The Cabaña: Finished Product

The Cabaña project is complete!

 Overall, I was pleased with the way it turned out. Of course, I always wish I could have done more. I wish I'd had more time. I wish I'd more money. I wish I'd had more freedom. But, given all that, I think it turned out to be an adorable, cozy little guest house (that is MUCH improved) and I can't wait to stay in on my next trip up to Harbor Springs.

The details, such as storage and cute little accents, were just as important to me as the big things. With such a neat old cabin atmosphere, I wanted to bring in old items that highlighted that.

My favorite area, by far, is the kitchen, living room, master bedroom area. I loved the way the gallery wall turned out, and the gray colored cabinets just lightened up the whole room so well!

Each of these things holds special significance, from old family photos captured in Harbor Springs decades ago, to the all the cousins with our "name hats" from Grandpa in the early 90's, to the flag from Little Traverse Yatch Club, pictures of Harbor Springs back in the day, my mom's painting of Zorn Park, and a painting of Lealand, Michigan from my dear friend Katherine. I carefully selected each and every item on this wall and I love what they each represent.

xoxo

The Cabaña: In Progress

I was up in Harbor Springs for about three weeks. The project had several phases (and the one that still needs to happen is exterior painting, hence no outside pictures of the cabaña!).

Before leaving Nashville, I purchased a good bit of furniture and decorations and things I would need. My parents also picked up a new mattress in Indiana, so they certainly had an interesting drive up.

The first week there, my parents and Peter were also there, so my dad was a major help as we deep cleaned the whole place. I also began the shopping process for big items, like a new couch and rugs, up there.

 

The second week, I finished up cleaning and focused on painting. I was prohibited from painting walls and the main floors, but the cabinets and bathrooms were quite a feat. 

I also made about a thousand trips to Home Depot and Lowe's, piling all sorts of supplies in and atop my poor little car.

The last week, I finalized all the furniture. I decorated. And I made sure it all looked nice and the way that I had envisioned it.

And, to give a better visual, here is the floor plan of the cabaña.

Next up, the finished product!

xoxo

The Cabaña: Before

I have been vaguely mentioning my project and somewhat MIA, but I am finally ready to share the photos from my time spent renovating our guest house this summer. My family has had houses in Harbor Springs, Michigan for several generations. It seems a little random, being from Nashville, but it is a lovely, historic little town that will always be near and dear to my heart.

And, with views like this, it is just not ok to have a house looking dumpy.

The Cabaña, which is the guest house where the kids always stayed, is an original building to my family's compound in Harbor Springs. We have always loved it and said it had potential, but this summer I finally put in the time, effort, and money to make it an adorable little guest house. Here is what it looked like before my work began.

And, upon my arrival as I snapped these photos, a massive spider ran across the counter top and into the drain. I was freaked out and all I could find was a can of RAID that had surely been sitting there since 1996 to try to prevent it from coming back.

Like I said, this place had potential, but needed some serious TLC. And new decorations.

Plus, from my perspective, anything would be an improvement.

 

The floor plan is slightly confusing, but its a pretty cozy, five person house complete with two bathrooms, a small kitchen, a living area, and little table nook. It just needed some work.

 

 

Over the next few days, I will be sharing the process and the results. Stay tuned.

xoxo