Beach Tale: Carriage House Reveal!

A dear friend who currently lives in America’s heartland (waving atcha Linda H!) gently reminded me that I had NEVER posted the finished pictures of our carriage house construction project! 

For those of you new to this blog, last summer my husband and I donned our General Contractor hats and oversaw the completion of a 484-square-foot carriage house over our 2-car detached garage.  It was a learning lesson on ooohhhhh, so many levels, but we completed it in time for the Holiday Season.  So far we have been honored to have guests stay there and enjoy the beach lifestyle.  Upon our son's return home from his southeast Asia walkabout, he'll hunker down for a bit.  Then the big plan is to turn it over to renters to generate a little income to pad our retirement pay.  

But the important thing is, it is DONE and turned out very nice, if I do say so myself.  So upon the urging of my aforementioned friend I snapped a few pictures while it is still in its relative newness (bound to change after son takes up residence...) and am posting them for those of you curious as to how the project turned out.

So, this is where we started, with steps....

leading up to this....

And now, after a huge investment of time, energy, sweat, and money, (<<Drumroll please.....>>we have this:

The "great room" of  living/eating area

Kitchen..sorry the picture is so dark...

Left side of the kitchen showcasing the sage green cabinetry

The right side of the kitchen.
There is a washer/dryer combo tucked behind cabinet doors
to the left of the fridge, but, well, my photography skills leave a LOT to be desired...)

The bedroom, showing a Jenny Lind style bed
that was my Aunt Alma's, purchased in about 1930.

And the bathroom, with tiled shower walls with glass tile inlay.
No, I did not do that myself but paid someone.
One of the smartest things I did in this project.

The budget didn't allow me to buy all new furniture so I had to settle for cast-offs from our downsizing, but I do enviously this taking on more of a "beach" decor.  But for now, it is a perfect getaway, even for us.

So, that's about it.  It was a learning experience and one that I hope never to have to use personally again but am always willing to offer advice and encouragement to anyone who wants to oversee a home construction project!

For anyone interested in reading the tales of woe as we transformed our empty space into functional and income-producting (eventually) property, links to the posts are here:

August, 15, 2011--Beach Tale: "Then I'll Do It Myself," said the Little Red Hen
August 12, 2012--Beach Tale:  Decisions, Decisions
August 29, 2012--Beach Tale:  We've Only Just Begun...
September 19, 2012--Beach Tale:  "Moving Right Along..."
September 26, 2012--Beach Tale:  No Hablo Espanol
October 3, 2012--Beach Tale:  "Color Me Indecisive"
October 10, 2012--Beach Tale:  Hot Hot Hot
October 24, 2012--Beach Tale:  Let's Get Physical!!!
November 7, 2012--Beach Tale:  Coming Down the Home Stretch!