It’s been a while since we checked in, but we though it was time to share a little bit of our cabana progress with you!
This post should really be called, Cabana progress is not for the faint of heart in 99 degree weather because I totally did some cardio and then went outside and dug some holes. Also: digging holes is a great workout. We were thrilled to reveal our back yard makeover part 1 in May, where we changed over the side dining area, and hid that horrible pool pump.
{You can view our master plan here, and see how it evolved, if you’re curious – overhead views below.}
We also demolished our gross old fence and expanded our yard with a new one.
Yay for hiding gross old pumps and tearing down old purple sheds!
I shared a little bit of that delightful backstory, here.
Hold on to your butts. I mean that somewhat literally.
Overhead view of our yard/house when we found it…
Overhead view of grand plans.
Note: This one does not include the new roof just yet, or the {hopeful} master addition. Slowly but surely.
And then it evolved into something beyond a pergola… you can see more of our plans in this post as well, as far as structural plans and all things {FUN!} inside designs.
But this post is not glamorous, because it’s all about well, the hard part.
It’s been really hot in early July for Franklin, Tennessee. Once upon a time, when we moved here four years ago, people told us how hot it could be here. But we were all, hot shmot… we’re from the tropics of south Alabama. I think we’re good. Then we traveled to an Auburn game a year ago and nearly died because we were no longer acclimated, and now the humidity is lower here, but we still think we may die in the Tennessee summers. Good story.
We cut into the gross fence {it’s the only part still standing} so we could have a little privacy from the neighbors while we swam in between building, but here you can see where we dug those holes. If all else fails, I’m now a professional hole digger with awesome arms to boot.
Of course we’ll be including step by step how to’s per usual, if you want to build your own cabana, when we’re done. Cabanas are for winners. Or maybe just quarantine-ers.
We consider this one our adult handmade hideaway. It may be a bit of a slow burn since we’re tackling it in between client projects, which we’re super grateful for. But slowly but surely. It feels like we made major progress this week.
If you’re wondering why we’re adding a cabana, we’re excited to have a screened in porch and a little more privacy from the neighbors.
We actually have an acre lot, but this is really the only non-private side of our whole yard. Said back neighbors decided to park all their cars facing our home, and their lights + reflections from the sun shine into our house. It’s a lot of cars. Those are positioned immediately behind this old fence in the above photo. Which is another reason it’s standing for now.
So cabana + wall + grow trees, grow… we couldn’t be more excited about it.
We were overdue to add some curb appeal to the back.
Total side note, but check out how well our little succulent garden is doing? We absolutely love this wall planter from wayfair, and how they’ve kinda just sprouted up and done their own thing. These succulents have grown a ton. Some of them were so tiny when they arrived, they just didn’t make it. But a lot of them have propagated and are doing their own thing now. It’s so satisfying to watch them grow.
Now I just have to come up with a plan for the cooler weather that’s coming our way, and keeping them alive through winter months.
They’ll be moving indoors with me. Jamin will roll over in the bed at night, and I’ll be all, “Not mah plant babies!” as he crushes one. The end.
So we were able to build the foundation, and then we left town last week to photograph our beach house project, so everything was put on pause. If you’ve been following in stories, you know this week we hit the project hard. So the last few days were all about framing, roof and part of the back wall.
I’ve never been in a rush to move out of summer. It’s always my favorite season. This year, I think I’m kinda fired up about all things Fall. We should have the cabana finished by then with perfect timing to enjoy it all. It’s not like we could host much this summer anyway, so this was perfect timing since our home is no longer a revolving door.
Also, I love my kids. But I plan to hide here often.
Here’s the view of the side…
And here’s a view of the closet area we’ve built for all things chemical and float storage.
And our bar/tv area is coming along nicely, too!
That space to the left is for our little mini fridge. Because mini fridges.
Like I said, it’s really all about a little more privacy … but this is where we are.
Stay tuned, because we’ll have another update soon! It’s been a week.
Have an inspired day!
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