Why We Chose Our House: Our New Lake Cabin

Today I’m sharing the details about the new lake cabin that we recently purchased including the before and progress pictures as well as the plans we have for changes to it.  

Yesterday I shared a LONG post all about the reasons that we sold our previous home on the lake and shared the reasons behind why we chose to purchase our new “forest” house when it came time to move.  I also shared that when we received two offers in the last week of our listing and had to make a final decision about whether to sell or not, that we had quite a few reasons we’d be considering moving into “town” for a while.

I would say that we had tossed around the idea every couple of months for at least two years before we finally made the leap.  Of course, we’d discuss it much more frequently during the cold, grey, dark winter months than during those glistening summer days on the lake!  What we really wanted was the best of both worlds:  a house located centrally enough in town that we were close to activities, school, and work in order to simplify our daily lives, and then a small home or cabin at the lake that we could enjoy with our family and friends during the summer months.  We weren’t sure how long it might be until the “right thing” came up, but then, about six weeks ago, a great new listing came on the market and we decided to take the plunge! Last month we closed on a lake property that is part of a small 8-unit development out at Sproat Lake.

Why we bought out new cabin:

  • It offers us the opportunity to enjoy the lake when we want to without all the responsibility of maintaining a second home. We will pay a strata fee that covers all the maintenance costs and exterior work.  With being in such a busy season of our lives with our boys, we felt like this was the best option for us right now.
  • Truthfully, the real estate market at the lake is quite expensive at the moment, so most older homes with independent property are priced higher than we were comfortable spending.
  • Each unit has quite a private feel because of the way they’ve been staggered on the property.  We also each have a boat slip and share a good sized beach and dock.
  • It’s a good size and we can easily share our space with one or more set of family or friends without feeling like we are stepping on each other’s toes.  I like the separation and privacy that having the two bedrooms upstairs from the master offers.
  • The thing I love about the cabin versus our home on the lake is that when you go there, you actually feel like you are on a getaway and can easily get into vacation mode.  In our home I would spend my morning (and even entire summer days) doing chores, cleaning,  household jobs, or tackling projects, whereas at the cabin that isn’t an option.  The entire point is to enjoy time off: take morning walks on the trails nearby, swim in the lake, soak up the sun on the dock, head out to explore in the boat, and shared relaxed leisurely summertime meals with friends and family.  It’s a great place for our little family to get away from the day to day and reconnect in one of our favourite places: the lake!

So, today I’m giving you a glimpse at our new lake cabin!

In the glimpse today, I’m sharing the realtor pictures, as we haven’t done a lot to change things.  It came furnished, and we have switched some things up and decorated a bit by adding art and accessories that I had saved from our old lake house, but nothing major is underway! I have tried to “slow my roll” and just enjoy our time out at the lake this summer.  There will be plenty of cold rainy days coming up this fall that we can use to paint and redecorate, right?!

So come on in….

The complex was built in 2007 and has a “west coast” feel with dark/warm colours and lots of cedar and fir trim throughout.  It reminds me a lot of the way that vacation cabins are designed in Whistler and Tofino.  It’s definitely not my usual east-coast beachy feel full of white and blue, though over time there are some major tweaks I have planned for the colour scheme.

The cabin came turnkey and fully furnished, and these pictures show it as we saw it before purchasing. We’ve moved a few things around and added a few new pieces as well as some of our lake house art and decor. I’ll discuss the things we’ve done so far as well as what I hope/plan to do over time as I go along with each picture.

For the time being we are using the table and chairs in the dining area, though they are in somewhat rough shape.  Three of the six chairs are held together with hockey tape at this point.  I think we will keep the table and paint the base of it to freshen it up.  I’ve also added some new blue and white curtains and changed out the art.  I plan to switch out the dining light fixture in the fall as well as get new chairs.  We brought in a jute rug that we already owned to ground the dining table and lighten up the dark slate floors a little.

I’ll definitely get some new glass shades for the pendant lights, and the stools are soon to be replaced as they are in quite rough shape.  One of them makes weird scary noises when you sit on it, and they all are losing chunks of their vinyl seat finish on a regular basis.

I know some of you may like to scream at me, but I definitely plan to spray the cabinets out in white.  They have faded over the years from the sun beaming in so they are pulling quite red/purple in colour and the lower cabinets are kind of scraped up in spots. I want all white. (Shocker, I know).  I would also love to add some white backsplash tile and am thinking about painting out the back of the bar area in blue (either dark navy or a wedgewood blue).

I like that the kitchen sink views out to the lake, even if it’s over the living room.  That was one of my favourite features in our old lake house – how the kitchen viewed out to the water.

We immediately flipped the couches so that the long sofa faces out the window looking at the lake, and tucked the love seat closer to the window wall.  It just makes sense to me that your sofa should look out at the water, right?  I don’t think that we will keep these sofas long term, but they definitely fit the bill for the moment.  I’m thinking of an Ektorp sectional in this space instead.

I also decorated the mantel and ordered a new rug and coffee table from Wayfair. The curtains have been taken down already and I’m planning to order some bamboo shades in a colour that works well with all the fir trim.  As much a I LOVE white trim, it would be a shame to paint all this high quality, beautiful fir.  I would like to go with Simply White on the walls and think the wood will add some cozy cabin warmth mixed with the white.  Not everyone in my family is on-board with the colour change… but we’ll see come the fall.

On the main floor there is a laundry closet and then a powder room to the one side.  The master bedroom is also located on the main floor with a full ensuite.

The master bedroom is huge!  It definitely feels dark, being on the back of the building, but it also stays nice and cool in the summer heat.  We’ve already brought in our own king sized bed and I’ll likely sell and replace the nightstands and dresser.  The wall colour will also definitely change; it feels quite heavy in real life mixed with the wood trim.  We’ll change out the lighting to something a bit more dramatic and with better light, and get new blackout curtains to stretch across both the door and the window.

The ensuite has a rain shower head, which is a fun feature, as well as a river rock base to the shower stall.  I haven’t really decided on changes in this space yet…

Upstairs are two more decent sized bedrooms as well as a full bathroom.  One bedroom was setup with two sets of bunk beds, and the other has a queen bed.  We’ve already switched the furnishings from one room to the other due to size and space.  This allowed us to create a bunk room with a bit more floor space by arranging the bunks in an L shape and still gave us a good queen sized guest room.  The boys LOVE their bunk room!  We’ve also installed some tall white blackout curtains in each room (that I found at Costco for $39.99 for the pair!).  The pine sleigh bed will be sold, as it is very large and takes up so much space, and we’ve ordered and setup an upholstered headboard in the queen guest room instead.

The main bathroom features the dark green/brown paint again.  We’ll see what happens in here… it’s fine for now!

We’ve kept the entry bench and I’ve hung a large wood round mirror above it, as well as added some baskets under it for shoe storage and brought in a jute entry rug.  We added a Hemnes console table with storage to the back of the love seat, and picked up a TV cabinet at Ikea that is sized more appropriately for the TV (which they left behind).  I also picked up a couple of wicker chairs from Ikea to add to the living room seating.

This complex is located not very far from our old house, so the view feels comfortable and familiar.  I love having the chance to enjoy it again!

Oh, and the reason for it all… the lake!

 

And, this week some of my blogging friends are also sharing the “stories” behind their homes and why they chose them!  I shared our “town” house yesterday.  Be sure to check out these other fun-to-read home stories.

Monday’s Homes

Why I Chose My Home Tour - Monday

Town and Country Living / Designthusiasm / StoneGable

Tuesday’s Homes

Why I Chose My Home Tour - Tuesday

The Happy Housie  /  The Wicker House  /  Sincerely Marie Designs

Why I Chose My Home Tour - Tuesday

It All Started with Paint  /  Maison de Cinq  /  Jennifer Rizzo

Wednesday’s Homes

Why I Chose My Home Tour - Wednesday

Worthing Court† /† The Happy Housie Cabin† /† Duke Manor Farm

Why I Chose My Home Tour - Wednesday

Robb Restyle† /† Shabbyfufu

 

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9 Comments

  1. I look forward to seeing what you do with it! I think white walls with the wood trim will have a really fun, Big Sur boho vibe to it. It’s a beautiful place and I’m glad you’re enjoying it!

  2. Hi Krista,
    I can’t wait to see how you transform this lovely cabin into your own style! I like the idea of Simply White with the fir trim. It’s worth a try and it might give the cabin a more “Scandinavian” look. If not, you can always decide to paint out the wood trim later. We just inherited a lake house in Ontario with oak trim everywhere! I think I’ll try painting the walls Simply White (I love that white) first before going all in with the Trim. Thanks for the idea.
    We’d like to move to BC eventually, and I like the sound of this complex. We’ll have to look into this type of set up. Ontario is too humid and has too many mosquitoes, and a short summer. I’m getting too old for all that. LOL Plus, I have a sister who’s been in BC for 30+ years and I’ve always envied the climate.
    Thanks for the inspiration!
    Tracey

  3. Dear Krista I think you are brilliant! I’ve been reading your Happy Housie for sometime now and love your tips and showing off your remodeling. I’ve been through many remodels and know what it’s like to live in it. Your new cabin at the lake is stunning! I so agree with the white cabinets. I think the white walls will brighten the space too. I would keep the wood trim as it is a cabin and these touches are not heavy as a wall of wood would be. The wood feel belongs to cabin feel it is right for its place.
    Thanks for your Happy Housie I really enjoy it. C in AZ

    1. Thank you Chris! I agree about the wood adding a cabin-y feel to it – I definitely will hold off on painting that though may lighten up the walls a little. Living through remodels is definitely a challenge at times, so I’m glad we won’t be living in the cabin this fall/winter as we work on it. And I’m glad to have the main part of our regular home JUST about done! Can’t wait to share the kitchen details…

  4. Krista, the cabin is fabulous!! I just love it and it sounds like you came up with the perfect solution for your family’s needs. I’m with you on the white cabinets, and as for the wood trim, while it is pretty, only keep it if you really love it. Imagine the freedom you would have to decorate if not tied to the scheme driven by the wood trim. It’s your house, so make your decisions based on what you really want, not what you think you *should* do… 😉 Either way you go, though, it’s truly beautiful!!

  5. What a gorgeous place to get away from it all! I love the exterior with the big windows! So cool. And the view of the lake with the mountain in the background is breathtaking. I know you’ll enjoy making many memories here. Thanks for sharing it, Krista!

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