Iowa weather has not been ideal for installing new window and door packages into our A-frame cabin in the hills. As a matter of fact, a tree near the cabin fell inches from the big sliding doors, almost demolishing them. Thankfully, the weather subsided enough for our window installers to do their thing, and get the biggest windows installed.

These made a huge difference to the esthetic already! We opted for a sliding glass door package due to the lack of space inside the cabin and outside on the patio. We did not want to worry about which way the door would swing on a French door package. I am so happy with our decision. Sliding glass doors have evolved and offer so many modern/sleek options. The door packages we chose have a very thin industrial frame and let in the most natural light! Sometimes function takes precedence when making important decisions like door packages. I’m so glad we thought about those inconveniences while making our decision, the doors couldn’t be more perfect for the space.

It is hard to tell in the pictures, but we went with a black metal frame for all window and door packages. It looks so sharp and blends into the dark wood tones of the cabin. We were in dire need of new windows and doors as the large windows had been broken and allowing weather, bugs, and critters into our living space. If you are new here, take a cabin TOUR HERE. Now that these window and door packages are buttoning up our cabin, we are able to move on with refinishing floors and setting our cabinets in the kitchen.

Things are going to start taking shape very quickly over here, I hope! Make sure to stop back for all the progress!

Welcome! Don’t bother taking your shoes off. Come on in! Can you tell we like a project?

Our first floor consists of a living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The first floor has given us a fair share of problems to solve. Usually, I love solving problems like these. But given the size of the cabin, there is not much room for any easy solutions.

problem number one

The stairs to the basement are located in the middle of the living room, which is not ideal. They are also pretty hard to navigate, considering the railings have been cut off and you need to bend completely in half to avoid hitting your head on the way down. After a lot of deliberation, the stairs have to stay in the middle of the living room due to floor joists, but we plan on adding a railing to each side of the staircase and rotating the stairs to avoid hitting your head on the way down.

Problem number two

The ladder to the loft is also in the middle of the living room and makes the little lofted area feel like a feat to reach the top. We have a couple solutions we would like to try. We have looked into everything from fold up staircases to cutting a new entrance and creating a less intimidating ladder situation. Stay tuned to see what we decide.

our Basement

The basement has two doors to the outside. I’d like to close in those doors and put built in closets in their place. We are very lacking in storage space so two closets will be a great addition. Since we lost two outside doors, I’d like to replace them by putting sliding glass doors in place of the windows.

Bathroom and utility room

This space needs the absolute most TLC. When I look at this room, I see countless problems, but I can’t wait to tackle them. The biggest feat is finding enough space for everything in this little room (there is also a water heater that is not pictured). We ran into similar problems while building the grain bin cabins at the RV park, and we were very happy with how they turned out. We are going to start by adding some drywall and a few more light fixtures.

outdoor underground patio

One thing we have been able to tackle this fall was reinforcing our outdoor patio. This will be a fun space for an outdoor TV and furniture. This is one of Zach’s favorite spots, he’s put a lot of time and effort into this little area so I’m hoping it lives up to his expectations.

We made over Zach’s home office a few years ago, and it is still one of my favorite places! Aside from the paint and wallpaper, it was a very simple project! The room consists of mostly family heirlooms, second-hand finds, and furniture we already had.

Saving time and money

I do like the challenge of reusing things. That may be because of my impulsive nature to want to get a project done immediately but it also saves us a lot of money! I don’t want to wait that 7-10 business days for things to be delivered, and I don’t necessarily love to spend hours putting things together. I feel like shopping from my home is a very quick and inexpensive way to get the project done. In fact, all of the furniture in this room were pieces we already had that needed a new home (they were all things I could lug up the stairs myself). The library table is one of my favorites. You can tell it’s been through a lot! I love that so many years later it is still serving the same purpose.

Meaningful decor

The shelves are filled with mostly family heirlooms. It means a lot to me that my family trusts me with these. There are military photos of my Uncle, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa that had a permanent home in my Grandma’s basement growing up. They not only make me think of them but also take me back to my Grandma’s basement, one of the best places in the world.

Similar links

Antique Desk lamp option / Similar Storage baskets / Masculine Framed Art Option / Rattan lamp shades / flower pot / black floor lamp

Before view

Here is a before view of the office. It definitely served its purpose as bedroom/office space.

We bought an A-frame cabin in the Loess hills; fall of last year. It was so cute how motivated and hopeful we were to get the ball rolling and the renovation done. We were dreaming of having Christmas in the hills, and a pretty retreat to break up the monotonous of winter. It was only after meeting with the first contractor that we realized that dream was extremely unrealistic. As a matter of fact, the cabin has sat at a standstill since November waiting on windows and doors. However, we are super hopeful that once the windows and doors are in it will be a downhill sprint from there.

The cabin is only about 20 minutes from home. The short jaunt is very ideal because our son Jace is involved in every sport all year long. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for traveling or vacations. We hope to hike, explore, and just enjoy our time out in completely different scenery.

Where do we Start?

Here are two pictures of the view of the kitchen/entry room area. When I get some ideas in my head about how I’d like to change any space, I like to put them on paper. I love to have an idea what things would look like before implementing them. This gives me a better idea of what whether I’d like to use the ideas or pitch them. With that said I am not an artist, or a designer. You may have to look close to translate what I’m trying to show you; but I am excited to make these changes!!

As you can see, I did not splurge for a high-end sketch book. It is always whatever my kids have lying around, but it does the trick.

This is how I picture our finished kitchen/entry way. Of course this is not exact, there will be plenty of changing our minds along the way. The drawing just gives us a good start! That includes adding a fireplace to the wall facing our living room. (A very small bathroom is on the other side of the wall) We would like to find a charcoal stone to wrap the fireplace; and continue with the stone around the corner and into the kitchen as a backsplash. We will be adding a larger window in the kitchen as well as a different door package. The cabinets we chose are a dark gray/blue that really compliments the warmer tone of the wood in the cabin. They will wrap around the kitchen and angle out towards the living room giving an island type feel. We plan on adding a new standard stove and fridge. (Those are currently undecided) But that is about all for the kitchen! Would you guys like to see finishes and materials? And would you like to see plans for the rest of the cabin?!

We chose to incorporate this fireplace in our home because it belonged to someone we love (Zach’s Grandma Jody). I could see where it might be a little controversial to paint something so cherished but just knowing Jody and the type of person she was, I felt like I had her blessing.

The fireplace started off as a yellow oak color that just fell short. It clashed with the wood tones already in the room. Luckily, I had some leftover paint from our Grain Bin Cabins at the RV park and it just so happen to be my favorite rich brown color called Van Buren Brown from Benjamin Moore.

No Sanding Required

Not many supplies are needed for this project. All of these are available at the paint section at Home Depot. The Paint cup is not needed, a simple Solo cup will do the trick. I will say paintbrushes make a huge difference, and I haven’t tried a Wooster Paint brush I didn’t like. The shorty is my favorite.

Because I used a high-quality paint with paint AND primer, I did not have to sand the wood. I did a deep clean on the fireplace beforehand using an all-purpose cleaner and rag. I allowed the wood to dry all the way before painting.

This was the exact paint I used. I had the Van Buren Brown color matched at Home Depot and used their One Coat Paint and Primer in the Satin. It is always worth it to get the good quality paint, it saves so much time and frustration in the long run. I used maybe one quarter of the gallon after putting two very light coats on the fireplace, making sure to give plenty of drying time in between.

Very light coats were the key to preventing flakes in the future. The first coat will almost be transparent, just to get the paint to adhere to the wood. Use your judgment as far as how many coats. I believe this project took two coats, and of course a few touch ups. But just like that, we have a statement piece. Happy Painting.