Modified 20' wide 1-1/2 story cabin in Michigan

A 20' x 34' family project with lots of interesting details.

"In April, we began clearing our building spot in the middle of our 10 acres of woods in Michigan’s thumb."

"We worked every weekend all summer and fall until we finally got it weather tight by October.  We have worked on this project almost every single weekend and every vacation for 2 years now, but we are very close to being done (May 2006). Inside, we have some finish trim work to do and the staircase/railing to the loft to put in. Outside, we have to put the stone on the chimney and around the base of the cabin."

Exterior stonework and trim left to do.

The materials we used on the exterior are:

• The siding is Certainteed cement fiberboard. We purchased it in the prefinished "Cedar" stain.
• The exterior trim is rough sawn pine and has been stained to match.
• The windows are green aluminum clad wooden (pine) windows. The interior portion has been clear coat polyurethaned.
• The exterior and interior stone is a river rock manufactured stone.
• The shingles are an architectural asphalt.

Stone fireplace in the Great Room.

A couple of pictures of the kitchen.

Notes on Interior finishes:

• The walls and ceiling in the main living areas are in a pine tongue and groove that we purchased pre-finished.
• The red accent wall in the kitchen is reclaimed barn wood from a barn that was dismantled in Michigan.
• The loft floor is a reclaimed hay loft floor from the same barn.
• The fireplace mantel is a reclaimed support beam from the same barn.
• The kitchen cabinets are in clear knotty pine from Kraftmaid.
• The floors on the lower level are currently unfinished cement (a future project)!
• The interior is heated by the fireplace and a small direct vent wall mounted propane furnace.

The main floor bedroom

A couple of notes from John: There are several good ideas on trim here. Note the wide pine baseboard echoed with the trim around the bottom of ceiling. Also, the narrower chair rail going around the room and dying into the wide craftsman style trim on the windows. This and the narrower trim piece at the corner can artfully cover up less than perfect drywall work at the seams and joints.

The cottage stair to the loft.

Note the barn wood wall treatment and the open feel of the railings.



The loft bedroom and shed dormer.



Exterior stonework complete.



Patio side of house with sliders off great room

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Owner Update Spring 2008