Sally's Place Part 2 (Lake home update)

The weather cooperated beautifully this weekend in Texas.  My brother drove in from west Texas to meet our first grand child.  He and my sister stayed the day, and we didn't have to stay bundled under throws and blankets.  But, today is another day.  Wintry mix weather is headed our way, so I cannot work outdoors yet again.  My brother is staying at the lake house and wanted to re-roof a building that houses a water well, but it looks like his plans will be thwarted as well.

The year we began working on our lake home was the year fires burned savagely in Texas.  Many, many lost their homes around us, and we were lucky that our area was saved from the fires.  We have several pine trees lining the front of the property so any spark could have been disastrous.  We were spared.

As posted last time, the home was filled with junk that had to be removed before we could begin.  We found a retired firefighter who loaded it all and hauled it away to his church who in turn gave the goods to those whose homes were destroyed by fire. There were some items, however, I would like to have saved, but I was overruled by men who saw no beauty in the junk.  One such piece was a midcentury cone freestanding fireplace.  I thought we could use it outdoors, but mysteriously it vanished while I was gone.  I did manage to save the den mid century Ranch furniture and a sofa.  I purchased custom slip covers for the pieces, but decided not to paint as you will see in the pictures.  As with all home remodels, unseen expenditures left little room for decor, so I spent many hours perusing  Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart, TJ MAX, ROSS, JC Penney, antique stores, second hand stores, and my own home to finish the interior.  Also, to save money, I painted (with some help from daughter and daughter-in-law) the interior and exterior myself.  Every surface was painted three times.  My husband wanted to buy a professional paint sprayer, but I preferred to do it the old fashioned way.  That was my contribution to the project.

The first interior pictures I will post are of the living areas.  We expanded the opening between the two rooms, walled off an area in the den for a larger bathroom, and added french doors we salvaged from my brother's barn.  They were in excellent shape.  Note the late 60's and early 70's paneling and color scheme.

The living room was packed with furniture.  The only pieces I kept were the wooden dining room chairs, the table and the sofa.The brown cabinets in the upper right hand corner had to be removed because the service closet is behind them, and we had to replace the ac/heat and hot water heater housed in that closet.  There are two other entries to the closet, but none were large enough for the equipment to pass through.  Odd design.  The glass paned door is now the front door to the home.

 Notice the vintage stove on the right.  The door on the right leads to a small bathroom.  We extended the wall to create a much larger bathroom, so we could house a washer/dryer indoors, since we removed the outdoor wash house.The big window unseen on the left of the right picture was replaced with vintage french doors.

After:

We left one wall of paneling that I painted a silver gray.  (Next time I visit the lake house, I will jot down the paint colors and post.)  Shutters were a second hand find for $10.  Orange and blue pillows double as guest pillows.  The woven rug was a steal at Home Depot as was the JC Penney lamp sans new shad.  The frames house photos of our children as youngsters enjoying their Grandma Sally's.  I covered mats with  burlap from my son's wedding, and the frames are from a collection I keep in a closet.  The two antique tables (round and lamp table) belonged to my husband's parents. I love the light and shade dancing across the room in the right picture compliments of the unseen salvaged French doors.

The living room now serves as a dining room as well.  The table was one of a few purchases made specifically for the house. All other furniture including the footstools/extra seating belonged to family.  I made the drapes and the mason lights seen below.  The jars were my mothers.  We expanded the bar to add more seating and dining with a view of the lake.  (note the paned door moved to become the front door)  The bar is covered in stainless steel, the bar stools were a purchase and the hutch is a family piece.  I have made a few changes since these pictures were taken, so I will post new pictures later.

For my next post, I will share the before and after of the kitchen.  As in most updates, it typically is a more drastic change.

Until we meet again, stay warm!

Lana