 15 feet down the bank.

Before the flash flood.....  

 The creek overflowed it's banks and got dangerously close to the cabin.

Jenn said they were ready to leave if it reached the wood pile.  That's the wood pile in the field!  They were standing on the porch to take this picture.  Just as fast as the water rose it drained down stream bringing the creek back to it's normal/high level.  

Phew!  Looking at these pics is still giving me anxiety.......

Diana

A Wee Break at the Cabin

Sunday night we packed up and headed to the cabin.  The weather was mild and cool, perfect for a impromptu camping trip.

The grass has begun to turn green and is in need of a mow.

Don't you love old fence post and dirt roads?

There are so many things at the cabin for which I am grateful and that make staying there so nice.  Number one is running water, great for doing dishes and even more important, flushing the toilet.

My grandmother's blanket and a creaky rocking chair.

A warm fire and S'mores.

A cozy loft to sleep in.  The air mattress is in the tub and someday we will finish the walls and floor, but for now it will do.



All the little signs of nature we get to enjoy!

Walks in the meadow fresh with the morning's dew.

A view to die for.

Signs of spring.

Reminders of summers past.

A swimming hole waiting for the warm weather that's just around the corner.

A morning spent turkey hunting and an afternoon spent mowing the front meadow.  All these things are simple pleasures we are often too busy to enjoy.  It is nice to slow down once in a while!  This trip we didn't tackle any projects, except for the mowing, we just had fun.  The projects can wait a few weeks........