Since I was a kid, my family has dreamed of buying a cabin in the woods. We all had our
own ideas. Mom’s version of a cabin in the woods was a house at the beach. Danny liked
the idea of something on a river or lake. I wanted something with trees and mountains.
But about three years ago, Dad fell in love with this monstrosity:
It barely met one criterion on which we all could agree: indoor plumbing. Needless to say, the rest of the family was not impressed. It looked like an awful lot of work, and we thought it would be smarter to buy some land and build from scratch. Despite our misgivings, Dad’s mind was made up, and we bought the place. I nicknamed it Eldon’s Folly in honor of Dad’s dubious undertaking: the renovation of this unpleasant, falling-apart farmhouse.
But Dad must have seen something in this old house that the rest of us missed. Where we
saw lots and lots of work, he saw a diamond in the rough. Fast-forward three years, and
he has won us all over. We now have this beautiful getaway:
The major renovations took much less than three years, but we continue to work on smaller projects all the time. The work is never done in an old house, right? Thanks to new windows, wiring, siding, insulation, heating, air conditioning, and much more, the house is now a pleasant place to be. (Mom likes to “rough it” in comfort.)
The one
bathroom that did not work was replaced with two working full baths. The tiny,
dilapidated kitchen is now a reasonably sized, modern kitchen, complete with dishwasher
and glass-top range:
Before renovations, the house lacked any reasonable common area, so we added a great room:
Did you notice the woodstove? That fireplace was built with rocks found on our property.
How awesome is that? Here is an outside view of the chimney:
I am glad Dad had a vision. It is hard to imagine any new construction
having the character of this place. Despite the modern comforts, we made an effort to
preserve some of the rustic features. The bare wood floors, walls, and ceilings in the
bedrooms are charming. We kept the old hand pump (and it still works):
While we have torn down some of the outbuildings, we are keeping a few, like the barn:
And how cool is it that the house has lightning rods?
The land isn’t too shabby either. We are on the river, surrounded by mountains, and there are plenty of trees. I was also pleased that the land came with numerous edibles: black walnuts, grapes, and mint.
I have put a few of my own touches on the place. Of course there must be roses:
And those flowers (not blooming) in the background? Those are irises that were growing beside the old house. Our contractor dug them up, put them in a cardboard box, and left them in one of the outbuildings. They were there at least two years before Mom and I replanted them this summer. That is definitely not how you are supposed to care for irises, but I am convinced that we are going to have beautiful flowers next year.
I also contributed my old couch:
It is much more suited to a cabin than my house, don’t you think? And then there is my
quilt puzzle:
And an obligatory gnome to watch over the place:
That’s Duke Rollo Carlisle Everette Thornton. Isn’t he cute?
Three years later, Eldon’s Folly has turned out to be not so foolish. My whole family—which has grown by two members during that time (Welcome, Meg and Kateri!)—loves the place. OK, so Kateri hasn’t been there yet, but I am very excited for my baby niece’s first visit (even if she wakes me up in the middle of the night).
I am looking forward to many more years of family visits to the cabin. There is still
much to explore, including the possible arrival of alien life, as evidenced by this
un-Photoshopped image:
