Things have been a little quieter than usual around the cabin lately, and it’s for the absolute best reason possible: we have family visiting! One of our sons is currently visiting us from Vietnam, so we’ve intentionally slowed down our work pace to soak up quality time with him and the rest of our family. We got together for a sundae bar (and a special mango Filipino cake made by yet ANOTHER son) to celebrate my mom’s birthday and we are in the midst of planning a cookout to celebrate my father-in-laws 90th!
While we spent time at the cabin with our son, we were able to sneak in a few incredibly satisfying DIY wins. Here is what’s been happening around the cabin this week—including a major breakthrough on how we are preserving the history of the old cabin!
1. The Hidden Loft Nook is Officially Drywalled! 🤫
If you follow us on social media, you might have seen our latest video update! We finally got the drywall up inside our quirky storage nook in the upstairs bathroom. It was a massive puzzle trying to drywall all of those angles and the plumbing and electrical lines, but it is looking more like an actual space now.
The fun part? We realized this nook can actually be accessed from both the bedroom and the bathroom. Now we wonder whether we will make it a secret pass-through or a private closet—stay tuned!
2. Giving Our Little Shed a Solid Foundation 🪵
We also tackled an outdoor upcycling project. The property came with a small shed, but it desperately needed a solid, flat surface to sit on.
We had salvaged wood we kept from the original front deck. Originally we thought we would use those boards as rustic feature walls, but they are serving a better purpose than that now! We used those to build a perfect, flat deck area for the shed (and our garden hose). Not only did we save some money, but it feels so good knowing that pieces of the old cabin’s history are being repurposed into highly functional parts of our new setup. (I forgot to take an after picture so that will have to wait-it’s finished…I promise;))
3. The Salvaged Window Guestbooks: My Favorite Project Yet 🖼️❤️
For over a year, I’ve been holding onto some old windows we salvaged from the original cabin, absolutely determined to find the perfect use for them. Well, I finally figured it out, and it is more special than I ever could have imagined.
Here is what we are doing:
- The Frame (For the New): I cleaned up the old window frames. Last summer, before the cabin was built, I painted some left others beautifully rustic and unpainted. They’ve been sitting around waiting to be needed.
- Signatures: I wanted our guests to sign their names in the cabin to continue the tradition that the old church camp campers started but, I wasn’t sure where or how that would take place. That’s where those windows became the perfect pieces! Our first three official guests have signed their names and dates directly onto the wooden frames!
- The Glass Panes (For the Old): We are using the clear window panes as picture frames. Inside the panes, I have placed some printed images of the original, historic signatures that were left on the old cabin walls. I will be adding more, but tried a few to see how they would look.
These windows are going to be hung as artwork on the walls upstairs in our loft and guest bedrooms. It’s a literal window into our cabin’s past, combined with a living guestbook as the history continues.
What do you think?
I am in love with how these windows are turning out, and we can’t wait to watch them fill up with signatures of the people we love over the coming years.
How would you style these windows in a guest room? How would you style the secret nook? And do you have any clever upcycling projects you’ve done recently? Let us know in the comments below!
