October - part three

A few more from our last visit

Our favorite destination.

 

The Larch approaching peak fall color.

 

Outside in

October - part two

The weather was beautiful but cold - about 20 degrees below the normal average for this time of year.  The cabin stayed nice and cozy warm with occasional use of the heater - about an hour every 4-6 hours is all it took, more made it too warm.  It was a good trial run for our winter visits.

Another shot of the window trim.  I'm pleased with the look (thanks to my lovely wife).  I'm very excited to get the wall finish (probably rough sawn Douglas Fir) on.  The plywood is simply backing for the finish wood and will be covered up (a frequently asked question).

My DHW insisted she needed a comfortable place to sit during the day and she bought a couch.  I resisted (of course)  but will admit that it is a pretty nice to relax on...

There will be shelving built above the built in dresser as well as another cabinet between it and the Murphy bed.  To the left of the bed will be another base cabinet and wall cabinet. 

October visit and progress

Just back from the Yonderosa.  BEAUTIFUL fall weather, got some stuff done, saw some critters...

I was eating breakfast looking out at the meadow when this dude strolled by... I took this picture from inside the cabin window.  Tried to get one from the porch but he skedaddled before I could get out there.  I've only seen a few Bobcats prior to this visit - this one was bigger than the others, easily as big as our Labradors.

The view window trimmed out  - this is the window I took the picture of the Bobcat through.

The wall cabinet I brought over installed.

More later!

Headed Yonderosa.

The weather is perfect.  I've got another load of cabinets ready to go - soon I'll be headed Yonderosa!

A Fall Tradition

"A better life, I don't know,
every night a picture show,
Mountains painted by the setting sun,
I'm one lucky son of a gun."

 -Wylie and the Wild West, 'When I'm riding I'm right.'

 Yonderosa Free Range Cattle

There is a long tradition of open range grazing in this area.  The Yonderosa Meadow is frequently visited by the free range cattle.  They do a pretty good job with the mowing and fertilizing ...  The dogs are entertained by them too.  Their scratching on the cabin is annoying...  I get my revenge by ordering a steak.  

 

The cowboys have their work cut out for them as local herd is widely scattered after a summer of grazing on thousands of fence-less acres.  We enjoy watching them work.  The horses are especially impressive and seem to know instinctively how to gather the beeves, no matter how willful and stubborn.

More Cabinets ready to go

If I can get one or two more done in time the next trip might require two vehicles.

The cabinet stock is the quarter sawn Douglas Fir. Everything you see is solid stock including the door and side panels. I like the way it turned out.

The goal was to create a "simple" rustic cabinet. I used slightly wider stiles and rails to give it a more muscular look and did my best to incorporate the natural "defects" (knots, bark beetle pitch pockets, wind checks, grain variations and mismatches... etc.) to give it the "unrefined" look though it requires a lot more work to achieve it.
Can't really improve on God's work. I did my best not to hide it.

Quick Trip - floor down & window trim

My Disproportionately Hot Wife (DHW) sourced some Red Oak inexpensively and tasked me with installing it. Got er' dun!


I also installed the window trim. After a number of mock-ups (four) and stain tests (eight) we have a winner! My DHW gets the credit for style and color. I just build it. I think she has splendid taste.

We are very excited to get the wall finish on - it will be rough sawn fir but I'm still about 100 board feet short. It would be great to get it in this fall - the weather will be the deciding factor though. We've just had the first snow of the season down to 5,000 feet.

Took this picture today on the way home.

Cabinets and such

Most of the inquiries I get are about the interior of the cabin. I haven't posted much because it is still a work in progress and the finish line is a ways off yet. I do have a few photos of some of the elements that I will share that I hope will keep your interest piqued.

Drawer fronts
We did a number of experiments before finding a style that we both agreed on. Rather than slabs I glued up the rippings and off cuts of the cabinet stock and framed it with a simple beveled backband. The goal was a rustic appearance - defects with mismatched contrast, not overly refined with a robust feel.

Here is another shot of the Cabelas' (love that place) hardware. They didn't have enough of a single style so we have a mix of Bear, Wolf and Deer tracks.

This is a shot of the unfinished interior window trim. Simple but labor intensive - milling, sizing and shaping. Eleven pieces for each window from raw quarter sawn Whidbey Island Douglas Fir 1x stock I purchased from the local sawyer. You'll have to pardon the alignment as it is only gravity holding it in position for the picture.

We were both inspired by this picture in Rachel Carley's book Cabin Fever and our window trim and door casing will be stained similar to this. Deb was adamant about NOT having any drywall and an all wood structure can be visually overwhelming. Our wall finish will be rough sawn fir vertical to a wainscot on the west wall and floor to vault on the south wall. The rest of the walls will be mainly covered by the cabinets, Murphy bed and other trims. The ceiling will be T&G pine though the orientation has yet to be agreed upon - translated means I'll do what she wants me to do once we get there, in the mean time I have to pretend I still have a say... LOL :^)

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully I'll have some flooring to show you by the end of the month.