This is what the place looked like when we first purchased it.
The lady we bought it from had it set up like this. She wanted an off the grid cabin. I do not believe she lived in here during the winter even though she said she did. She said she heated with the wood cook stove and a propane garage heater. (Its January now and its -25 with windchill. Our wood stove has been burning all day long, no way she could have been warm enough.)
She had built these stairs. We tore them down to make room for a tiny bathroom, which is now at the bottom of the stair case.
We got rid of this wood burning cook stove. I had no interest in cooking with one but more importantly it didn't get warm enough to heat the place in October so there is no way in January it could heat the place.
Our loft still looks like this because we ran out of money to put up paneling. Our bed is under that window and our son's bed is at the opposite side.
We put two picture windows in we got for cheap off craigslist. The tiny windows pictured in the first pic above did not let in enough light and if I live in the woods I want to be able to look at it if its too cold to go outside.
Here is the other window we put in and the railing the insurance company said we needed to install.
We got the place sheet rocked and built the ladder to the loft to replace the stairs. The wall is up for the bathroom. We installed a pocket door because of the lack of space for a regular door on the bathroom. We hired out to do this because neither one of us had time to come up and spend the time to do it.
A railing was put up to the loft so my son would not fall down. Right now my sewing machine table is set up against the railing. Its very dark up here which is great for sleeping.
Sheet rock finished and the inside looks so bright and welcoming.
I saved about half of the cabinets. I sanded them and painted them and replaced the hardware. There was no way we could afford brand new ones.
My husband put in a bamboo floor. Its colder than carpet that's for sure but with a toddler, a dog and being mud and dirt everywhere outside the carpet would have gotten trashed.
This is what the finished kitchen looks like. We still need a chest freezer. Three meals a day come out of this tiny kitchen. Art projects are done and card games are played at the table.
Winter took a turn for the real cold. We got down to -20 air temp. The water pipes for the well froze up. We fixed it with a hair dryer, heat tape and a space heater in the bathroom.
I took up cross country skiing. I was thinking since I normally hate winter I need to push myself out of my comfort zone and try it. My friend gave me her skis, boots and poles. I contacted the local ski club and they invited me to do free lessons with children. I have to say these children can fall and get up way faster than me. I'm actually enjoying myself.
