While I could seriously write an entire novel about the process of buying Wayfarer Cottage, I think I’ll save my blood pressure and summarize… It was sometime back in February when we first got an e-mail from Isaac’s parents that they had found a little cottage for sale in Winema Beach. We have dreamed of owning a home on the same beach as his family and our wedding site, so we were thrilled to hear one was available! After perusing the RMLS listing online, we contacted the agent and arranged for Isaac’s parents to see the house on our behalf. They gave it two thumbs up, and thus began many, many months of negotiating, set-backs, and delays, but we are proud to announce we are now home owners!!!
Wayfarer Cottage sits just behind Daley Lake, and from most of the rooms in the house we enjoy views of the lake, as well as the Pacific Ocean. There is much to be done in the way of decorating and aesthetics to make the house our own (and much of that work is now underway, thanks to our talented, enthusiastic and helpful families! THANK YOU!!!), but we’re looking forward to many happy years in our cottage.
Here are a collection of BEFORE photos, showing how the cottage looked when first purchased…
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As it currently stands… resembling a little green avocado;) New exterior colors have been selected, and the painting will likely happen early this fall.
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Panorama of the living space. The living room is on the left and dining room and kitchen are on the right. This room looks so different already! The false ceiling and carpets have been removed, as well as the wall that contained the wall heater.
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Beautiful pine ceilings. We’re keeping the paneling throughout the house, but all will be painted white for a beachy feel.
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Washer and dryer closet, washer and dryer inside. Woo hoo!
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Bathroom
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Master bedroom… can you believe that carpeting?!
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The 2nd bedroom, which we call the bunk room. The entire room has already been stripped to the studs, and the over-sized closet has been removed to make way for a wall of bunks.
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Although we closed about 3 weeks later than we were supposed to (oh, the frustration!!!), Friday, July 13th turned out to be a phenomenal day, as we FINALLY took ownership of our house! Our amazing families joined us for a whirlwind demolition weekend. For two days the cottage was filled with the screeching of pry bars, whizzing of drills, and crashing of hammers. It was a busy place, and we got a lot accomplished in just a few days!
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We had these adorable hand stamped key chains made for our closest family members by the wonderfully talented Lisa from HeartAndSolDesigns on Esty! Lisa was so accommodating and easy to work with, not to mention super sweet! I cannot recommend her highly enough, and encourage each and every one of you to check out her darling shop!
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Given that we only had one short weekend in our cottage before heading overseas, demolition work started immediately! The bulk of the carpeting and padding in the house were gone within 10 minutes thanks to Ike and our brother in law, Josh.
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The family we purchased this home from enjoyed many happy decades here… it was their little slice of heaven. We are so incredibly thankful for this home, and look forward to the years of happy memories we’ll make here as well.
Bye bye, false ceiling!
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And at this point, my SLR died. My iphone filled in for the remainder of the weekend…
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Bye bye, little wall!
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Hello, growing junk pile!
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Elliot supervised from his unique vantage point!
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Bella was not a fan of all the demo noise. She retreated outside to sit with Nana, where it was much quieter.
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We’ve affectionately dubbed (or, perhaps not so affectionately) this the “overkill closet.” It took hours to bring down, given the obscene number of nails in it… roughly 150-200 3″ nails! Seriously?!
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Finally, the closet is down! Luckily we spotted the random electrical wire running through it before incurring any shocking mishaps!
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Icky old termite nest discovered in the wall. Luckily it was all dried up and its former inhabitants are all gone.
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The primer was just going up when we left… it gave us a great idea of how beautiful and airy the living space will be once the walls and ceilings are white. Cannot wait!
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A few decorative items, including our gorgeous new driftwood mirror from my mom and dad. Still trying to decide where that gem will go, but we’re thinking it might make a beautiful bathroom mirror. Can’t wait to start decorating when we’re home for Christmas!
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Our little helper, all tuckered out… =)
