A year ago this weekend, we took a large leap of faith. In that year, every fear I've had of cottage livings has come true. And the great news....we lived! (This picture is our first weekend at Big Star.)
When we decided to buy on Big Star, the need for decision came fast. And the process went slow. This is similar to what happened with us when we went to level the floors. We had planned to lift the subfloor and repair 1-2 joists, then re-carpet and call it good. March 17th, Max went up to do his exploratory so that during the week of Spring Break, he'd have a good plan of what lie ahead. A few weekends leading up to Spring break and we had a good plan after lots of research. Then came April fools day, the first day of Spring break and everything changed. Termites. Things went from manageable to chaos in a few short hours.
So as previously mentioned, the pace of things changed from manageable, to us having to make snap decisions on one of the biggest investments of our lives. The damage extended to exterior walls. That meant that to repair things, we had a structure exposed to the elements and animals. We had saved some money for a screened porch, but soon everything was in question. In a few short weeks, we found the most amazing contractor (who was as overwhelmed and shocked as we were when he walked in on April 9th and saw that we had completely removed the subfloor and were in the process of replacing all the structural beams in the floor).
Somehow in just under 5 months, we went from a 25x25 shack to a cottage that will serve the needs of our family for years to come. I don't think we had could have done it so fast and so well if we been given a year to plan things. The time from discovery to tonight has been a blur, scary and fun all at the same time. But also very gratifying.
We've had just a handful of weekends off. And during the week, much of our time has been spent purchasing materials, researching, painting cabinets, purchasing light fixtures, and tracking contractors. In between, Max has run football camps and started his season, while living at the cottage Wed-Sun all summer long so he could work. I've been trying to stack photography shoots in between to raise money while also working and keeping the rhythm of the summer for our littles. Regardless, we feel like it will be so worth it come next summer when we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.
The shocking discoveries included a vertebra, prohibition liqueur, a can of spam and a few other treasures. The remains were more exciting than the termites. The good news is that we got to finally pull down all of the ugly 1960s panel board that covered every square inch of the place.
Contrasting views of the same kitchen corner before we started and today. We closed an entrance to a bedroom to allow more counter space and for us to install open shelving (soon I hope.) The left wall around the sink will be subway tile.
A good look at restoring the structure. This is mosty views of the kitchen. The top picture is under the window (which has not changed location in the rebuild).
For the first few months of ownership, I'd sit in the kitchen and wonder what was behind the tiles. My dreams came true once we discovered the beam work. We spent hours, restructuring the beams to be structurally sound (because they were not) painting and spraying the ceiling white. But it was worth it!
This weekend we got the butcher block counters cut and fit and the sink dry fit. We're weeks away from a complete kitchen, I think. I've learned not to measure time and just take things minute by minute. Camping in a construction site with two small kids has taught me that.
For a long while, the wall between the old space (our responsibility) and the new space (our contractor's responsibility to frame and side) was separated by the exterior wall and door. The last week of school, Max's dad came to visit and they connected the two spaces by removing all the old wall and framing a 14 foot opening. By father's day we had windows and doors installed. It was then that we started staying in the space permanently. Until then, some dear friends loaned us their place from April - June on the weekends. Without them, I don't know what we'd have done since some weekends it was snowing and 30ยบ. Max liked it though since he did not sweat :)
Once the two spaces connectect, Max insulated the place and helped the electrician wire through the old roof (long story but there is a separate roof system STILL INSIDE our old cottage over the kitchen that we had to restructure and move the bracing on so that the ceilings could be higher.) We now have three sleeping spaces: The reclaimed front room (4 people) the kids room (3 people) and our sleeping loft (that should be sleeping 2, but is sleeping 3 since Elise has pneumonia and needs to sleep close to the newly installed air conditioner/heater.)
We did hire out or drywall and we're so glad we did, especially on the tall runs of the new addition. Then Max and I moved into our areas of "expertise." Max building the handrail out of reclaimed barn wood and me painting every inch.
The bathroom was a last minute decision to pursue, but shows the most dramatic change. Previously the bathroom was very small and the ceilings were only 6 ft 6 inch due to a hidden roof. Since it was such a task and we were overwhelemed, we originally thought we'd do it in another phase. Then, we looked around and figured, what's one more bombMax restructured the entire roof and now the ceiling is nearly 9 foot! We also claimed 2 feet from the front room (see below) so that the space could have a "real" vanity....which is actually an old buffet that came with the cottage. It's on it's way.
I was determined to keep the old parts of this place to the best of our ability. In fact, we chose the red color because many of the original structures from 100 years ago were red. Thus, Little Red is what she's called. The front room had been an awkward sitting room that was the only passage to the bathroom. Once we changed the floor plan, we could close up the wall, give away 2 feet of the space and turn it into a bunk room that will sleep 4. Since it formerly had been an outside porch, the original exterior siding was still exposed. But when we closed up doorways to accommodate a sliding barn door entrance, we had to rebuild the wall and rebuild it with scraps from every room we had dismantled. It was like a giant puzzle, but I love the way it turned out. Next up is building the barn door.
What had been our bedroom is now an exterior exit and mudroom. We also now enter the kids room and the bathroom from the space. Eventually it will be an exit to the outdoor shower, shed and grill area. But that's next summer. The ceilings here were also raised by 2 feet. (The old ceiling had come straight across from the lowest point of the ceiling pictured above. So just 2 inches above the door frame.)
We look back on this past few months and feel tired. But we also feel exceptionally proud. I hope this place will be a family home for generations to come and that our kids realize that we've done this for them and our family. We're SO grateful to everyone that has walked beside us through this crazy. I cannot tell you how many people have helped us in big and small ways. Too many to mention here. The good news is that we finally got hot water this weekend, so half the favors we were asking for (showers) are now unneeded!
These are the pics I look at when I'm over all of this. The beauty of Big Star is not lost on us! Here's to getting flooring....our last hurdle for this year.
Much love,
Courtney, Max, Ryan and Elise
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