We’ve been at the cabin since last Friday afternoon, almost a full week. And we are getting settled in. Some totes and boxes have been emptied and the contents stored. But, there are still many to open and put away.
Despite that my husband and I made trips to Wausau to buy some upper cabinets for the bathroom he installed to give me more storage and get some paint at Home Depot. We also made a stop at Menards. The bedroom has a coat of paint (corn silk) a sunny yellow, which is my favorite color. The trim, ceiling, and flooring will be white.
The ceiling has caused some grief. I picked out a product at Menards and after we looked at it closely when we went to purchase it on Sunday, my husband balked. It was not well made and would damage easily. Damages would be hard to fix. I had just picked out the flooring and already bought the paint for this room. UGH! Since it only has one window, facing west, we need the room to be bright. Hence the white ceiling. My husband is handy but did not want to drywall the ceiling despite having done so in the past at some of our other homes. We were going with a shiplap product. But, now, that seemed off the table. The problem is that once I make a decision it is hard for me to change. It’s like I get it in my head and cannot see any other way. It’s not a good trait. I think it’s called stubbornness! Can anyone relate?!
This spare room is being built around our oak bedroom set being set up in it. It is an Amish-made set bought in Minnesota some years after our arrival to Wisconsin. It is a beautiful group of matching furniture and we decided to keep it during the moving process. But, oak is oak and while this has a beautiful honey color, it will clash with much of the flooring products out there on today’s market. I also did not want pine, as we have a lot of that elsewhere in the house. I did not want something dark, either. So, my husband started looking for alternative products as well as other sources of shiplap. We found one by Armstrong flooring but by morning we were back at considering the shiplap. It seemed to best match what we wanted and be durable.
He came across a Mennonite business in the town of Athens, WI, and went to visit them on Monday morning. I had planned to go but the heating and cooling people were coming to install mini-split units to help us regulate our cabin heat more than we could with a pellet stove and provide some much-needed AC when the temperatures reach over 90 degrees for several days at a stretch, as it did a year ago on July 4th weekend when we had guests. So, I didn’t go.
But, when my husband came home, he had good news. The Mennonite man had all kinds of shiplap to choose from, all prefinished! We’re going with a modern shiplap that has been painted white. Since it is solid clear pine, it can be repaired if something damages it. It will be easier to install than drywall and provide the brightness to the room I am after. We are both happy with it.
I got to go and meet the Mennonite man today and see his operation. We ordered the shiplap and it should be ready for us soon. It is exciting! I know some of you might be thinking – shiplap? oak? – both are passe. But, I don’t care about trends at all. We have a beautiful cabin that was built with love. The beauty it radiates is because we chose colors and products that we liked and stayed true to ourselves rather than following trends. I never go on Pinterest and don’t see that changing. Part of it is that neither my husband nor I want to be with everyone else. We want to be different and I think sometimes we purposely over strive to accomplish this.
In addition, I think when you are a creative soul, you obtain ideas from your own experiences and desires, not trendy pages of online posts. Actually, the more I look at the creations of others, the more I become unable to make a decision. I have a clear vision and in almost all cases strive to stick to it or something close. This is what happened here. After a lot of going back and forth, discussions, and some pouting on my part, we are both getting what we want – a good, solid, well-made product for my husband and a pre-painted whiteboard that will allow me to keep the room the light airy space I envision.
I see a long fruitful relationship building with our area Mennonite families! There’ll be more about that in a future post on food. Stay tuned!
The Apples in My Orchard 