Name: Renee and Alden
Location: Walkerbrook Lake (a few miles north of the Mississippi Headwaters in Minnesota.)
Size:576 Sq/ft Elevated wilderness living
Favorite resource:
Home improvement centers with discount bins. For example our fireplace surround was less than $50.00 for the materials.
What inspired you?
Our parents are well into their eighties. We had always wanted to rent a romantic secluded cabin in the woods. We invited our parents to live in the main house and used the opportunity to make our dream a reality. The walls are leafy green and golden sand with tan earth tone ceramic floors.
But our passionate side demanded a splash of purple faux paint in the vanity area. The living room and the Jacuzzi facing the lake demand large windows for the wilderness view. The gas fireplace radiates a romantic flame and backup heat.
Design Tip:
To give a feeling of greater space use vaulted trusses which raise the ceiling with negligible increased cost. Our dividing walls did not go all the way to the ceiling. This allows the ceiling fan to circulate the air through out the entire apartment and adds to the feeling of greater space. The top edge of the wall provides a convenient storage for my wife's heels, decorative plants and indirect rope lighting. We used false beams to stabilize the dividing wall. Mirrored closet doors also help create a larger than life feel for any room.
This looks like the perfect place to live comfortably, be close with nature, and be close with your parents. It may not be the most modern entry, but it's a real nice set-up.
This place is utterly charming. Kudos for making your dream a reality. I would love to wake up there and watch the snow falling out the window!
quite beautiful and calming. one question: i notice just about all the bathroom is right in the bedroom. do you have issues with water, steam or privacy?
I would have given this place a positive vote but I have issues with the bathroom in the bedroom. This couple must be extremely in sync regarding time; else a person in the shower or toilet would bother the other if sleeping.
I've been married for a million years and give thanks that I am able to get away to take a bath in peace when I need to be alone. Also, I'd hate to have stomach flu in that house.
Creating a living arrangement where you can be there for your elderly parents and at the same time realize your dream of having a secluded cabin to yourselves on the same property...that speaks volumes to me. Kudos to you both.
Although the designs are modest and simple and may not win the most wow votes, I like the fact that the entry represents a style of living not often seen on AT.
I can't imagine anything more wonderful than knowing how you want to live and making it happen... especially by keeping your family close. Congratulations!
Response for Mark,
Moisture is not an issue in the bath area. There is an exhaust fan directly above the shower door in the ceiling.
For some couples privacy could be an issue. But for us, right from the start and through 30 years of marriage it is has not been an issue.
For those of you that would like to create a unique trim around windows and door, try this. We brought 8'lengths of bead board and ran them through the table saw so that a 1.75 inch piece with a bead on each edge remained. The waste pieces were used to fur out the trim and widen the overall appearance. The corner blocks were half price at a national home improvement center.
Jacuzzi in the bedroom...NICE...dunno if it's a good idea or a bad idea...but it's over the top (at least for me).
To someone from a crowded urban area, this looks like a dream getaway spot. For those concerned with bath/bedroom privacy--a little creative furniture rearranging could fix that. A quarter turn of the bed putting the headboard toward the sink and hanging a drape or even a tall solid headboard would essentially "wall" off the bath area. And you'd wake to a beautiful view of the treetops out the windows! Love the French doors, too.
So much comfort and style in 576 sq. feet. Who'da a thunk it!
Nice to see an entry from middle America. I love the feel of it and the use of color mixed with natural wood. All but the bathroom, the marbled purple is a bit much.
I would live here in a minute. From the Jacuzzi to the bed in a flash. I like it.
...when spongepainting goes wrong. I hate that paint manufacturers tell people it's ok to do that to a wall...