A Lake House...

Although I do love the old craftsman house we are living in now, there are times I miss the simplicity of our former home. The house had floor to ceiling windows that just drew one's eye to the lake! The former owners had positioned the home just right on the lot so that the Cascade mountains were framed in front of you. One day a repairman came to our house, walked in and gazed out the windows and said, "You are living in a postcard!"

Built in 1959, the house was modeled after a California beach house, with a flat roof that sloped up slightly from back to front. From the back, it appeared to be a rambler, but in reality had a daylight lower floor with 2 bedrooms and a bath, family room, and laundry/furnace room. The exterior elevation was very humble....it was all about the view and simple, functional living at the lake.

When we purchased the home, an older widow had been living there alone for quite a few years. It still had a washer and dryer on the back wall open to the kitchen, the original wall oven, an intercom system that no longer worked, dark wood tongue and groove walls throughout the house, a black slate entry and hallway that had lost it's finish, a murphy bed in the family room with a broken mechanism to lower the bed, and tilted open display shelves for Life Magazine....those of you around in the 60's and 70's remember how large those magazines were! I wish I had taken "Before" pictures, but husband builder dove in and went right to work! He loves to demo things and rebuild them.

Anyway, after countless hours and cans of paint, replacing all the flooring, completely remodeling the downstairs bath, moving the washer and dryer out of the kitchen hallway to the furnace room, putting new tile in the bathroom and kitchen and many more projects, we moved in and got to enjoy a few last days of that summer before fall came. 

New appliances, painted cabinets, and counter tops. Kitchen desk replaced old washer and dryer location.

New door, windows, tile, carpet, hardwood...

Upstairs bath...

Master bedroom...

Downstairs bath...

We had moved from a home almost twice as big on five acres so we had to downsize considerably, but the view and lake living were a new adventure for our family. Even though we have moved on now, I'm thankful for the good memories from that first lake house. We have had quite a journey in the past few years, but God has been present and faithful through it all. Happy Friday, Friends! Enjoy this summer weekend!