Sunday, August 19, 2012

Treehouse Update!

It's been about 3 months, so I figured it's time for an update on the Treehouse!  We have been busy busy bees this summer with travel and weddings and work and blah...but we have still managed to spend about 2 weekends a month up in our new little weekend getaway (or our "Chalet" as my mom likes to call it).

I think the last time I talked about the Treehouse, I had some quilts on the way...and I'm excited to say that we've made some great progress since then!  Get ready, this will shock and amazing you...

(okay...maybe not, but you can play along and pretend to be shocked and amazed):

First - progress on our living room.  Just to remind you, here's what we were working with...

Before:
The puppy is the cutest thing about this picture...
And after:

We hung some curtains and blinds (although you can't really see the blinds), got rid of the terrible light fixtures, added a few "mountain-theme" inspired pillows and, our pride and joy, hung some antique skis on the wall.  Overall, we are super excited about how cozy this room feels.

For the record - my design inspiration is "retro/vintage 1970's ski lodge".  I'm still working out what, exactly, that means, but that's the beauty of design - as long as we like it, it works  =)

And now, on to the loft!

We have probably made the most progress up here, and we still have quite a bit of work to do, but it's coming along...

Don't remember what the loft used to look like?  Thank goodness!  Here are a few reminders...
As you can see, there is ZERO privacy from the living room in the loft.  After our first few overnight guests, Marc and I knew this was something we wanted to fix, pronto!  Here's what we came up with... 
 We added some panels so you can keep the space open, but still have some privacy when you need it.  We're really excited with how this turned out!

Not fully impressed with the loft?  Check out some other things we did...here's what we started with...

Before:
 It is very clear a boy lived here before.  Not a single concern for guest comfort, just cram as many people up there as possible!  Our first task was rearranging some furniture, and then we turned this into a fun little nook for our overnight guests =)
Ah, yes.  Case in point - the mattress on the floor...
And after: 
Furniture rearranged and you can see that you gain a lot of privacy with those curtains.  We also added a mirror to make the upstairs a little more functional for the ladies =)

 And seriously - who wouldn't want to sleep in this beautiful bed?
Care to see what those privacy panels are covering up?

Here's the before...
And after:
 We hung a thermal panel over the skylight since we learned that it gets extremely hot up in the loft at night.  I can't even imagine what it was like for people to sleep up there with this thing open!
Here you can see just how exposed the loft is to the downstairs.  After our first few overnight guests, we knew we needed to figure out a way to make it a little more private and comfortable up there.  The Treehouse is not very big, so any way we can streeetch the square footage, we're happy to try it!

And finally, just a couple quick shots of some fun "personalization" projects we've completed in the kitchen...
That sign on the wall says "Marc and Nicole's Treehouse" - a gift from Marc's parents!
Coca Cola and Heinz signs - little pieces of Atlanta and Pittsburgh =)  I love the Coke box - a gift from Annie!
And a fun project I completed (with the help of my artsy friend!) for our bedroom.  We bought a vintage "Arapahoe Basin" poster at an antique mall, and I was on a quest to get it framed in the cheapest way possible.  When I found out the framing and matting would be gulp over $700 (for a $20 poster?!  No way!!!), I was on a quest to get it framed on the mega cheap.

So...I went to TJ Maxx and bought a weird framed picture of  boat, took out the stock photo, and put in my poster!  Voila!  Looks like it was always meant for that frame =)
I love it!
Master bedroom - new blinds and the poster.
It's kind of difficult to make a picture of a wall look good...but you get the idea =)

And there you have it!  The fruits of our labor over the summer.  We've tried to find a balance between enjoying the space and finishing projects here and there, since we don't want our weekend trips to be all work and no play.

I've learned that being a homeowner warrants a never-ending wish-list, so I'm thankful that we've been able to hold ourselves to realistic expectations - we know that there will always be work to do, so we're taking each project piece by piece and making sure to enjoy our time up there.

Now who's up for a visit?  The next thing I need to buy is a guestbook =)

4 comments:

  1. Cute! I love it! I want to come visit!

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  2. Love!! I want to come visit and stay in the cute loft!!

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  3. Wow! It's amazing, and I love this blog soooo much

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  4. I love it! I especially love the bunk beds and the framed poster!

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