~ welcome to my front porch ~
It’s my perfect beach cottage construction update ~ and like all building projects, everything takes longer than planned!
Since the last update, I’ve accomplished two of the four big construction projects, and a bunch of smaller things. The large things took longer than planned, and so I bought more furniture and decorative stuff ~ just like building a real beach house :-).
the finished stairs!
Here’s the big stuff ~ the cottage has it’s very own table now, which worked out well ~ thanks Ikea. It’s a map table on casters and it is finished on all sides, so perfect to roll out for any access. You can see a bit of it in the roof preview photo below. I still want to do a tray bottom with side handles, to make it easy to pick-up and move the cottage as needed, but that’s a future endeavor.
Also, the staircase is complete and installed. That was a lot of trial and error, as I decided to “upgrade” from the kit stair to one with more pieces. Oh yeah, that seemed like a good idea at the time ~ except there weren’t any instructions ~ even Google failed me! I did eventually piece it together ~~~
funny ~ doesn’t look that hard, but it was ~ go figure!
unfinished stair base ~ before painting and all the tiny spindles and railings
The other big project remaining is to install the roof. I have all the pieces painted, prepped and ready ~ and here’s a preview courtesy of Bluwaterguy patiently holding pieces in place. The main roof pieces are there and the dormer window, but not the dormer small roof pieces ~ just not enough hands! The lines you see are guides to use in placing the individual cedar shingles. Yes, that means every single shingle has to be hand glued in place, and that is after I hand dye them to the custom color. Every time I start on the roof, I find myself making sofa cushions instead. Do you know of any miniature roofing contractors?
roof preview ~ pay no attention to the helping hand 🙂
For the stair installation and in preparation for the roof install, I did a complete move out. Furniture, room partitions, and lots of tiny decor. Also, a couple of the drawers in the new table are storing lots more fun stuff. Can’t wait to put it all in place, make ceiling fans, beach towels, an outdoor shower spot, and all the other beach cottage necessities ~ including the “bluwaterescape” cottage name plaque :-).
move in, move out, move in ~ repeat often ~
So ~ still considering hiring miniature roofing contractors, especially if they also do the miniature roofing rafters and dozens of white trim pieces. I’m architect, general contractor, sub-contractor, interior designer, and painter on this project. It is a great exercise in patience for me (as I have very little) and I’ve learned quite a few things along the (miniature) way. I may finish before the calendar comes back around to the January start date, but then again I will always be re-doing something ~ just like a real beach house!
Can’t wait to put the ceiling fans in place on the blue porch ceiling. Oh yeah, except that means the roof has to be complete first ~ that will be the next update :-).
Love my bluwaterescape cottage ~~~
Bluwatergal
