Our Cabin Make-Over: The After Photos! (Upstairs Bath / Entry Way / Mid-Level Mud Room and Wet Bar)

Picking up where I left off to share photographs of our recent lake cabin remodel (see before and after photos of the living room, dining room and kitchen here)...

Quite possibly my favorite outcome of the entire cabin remodel is the upstairs bathroom and funny enough, that project was actually a last-minute add-on. Andi and I had intentions of updating the bathroom with the rest of interior, of course, but we'd planned to save it for a later date. What we quickly learned once work began in the interior of our lake cabin, is that construction dust would be everywhere and we didn't love the idea of enduring the mess twice. We also realized the bathroom would stick out like a sore thumb once every other room in the upstairs level was updated so in the 11th hour of construction, we added it to our project scope.

One aspect that made the renovation process run smoothly is how similar of taste Andi and I share. For us, it's something like "yep, yep, nope ... yep." We know what we like; we make a decision and move forward. There isn't a lot of negotiating from either side.

Andi and I both agreed the main objective in the bathroom renovation should be to enlarge the shower. Previously, the shower was a hexagonal shape and I hated the way my elbows touched the sides while showering. It was also bone-colored with frosted glass and spoke of its dated 90's installation. I'm not sure what, if anything, was in the empty space beside the shower stall previously but it seemed logical to extend the shower across the entire back wall of the bathroom to make it feel more open. We selected a gray slate tile for the shower walls, as well as the flooring in the bathroom. It's difficult to tell from the photographs, but there is a clear wall of glass that separates the shower and the toilet. Andi was adamant about putting in a river rock floor in the shower, and it does add a nice touch of natural landscape to the bathroom. Now, showering feels as if we're vacationing at a luxurious spa retreat. It's heavenly!

Upstairs Bathroom - BEFORE / AFTER

Andi sourced a cabinet builder to create a custom bathroom vanity. The top surface is skip sawn barn wood with a lacquered clear protective finish and a dark wood base. We added river rock pulls to the cabinet drawers, and selected a white bowl sink and coordinating toilet. The contractor also framed in the existing mirror to match the dark pine trim we carried from the rest of the cabin's interior throughout the bathroom.  

An entry way connects the upstairs and downstairs (added onto the cabin in the late 1990's) to the middle level (the original portion of the cabin built in the 1980's). Moving downward from the upstairs level, Andi and I sheet-rocked the alcove above the stairway previously plagued with faded sun-spots. Once again, the white sheetrock helped break up the monotony of all the blond-colored knotty pine wood. We also replaced the cut-out tree railing detail with black metal beams and extended the stairway railing so it could accommodate a baby gate. Previously there were two steps before the railing began which made the stairway somewhat unsafe and unable to accommodate a baby gate.

Stairway - BEFORE  

 Stairyway - AFTER

In the entry way between the stairway and the middle-level, we sheet-rocked the main wall and painted it Benjamin Moore White Dove to match the upstairs, replaced the front door and large closet doors, and continued the dark bamboo flooring from the upstairs level.

Entryway - BEFORE

Entryway - AFTER

The middle-level is the largest pass-through area of the cabin with a door to the attached garage on one side of the room and a patio door to the backyard on the other side. The kids' bedrooms and a wet bar are also located here.

Middle-Level - BEFORE (June 2013)

We painted the middle-level cabinets the same color as the upstairs kitchen (Benjamin Moore Newburg Green) and updated the laminate countertops to granite over the summer of 2014. We also removed the existing carpet and had the concrete floor beneath stained a bronze color, hoping it'd stand well to wet feet to and from the lake and foot traffic from the garage entrance.

Middle-Level (September 2014)

Except, Andi and I secretly hated the stained floor. The concrete didn't absorb sound, so noises made upstairs echoed right into the children's bedrooms on this level. The floor was easy to clean and didn't show much dirt, but it looked like dirt half the time. So while under construction in other parts of the cabin, we decided to complete this room the way we wanted it. The bamboo wood flooring placed upstairs and in the entry way wasn't a suitable option since the middle-level meets wet and soiled feet from the lake and the attached garage, so Andi and I selected a wood grain porcelain tile for the flooring in this room. Its gray color compliments the dark bamboo flooring elsewhere and is easy to maintain.

The cabinet builder who created the upstairs bathroom vanity was also hired to install custom wood storage cabinets in the largest corner of the middle-level. We use this room like a mud-room as we most often access the cabin through the garage entrance, and now's there a place for each family member to store coats, hats, mittens, shoes and bags in an organized way. We also added a bench next to the garage entrance for cabin guests to sit and remove their shoes upon arrival and replaced the middle-level trim with the same dark wood as other parts of the cabin.        

Middle-Level - AFTER

This concludes our cabin's remodeling projects ... for now! Andi and I have plans to update the basement level, backyard deck and outdoor siding in the future, but for now are beyond thrilled with the results of the upstairs and middle-level renovations.

Our Cabin Make-Over: The After Photos! (Living Room / Dining Room / Kitchen)

Our lake cabin renovations are now complete, and I'm excited to share the final results! I'm not sure if others will be as WOW'd by the changes as Andi and I are, but to us the transformation is truly breathtaking. As in, every single time we're at the cabin now, one of us stops dead in our tracks and says, "Oh my gosh, I love it here." It's crazy to dream up a plan for renovation, source the materials and contractors to complete the work, then see the results come to life before your very eyes.

Before I get to the "after" photos, let me touch on our design plan. As I shared in the "before" post, the entire interior of the cabin is a blond-colored knotty pine wood. Knotty pine walls, ceilings, cabinetry, furnishings; you name it. The knotty pine wood had faded in several spots so Andi and I were forced to get creative in finding ways to mask the blemishes while still preserving the rustic feel of the lake cabin. We weren't big fans of the blond color of wood to begin with, so we looked for ways to break up the monotony.

Andi and I considered painting the wood, sheet-rocking some or all of the walls, or taking down the knotty-pine wood walls altogether. Though, it seemed like a shame to cover and/or remove perfectly good wood. In the end, we opted to remove the existing blond-colored trim throughout the entire cabin interior and replace it with a darker and wider trim board. We hoped this would give the interior spaces the visual contrast they so desperately needed.

Living Room - BEFORE

Living Room - AFTER

We rearranged the upstairs layout to include a bigger dining area and changed the living room's focus from the built-in entertainment center to the fireplace. To accomplish this, we removed the existing carpet and replaced it with dark-colored bamboo floors to match the dark trim. We separated the living room from the dining room by adding carpet around the fireplace which helped designate the two different spaces. One weekend afternoon, Andi and I literally took a role of masking tape and "sectioned off" various parts of the room to visualize the new layout. It came together perfectly; the wood floors and the new furniture layout make the space feel bigger and more inviting, and the carpet around the fireplace gives the living room a nice, cozy feeling.

In the process, Andi and I also had the built-in entertainment center removed to make way for more living room seating. We didn't want a television in the main living space, so the built-in entertainment center was dead space to us. There wasn't knotty pine behind the built-in, so we decided to sheet-rock a portion of the living room to break up the monotony of the other wood walls and painted it white (Benjamin Moore White Dove, to be exact) to contrast the dark floors, trim and furnishings.

In the dining room area, we removed the original knotty-pine breakfast nook and replaced it with a large wood table that seats eight people. One of our biggest complaints about the old table was how cramped it was entertaining friends and family. Our new table is much more functional for our lifestyle. When removed, the breakfast nook table left behind a large faded sunspot on the walls it touched. Andi and I added a dark-colored wainscoting with barn-wood detail over the faded spot.

Dining Room - BEFORE

Dining Room - AFTER

We added a fun, unique light fixture about the dining room table. I love how the modern look of the Edison light bulbs compliment the rustic wagon-wheel wood base.

Andi and I completed the kitchen renovation in several phases. During Summer 2014, we replaced the laminate countertops with granite. Around the same time, we also selected a rugged stone back-splash, updated the appliances and sink to stainless-steel, and installed a dishwasher. After much contemplation, we decided to breathe new life into the existing cabinets by painting them a bold blue color (Benjamin Moore Newburg Green). Painting the cabinets seemed like the right option since they were still in good condition, and we liked how the blue color mimicked the lakefront. Finally, the dark wood floors were added at the same time as the living room and dining room.

Kitchen - BEFORE

  
Kitchen - AFTER

We removed the existing rock on the kitchen bar and carried the dark-wood wainscoting over from the dining area to create a cohesive feel between the two spaces. 

Perhaps one of my favorite details of the kitchen is the circular divided metal shelf we added to store bar glasses and bottles of wine. It brings in a modern edge amongst the rustic wood.

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So, that's the upstairs of our lake cabin remodel (minus the upstairs bathroom, which I'll detail in another post). Andi and I are absolutely in love with the changes. So much so, we have an even-harder time leaving the lake to go back home.  

Coming up: "After" photos of the upstairs bath, entry way and mid-level bar area. Stay tuned!