The Cedar Loft - Update #1

The Cedar Loft.  Calling it the pool house/garage apartment just didn't seem adequate.  We discussed names for it like The Cabana (sounded too tropical) and Timbertop Retreat and more, but in the end we agreed on The Cedar Loft.  Cedar Loft to go with our Cedar Haven.  :)

Every spare moment on the weekends, and some week nights, Jason has been steadily working on this project, with Colt and my daddy helping on the weekends.  So I thought, I'd share an update on the progress.

The covered porch is complete.  Yay!  It's so nice to sit under the fans perched high above the pool and watch the kids (if we're not in the pool or if there's no shady spot on the lower pool deck).  We still have some staining to do there, but for the most part, it is done!

Looking inside, you probably can't see the progress.  But it's there!  Well, maybe you can if I show you a couple of before pictures.

This end is becoming the kitchen, laundry room & bathroom.

And this end is the bedroom/living area.

The framing is done for the bathroom and laundry room.

The bathroom is tucked into the corner where one dormer window is located. 

The plumbing and electrical is in place now.  That's not anything pretty, but necessary.  :)

We've bought the tub/shower unit and it's in place, as well as the hot water heater.

The framing for the kitchen bar and countertop defines the small kitchen space.

Over here will be the open loft or studio style bedroom area.  It has closets on both sides tucked into the knee walls.

This area will be the small living room area.

Tucked behind here is storage space (for all our tubs of seasonal decor), and more.  To the front of that door, is room enough for a table and chairs.

This week, Jason is on vacation (a work-at-home vacation) and my Uncle Jesse is coming from Alabama for them to put in our a/c and heat unit (Uncle Jesse is a retired a/c and heating man). Joy helped Jason mix and lay the concrete pad for the outside a/c unit.

Hopefully at the end of the week, the insulation will go in also.  

Then comes the part where I will be helping more - the ceiling, walls, floor, painting, cabinets, countertops and then the really fun part.........decorating.  :)

It's coming together though.  It probably comes as no big surprise that the decor will be rustic/primitive/ country style. 

We're trying to do this as low budget as possible, searching out the most cost effective approach for each step.

Here's the plan:

The ceilings will be corrugated tin.  For the interior walls, we will be using exterior knotty barnside masonite siding (with cedar stain).

For the flooring, we decided to go with vinyl since it will be used as a pool house.  Although it probably wouldn't have been my first choice, it will hold up well to the water and we liked the price.  We found this rustic one at a local surplus warehouse.  I love the look of it with its wide planks and knotty holes!

A little closer view

Jason is going to build wooden countertops.  I was inspired by a couple of my bloggin' friends' homes and again, we liked the price of it.  That's alot of wood but guess what!  I get painted cabinets in here!  Yay!  We'll get contrast with the cabinets.  We're leaning toward using the distressed color of the TV cabinet in our bedroom.

Oh and here's the really ambitious part of the plan.....we'd like to have it all done by Labor Day.  Are you laughing?  My daddy did.  So we'll just have to see how far off we are!  :)

And there you have it......update #1.....and the plan.  I'll share again when we get a little further along.  Hopefully we'll have a productive week!

And I'll leave you with a snapshot I captured from the porch of The Cedar Loft yesterday evening.  I thought it was pretty with the sun going down.

    

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!  :)