Let's make a bedroom / Part 1

Six years into our little farm renovation and it's finally time for Stuart and I to turn our attention to our "bedroom suite" - that is, the 600 square foot basement of our cottage. I say basement but honestly, I hate using that word. I think of a dark, dungy, uninspiring space when I think of a basement. And bugs. I think of bugs. This room is not that. At least, it won't be once we're finished with it.

Currently, there’s a huge door that opens out to the backyard and pond, along with a really large window that overlooks the lake, the orchard, and our small wildflower meadow. It also has a beautiful wood burning fireplace. For a daylight basement (let's call it "the lower floor of the cottage" shall we?) it's pretty swanky. At least, it will be once we're finished with it.

It's currently a disaster. But let's not focus on that.

We've saved for what seems like for-ev-er for this renovation and even once the money was in hand (VICTORY!), the supply of lumber and contractors willing to do something with it were not (DEFEAT!). Doing it ourselves wasn't really an option: there were permits to get approved, architects to consult, a sewage pump and new water tank to install, tons of electrical work to move, concrete to pour, and dryers to vent. This is not a simple project.

In fact, when Stuart and I decided to finally invest in this project, his only stipulation was that he wouldn't have to touch the project himself. (I can't blame the guy. We haven't stopped in years. This was way too big of a bite to chew.)

Now we've still got the money.

Now we've got the general contractor to help us.

Now let's make a bedroom!

Please note: I’m sharing this bedroom project almost exclusively with my paid newsletter subscribers. After years of being thrashed around in the criticism of the online blogging world, our paid newsletter (just $5/month) has proven to be enough to keep a lot of the crazy that makes blogging very un-fun at bay. There will be a lot to come as we continue this project that I’m very excited to share!