Back to It – $100 Lake House!

Hello Everyone! I just viewed my blog and realized just how long it has been since I posted anything and for that, I sincerely apologize. With Covid 19, unfortunate family issues, coupled with being completely immersed with 4 other mobile home renovations, my blog was unfortunately completely ignored. But now, with a new enthusiasm for sharing how all these renovations transpired, I am dedicated to get back to my blog and am hoping you enjoy and are also inspired to maybe add some cottage charm to your own spaces.

First, I want to share pictures of the “$100 Lake House” completion. I can’t believe it has been over 2 years since this was completed and it is still one of my favorite renovations we have ever done. And while it tested our resolve and creativity in bringing cottagey charm to a once forgotten and well worn home, I feel the completed renovation perfectly captures it’s lakeside location.

Master Bedroom – so serene yet a nod to lakeside location

Master Bathroom, so cute!

View of Great Room from porch/den

Porch/den…. wonderful spot to enjoy the lake!

Oh that kitchen! Oozing with charm!

Great Room – WOW! A river rock fireplace, vintage windows and benches!

Lakeside porch with pergola….perfect!

Another view of porch

Front of Home

Many of you have commented how much you loved the transformation of this home and admittedly, so did we. When we originally started renovating manufactured/mobile homes we had no idea how much our ideas and/or creative ideas would inspire others. For that, we are truly appreciative and love how we have inspired and challenged others to tackle their own homes and truly make them their dream home!

Since the completion and subsequent sale of this home, we next tackled an “estate sale” manufactured home which while was in good condition, definitely needed our help and will be featured in my next entry entitled the “French Country” home. You won’t believe the transformation of this one and what could be better than that?

I love hearing your comments so please feel free to let me know what you think and if you wish, click the follow link at the bottom of the page and you will automatically receive my latest post!

The $100 House – Renovation Revamp – The “Boat House”

Hi everyone –

Okay…time for me to admit that one of the biggest requests in moving into the $100 House was from Mr. Mobile Cottage.  As we do all the renovation work ourselves on these homes, we have a plethora of tools and other supplies and need a large space to house all these items.  Mr. Mobile Cottage also wanted a space he could work on projects out of inclement weather, thus the journey of building the “Boat House” was underway.

Unfortunately, the $100 house came only with a teeny tiny shed under the carport as most older manufactured homes do.  Sure it’s great space to store simple yard tools or a few supplies, but we needed a space to house workbenches, power tools and everything else and the tiny shed was just not going to work.  So after sketching out  a few drawings on cardboard and finally deciding on a plan, we obtained approval from the park and proper permits, and set out to create our “Boat House”.

The tiny shed before construction begins on the “Boat House”.

We started by adding an addition to the already existing shed space under the carport.  We took out the original front shed walls and door and built new walls and decided to also build a new double-door opening for the front of the shed.   (see pic. below)

New “Boat House: shed walls go up!

Next, white siding was added to the new walls on the shed along with two new windows and Mr. Mobile Cottage began the task of creating front doors as well.   Not wanting just to add a simple “garage-style” door, I scoured magazines and websites for door ideas which had character and were something a bit different.  Once I came upon a photo of a particular boat house overlooking a waterfront, I knew this would be the perfect template for creating our new doors, thus how the name “Boat House” evolved.

While Mr. Mobile Cottage was crafting the doors, I decided to add some additional character on the side of the new shed as well. This space had minimal landscaping, no character and was just too plain for my taste.  More especially, since this is how we can access the lakefront at the back of the house and would be used daily, I wanted it to look nice and reflect the cozy charm of the rest of the home.

New shed side walls after siding…boring!

 

Another look of side of shed…pretty sparse!

I decided to not only lengthen the landscaping space alongside the shed with more native grasses to encompass the entire new addition, but Mr. Mobile Cottages crafted our signature scalloped window boxes and added adorable shutters as well.  The shutters not only provide shade but also serve as hurricane shutters…a necessity in our southern location.  I also added more 12″ x 12″ pavers to the lawn to make a full walking path back to the lake.  Now this space reflects the cottage style we love and also provides a charming pathway to our lake front area.

New shed side area…so cute and charming!

Once Mr. Mobile Cottage had the new doors crafted he painted them a crisp white color.  Also, knowing that we  needed outdoor lighting, I luckily happened upon two gooseneck light fixtures clearance priced and also painted them white.  But still, the shed just didn’t seem quite right.  After all, what would a “Boat House” be without an oar?  Going into my storage closet I found an oar that fit perfectly over the shed doors.  But of course, I couldn’t just have a plain old oar.  So I had Mr. Mobile Cottage carve the name of our newest addition “Boat House” on the oar and finished it off with a couple coats of polyurethane to protect it from the elements.  Now our newly constructed “Boat House” shed exudes the charm of the rest of the cottage and doesn’t appear to be an after thought, but rather complements our lakeside abode.

New Boat House (shed) doors – charming indeed

Now officially deemed The Boat House!

Sometimes it is worth taking time to think and plan spaces that we deem utilitarian such as our new found “Boat House”.  Sure it is still a shed, still houses tools and other necessary items but has also become the “mancave” hangout area of our home shared by friends and neighbors.  And while we could have just built a simple shed, adding extra details has exemplified the charm of our little cottage and what can be better than that?

Stay tuned for more stunning reveals of the $100 house revamp.  If you want to automatically receive updates on my blog, please click “follow” .

Thanks for stopping by….I really do appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiny Lakeside Cottage – A Quick Screening

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you no doubt know we have been busily working the last few months on the transformation of our Tiny Lakeside Cottage.   We had hoped to share pictures of the completed renovated cottage by now, but ongoing problems with previously done shoddy handyman work coupled with owner neglect has kept us “fixing” versus “finishing” our tiny above.

While we are now almost to the point of putting the finishing touches on our vision of the perfect tiny escape,  we decided to tackle yet another project; adding a screened porch which provides additional living space year round and can be accessed directly from the cottage. (see pics below)

Before – another view with awful bushes removed!

 

Before – charmless and no porch – Yikes!

 

 

 

 

 

After with screened porch, painting and trim – so cute and charming!

Cute window box added!

The full reveal of this porch will be forthcoming soon as we are still tweaking the completion and furnishings (all on a bare bones budget).  And as we whittle down our vast list of items needing completion, we have taken time indulging in periodic renovation breaks enjoying both the cool lake breezes along with the spectacular view our Tiny Lakeside Cottage affords us.  And what could be better than that!

Stay tuned  – many more reveals coming soon…..you will truly not believe the transformations!

 

Tiny Lakeside Cottage – Outside Trimmings

While we’ve been busy inside our Tiny Lakeside Cottage, the outside of this miniscule abode has also received a bit of a cottagey makeover as well.  So what did we do?

First, we added a section of picket fencing with a fresh coat of white paint to the “front” of the tiny cottage along with a cute, stenciled life ring, denoting our address to give a nod to our lakeside location. The life ring was a $1.00 find at a thrift store and with the addition of two landscape timbers cut to size, this truly makes for a unique address marker and also adds a ton of charm and definition to an otherwise unused space.  Coupled with the window box and shutters mentioned in a previous post, the front of the lakeside cottage is starting to exude cottage charm!

Before initial painting (or anything!) – what our tiny lakeside cottage looked like when purchased – YIKES!

Tiny Lakeside Cottage – after initial painting

Another view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After fence and awning trim added – much more cottage charm!

Other view

Next, we took leftover wood scraps to make our signature scalloped trim which we used on existing awnings to add more character and give the tiny place a more cottagey feel.  In addition, the exterior windows felt a bit bare, so we decided to utilize unused wood and added trim around all of them as well.

Awnings – painted and signature trim added – so much better!

 

Another view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we continue working on our tiny cottage, we have also taken  time to also enjoy the magnificent view and location that this tiny place has to offer as well.  And while these renovations have sometimes been overwhelming, it is the reminder of a complimenting neighbor or passer-by of how far we have come that keeps spurring us on to complete our little gem.

And yes, we have made great strides inside too but are far from completion.  But as our renovation journey continues, and as our minds and bodies get weary from all the projects, we simply stop and look at the view and are reminded of why we started the journey in the first place……. and what can be better than that?

Our Lakeside View – Beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My New “TINY” Lakeside Cottage

While I have hinted that Mr. Mobile Cottage and I have been knee-deep in another project, I now want to share with you our journey of transforming our latest Tiny Lakeside Mobile Cottage (referred to in future posts as my Tiny Lakeside Cottage)

Coming in a whopping 350 square feet, our latest renovation project has tested almost every aspect of our renovation knowledge and skill set and the journey is well from over yet.

While we LOVE our cottage abode I’ve been blogging about, we are landlocked in the city and yearned for a little place on or near the water that could serve as a secondary home.  Then one day, I saw an ad for a sad-looking, but permanent RV located on a lake that with proximity a little over an hour from our cottage.  While I knew it might potentially be just the little escape we had been looking for, convincing Mr. Mobile Cottage that it was worth looking at took some coaxing.  But being a good sport, he reluctantly agreed, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Smitten with a gorgeous lake view, we quickly scarfed up this tiny abode and hoped for the best, after all, it was being sold, AS-IS!

Our lake view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best way to describe this tiny place is that it is an older RV permanently stationed now with an enclosed carport, shed and lakeside porch.  Needless to say, being only 350 square feet, and never having renovated a space so small, this was going to be challenging.  Couple that with what we have since discovered during our renovation and this might just be our biggest challenge yet!  But with a wealth of determination to make this into our dream Lakeside Cottage, we forged ahead with a strict budget and started the transformation.

RV outside “before” after initial deep cleaning and debris cleanup

Another view – YIKES!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both the inside and obviously the outside of this place needed a lot of work.  Shoddy renovations, a “leaning” RV and general neglect had left this lakeside gem seeing better days.  First, we needed to usher the critters that had decided to take up residence back outside.  A deep cleaning all around coupled with a hearty dose of bug bombs took care of almost all the critter problems, but the “additions” had not been properly sealed up, actually, nothing had been sealed up properly for years, thus water and everything else had been handed a “welcome mat” to come on in.  Twenty (yes, 20) tubes of caulk later combined with a ton of other work,  and everything for the most part is now sealed up .

We have a LONG way to go, but progress is being made and our tiny Lakeside Cottage is starting to come into view.  And while the budget has been stretched to the limit and we still have a ton of renovations yet to do, we are making time to enjoy our tiny lakeside cottage all the while contemplating how to complete the renovations on the cheap.

With that in mind, I wanted to leave you with a picture of the freshly painted exterior of the tiny cottage to give you an idea of some of what we have accomplished thus far.  Taking simply what was already there and reinventing it, coupled with 2 gallons of gray and one gallon of white paint , our tiny escape has started its initial transformation.

After painting and “reworking” lattice!

Even with the massive amount of work this tiny cottage has required (and what we still have to do), we have no regrets on purchasing this tiny cottage.   With our renovation vision of this tiny space slowly becoming reality, we are looking forward to being able to “escape” to our lakeside cottage and loving every minute we are there!  Stay tuned….many more reveals coming soon!