Cabin Expectations

I was full of excitement as we made the 3 hour drive up north. (If my husband had let me drive, I swear I would've made it in 2 1/2 hours!) Every time we open the door to our cabin, I'm always happy to see the new thing that the crew has completed and how the cabin is coming together. This time didn't disappoint. The extra stain coats had finished being applied to the interior and the logs looked beautiful and golden. They also used the extra logs we had left over and built a half log interior wall in the basement. We hope to finish it in the near future. Other items completed included the hanging of the antler chandelier and the carpet being installed in the bedrooms. I think I went too light on the carpet and will now be annoyingly asking all guests to remove their shoes before they go in there. The hubby and I wimped out and bought a bed to sleep in the cabin this weekend. (Hopefully the Gaylord building inspector isn't reading this as we don't have our Certificate of Occupancy yet....). Since we have no curtains or blinds up, it was great to lay back at night and see all the stars through the windows.

(More cabin updates & pics tomorrow!)

Lighting Up The Cabin

I didn't realize how expensive the lighting would be to decorate the cabin. With a log cabin, you can't just get ordinary lighting. I felt I needed a selection of wood, animal theme, rustic metals and antler type lighting to obtain the woodsy feel. My builder was rightfully pushing me to get the rest of my lights this week so the elusive electrician would appear and finish the job. (I didn't have enough lights there previously to create a sense of urgency.) I ended up buying lights from four different sources -Lowes, Home Depot, a local Gaylord store and Black Forest Decor (online store). Interestingly enough, the Lowes & Home Depot in Northern Michigan carried a good selection of rustic lighting, things I have never seen downstate. I purchased the moose light pictured here from Lowes to hang over the stairway. I also purchased a moose vanity light for the bathroom for only $79. (I do have a thing for moose!) This was a great deal compared to the other vanity lights I saw online between $300 - $600. At Black Forest Decor, our antler chandelier was on sale for $294. But I did make a mistake in not ordering enough chain to hang it from our high ceiling so I put in another order today.

Staining and cabin progress

Well....the hubby encountered a little problem while we were trying to stain the bedrooms. First the logs are first lightly sanded, second - the stain is applied and then you use the clear coat. When he was using the clear coat - it was bubbling and looking like glue in the cracks of the logs. (It's inevitable with logs that you get "checking" which is small to medium cracks in the log.)So we stopped and we're going to contact the stain company tomorrow. I don't know if it was from being too cold or being shook up as we drove the 3 hours up north.

On a positive note, the maple flooring was installed and looks beautiful. Also, the builder selected nice 6 panel doors that look perfect in the cabin. Even the electrician made a little progress (2 switch plates and my wall sconce being installed.) I'm hoping he makes an appearance on Monday to make significant progress. I am especially looking forward to seeing how our antler chandelier will look in our dining room once it's hung. I think it's a rule that if you own a log cabin that you must have an antler chandelier as well as a deer head.