I am officially at a crossroads.  What do I work on next?  In all honesty, there is no shortage of work to complete, which might be part of the problem.  It’s sort of like being  a kid in a candy store.  While I want to eat tackle a bunch of candy tasks all at once, I’m afraid that after the sugar-rush thrill wears off I’m just going be an over indulgent DIY’er laying on the ground with a stomach ache.   To avoid this sugar coma I’ve decided to narrow my focus down to one task.  Wall framing.

Much like the floor, framing a wall sounds easy in theory, but I have a feeling it will be much more complex when I really sink my teeth into it.  On a positive note, I think we’ve come to a decision on how the wall will look down the line.  Here’s what we’re working with right now:

Now you might remember in one of my earlier posts that I discussed the idea of installing a sliding barn-door in front of the closet.  In case you need to refresh your memory, here’s a link to that post:

The Hassle of Doors

The plan is still to cover the closet with a sliding barn door, however, the plan has evolved a bit since I last posted about it.  Rather than building a wall, covering it in drywall and calling it a day, the new plan is to take the extra step to cover that wall in wood paneling.

Here are a few pictures of different paneling options that I like:

To aid me in my quest for wood paneling, I decided to call upon the discarded and disheveled masses.  The cast aways.  Those that once had homes, but find themselves sitting patiently as they wait for that one special person who will see the beauty they possess inside, underneath the years of neglect and grime.

That’s right!  It’s salvage yard time!  

Normally the salvage yard visits are more for brainstorming ideas and are less about actually finding quality merchandise; however, this weekend was different.  Leaning against a wall like a tall dark stranger, beckoning me with a bewitching glance, were two unopened boxes of unfinished walnut flooring.  I was torn.  Should I listen to my head that’s telling me to ‘stay away’ lest I be disappointed to find that underneath that dark and alluring veneer is a weathered and worn interior that has seen better days, or should I listen to my heart that says ‘go for it!’  I mean, we all have parts of us that are weathered and worn.  For me, it’s my drilling hand, so why be so quick to judge?  

In the end, my heart won out and I went home as giddy as a school girl with these beauties:

Now, in reality two boxes only amount to a space of about 6 feet by 8 feet.  With that said, I’m sure I can find some more walnut flooring to match, or I could even mix and match this wood with some other wood to come up with a cool look.

Either way, listening to my heart was the way to go.  I couldn’t be happier with the new additions to the household and I can’t wait to see them up on the wall!

Next up…building a wall!

Whether it is the musty smell of 100-year-old wood and dust, or the rustic Douglas-fir beams, the more time that I spend in the completely gutted In Law unit, the more I feel like the “urban barn” look will work well in this space.  One thing, in particular, I have really been enjoying are the exposed wood beams in the ceiling.  Unfortunately, only a portion of the ceiling has the original old-growth Douglas-fir joists, but they are really beautiful.  So beautiful, in fact, that I’ve been thinking that we might keep them exposed.  Here’s a picture for you…

I have a meeting tonight with the electrician, which should clarify how we can approach lighting the room.  Once this is figured out we will know if we will need to cover the ceiling in drywall.  If it is possible to get the lighting that I would like while keeping the beautiful wooden ceiling that would be ideal.

To give you a sense of what I’m thinking of, here are a few ideas I’ve found that show what a space can look like with exposed joists & beams.

In addition to the ceiling beams, we have the large wooden columns in the middle of the room.  After consulting with the structural engineer, it sounds like we can potentially remove one of the two columns.  Whether we keep them both, or only have one column in the room, I’m looking forward to sanding it down and sealing it to expose the natural beauty of the wood.

When working in such a small space, something that always seems to get in the way are doors.  It may sound strange, but doors opening & closing can make a small room feel like it’s constantly shifting in size depending on the door’s position.  It’s like the room is breathing…or like you’re Alice in Wonderland, without eating or drinking anything.  

In our old home, which was only 450 square feet, doors became a bit of a problem.  The french doors to the back yard conflicted with the bathroom door, so neither could be open at the same time.  Inevitably, there would be times when we would need to navigate the labyrinth of doors just to get to the bathroom.  Sometimes urgency requires access to the bathroom to be swift & obstacle free.

In the In Law unit, there will be four doors.

1. The closet
2. The bathroom
3. The door to the yard
4. The entry door

That’s a lot of doors for such a small space.  When it comes to the closet, I’m not a fan of accordion (or bi-fold) doors.  Maybe it’s just me, but they always seem to get stuck, or making a screeching sound when I open them.  While a pocket door might be an option, plumbing & wiring in the wall may make it impossible to install without a lot of reconfiguration.  The solution I’m considering is to install a sliding barn door.  (I know…back to that barn talk again).  I think that from an aesthetic standpoint, sliding barn doors look really cool and could fit into our rustic space quite well.  There are also a ton of options for doors and hardware.

Check out some of these ideas.

Here is a picture of where the closet is located in the room.  This door would be one of the first things  a person will see when entering the space, making it that much more important that it sets the tone for the design.

The original In Law unit had, what one might call, a ‘kitchenette.”  I’m not sure if a sink, an exposed gas line and a few electrical plugs count as a kitchenette, but for the sake of argument, let’s call it a kitchenette.

The question that is currently at hand is whether or not the new In Law should have a kitchenette.  The space is not particularly large, so adding a small kitchen will “eat into” (pun intended) the overall living space.  On the other hand, having a small kitchen would allow our visitors, or even future renters, to live a little more independently.  They would no longer need to walk outside, up the deck stairs, and into the back door of the main house to heat up some water for tea.

With this in mind, here are a few kitchenette ideas I’ve found.

As you can see, if we go the route of kitchenette, it would essentially be a sink, a microwave and a small refrigerator.

One thing I love about the following option is the window.  Unfortunately, attempting to move the plumbing to accommodate a kitchenette on an outward facing wall might be a bigger expense then we had planned on making.

Let’s say we decide that we do want one of these sleek kitchenettes.  Then the question then becomes, where do we put it?