“We can start the demolition a week from Monday”, he said. My heart jumped into my throat! A week! Oh my gosh I thought, I’m not ready! Not ready even though we have spent several months preparing and gathering supplies, choosing new kitchen cabinets, tile, flooring, paint colors, and appliances. But, I cannot really believe it is actually going to happen after all that planning! And now! Calm down, I told myself. We will be ready. We’ve been through this before and have two full weekends to pack up the kitchen, pantry, and bath. Plenty of time, don’t you think?
This is our cabin near the coast, about 2 miles north of Fort Bragg, CA. What’s going to happen? We are upgrading the kitchen, bath, and flooring. At least that is the part you will see. We’ve already replaced the insulation in the attic, upgraded the heating system, installed propane lines for the new gas cooktop, and purchased a backup generator. It gets messy up here on the coast when winters are stormy, power outages are common.
Stage two will be a new addition with another bedroom and bath, but we won’t start that project until we are recovered from this one, possibly later this summer or even next year. We want the cabin to be welcoming to family and friends who visit and want to stay longer than a couple of days.
I know after living with previous remodels that I soon forget what the house “used to” look like. There are many wonderful and happy memories tied up with the old look. So, to ensure I remember (and because I enjoy all of your posts with the before-during-after remodel pictures), here are a few of the “old” kitchen.
This is the before.

Fridge and stove wall

Island sink and dishwasher

Pantry with pocket door entrance
And the bath:
That sunken tub is a danger to us all, especially anyone recovering from an injury or who is disabled in any way. And the window is just to the right of the front door, giving any casual visitor a birds eye view directly into the bath! To hide the view there is a wooden screen outside the window, but it blocks the light. We will replace it with something less transparent and tear down the screen.
Front entry of the cabin:

Fort Bragg front entry
It is always filled with a messy mix of boots and shoes from the garden and beach.
We plan to keep the fireplace.

Fireplace
And the dogs.
But not the carpet or the tile.

Casey, Quinn and awful green carpet, magnet for dog hair
Stay tuned.
Good luck!!!
I second that, it will be our turn soon..
I am looking forward to seeing your before and after pictures!
The photo of the bath is not coming up on my screen, but we have a sunken bath near a window and my solution is a roller blind of a high tech material that, when rolled down, lets in the light but is opaque from the outside. When up, it is a very discreet aluminum tube. So you can have light and view when not naked, and privacy when you need it! It’s an idea. The cabin will be lovely when done. Good luck!
Hello, and thank you for visiting. Unfortunately the window measure 4 feet by 6 feet and the tub is a regular bathtub sunk into the floor (1970’s style). We plan to pull out the tub and put in a walk in shower. Replace the window (just ordered it yesterday) with one that has a pattern you cannot easily see through. We didn’t want to make a lot of changes to the exterior of the house so we are going to use one the same size with a smaller awning type opening above a fixed pane. Stay tuned for pictures.
Love before and after pictures…how very exciting to have it all just like you want it. It’s coming along beautifully, just lovely!
Thank you! We are currently making the final decision on paint colors. Who knew it would be so difficult? I will post decisions as they happen.