A post I wrote about shipping container homes (which you can find here) in May of last year gets lots and lots of hits every day - like often up to seven times as many hits as the next most popular post.  That's a lot of interest in shipping container homes!  I'm not surprised at the interest in shipping container homes, though, because they are just so inspiring.  I would love to get my hands on a couple of shipping containers and do a little creating myself.  Of course, that isn't going to happen anytime soon (although you notice I'm not ruling it out for the future) so I have to satisfy my interest by keeping up on other people's container homes. 



I contacted the owner of this wonderful cabin that I showed in my original post to see if he would mind me using more of his photos in a blog post.  Well not only was Steve (see how I'm on a first name basis with him now) pleased to let me use his photos, but he took a bunch more for me as well.  It turns out Steve is married to a Speech-Language Pathologist so you can see why he would be so charming - it goes with the territory.  



Last fall Steve and his wife painted the exterior a warm beige colour (good choice Steve's wife) and have been working away completing the interior.  I'm excited to welcome you inside Steve's little cabin in the woods.  I have uploaded both labeled and unlabeled floor plans so you can have an idea what direction the pictures are taken.



This is the view from the front door looking over to the right to the sofa (a pull-out bed) and chair in the sitting area.  You can also see the bedroom through the doorway on the left.  The ceiling shows the corrugated grooves from the shipping containers.



I love the simple white kitchen - white kitchens are always my favourite!




Behind the curtain is the bathroom/utility/storage room.




A nice little wood stove is tucked into the corner to keep things warm.



I understand the desk is going to have a half-wall built behind it to separate the front entrance from the living room.



And finally, looking out the windows to the forest.




... and the forest. 




I've been studying these photos and peppering Steve with questions about the details of his cabin so I thought I would share what I have learned.


Steven's main concerns were to keep the costs down and to make the cabin easy to maintain.   He chose to build using shipping containers because of security issues.  When he leaves his cabin, he simply closes and locks the doors at the end of each of the three containers.  There are no other windows or doors so it pretty much morphs from sweet little cabin to Fort Knox.


The cabin is off-the-grid so is powered primarily by solar panels.  The microwave oven that you can see in some of the kitchen pictures will soon be going as it is run on the generator that is being used while the construction is going on.  He has installed a two-burner stove and may purchase an oven that cooks on the stovetop and is very popular with the boating community.  He was unable to find a refrigerator that would work on the solar panels so he is using a small Coleman cooler that runs on a battery and is kept in the storage room and he may upgrade down the road.  For more kitchen details read this post.




Steven is in the process of looking into restoring an old well that is on the property.  Even if the water is not drinkable, it will be very useful for washing up etc.  There are plans to install a water system with a storage tank in the bathroom/storage room and build a homemade shower in there as well.  The problem with most water systems is dealing with them in the winter so Steve is looking to install an indoor water system that can be used in the winter with minimal fuss.  At the present time he brings in water to use for drinking and cooking and they have an outhouse.  You can see in the photo below the temporary water system he has in the kitchen using a vintage water cooler. 




I think this little cabin is great - it's kind of like the Boxcar children meet IKEA (did you ever read that story?  Kate and I both read it when she was young and loved it).   You can read more details and see the progress pictures on Steve's blog, Tin Can Cabin.  


This is definitely a cabin I'll be keeping my eyes on to see how it develops and changes as Steve and his wife use it.

I have wanted to incorporate grass cloth somewhere in our home since day one. 

I originally thought the foyer of our home would be a great place for the grass cloth. 

However, after observing my kids running their dirty little hands 

on the wall each and every time they go up and down the stairs, I started to reconsider. 

I also thought briefly about adding it to the boys' room.  

Unfortunately, I don't think boogers, snot and slime is easy to wipe off of grass cloth. 

I finally decided the best place to add the grass cloth would be in the office.

This office...

Now, I just need to find someone to hang it.  

Perhaps I could sweet talk my mother into coming up for a few days to help me tackle this project.  

I could repay her with a trip to the spa.  Uhmmm, wonder if she's reading this?

Now, onto the important stuff.   

Using www.random.org to choose the winning comment, the winner of the Cutting Edge Stencil is.....

Congratulations Lisa!  Send me an email so I can get you set up with the credit.  

Image Sources can be found here.

 As promised, here are some pictures of more progress that has been made on this project. 

This is a mid-progress picture. The walls were originally a sunny yellow.  

They were painted with Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray.

I promise this is the same wall.  The paint looks much more blue in this picture.  

I used the Moroccan All Over stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils.

It was very easy to work with and they even included a level 

that attaches to the bottom of the stencil and a foam roller with the kit. 

The stencil design is done in Benjamin Moore Putnam Ivory. 

Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures.  

The lighting was bad when I finished, but I wanted to be sure to get the after pictures.  

Adding the stencil dramatically changed the look of my client's foyer.  

The Wedgewood Gray flows nicely with the blue grass cloth like fabric 

that lines the bookcases in the adjoining family room.

Now, onto the giveaway.  Cutting Edge Stencils supplied the stencil for this project and they have graciously offered a free stencil (up to a $50 value) to one of my readers.

Here are a few of my favorite stencils from Cutting Edge Stencils.


1/2/3/4

I have done a couple of stenciling projects before, but never with a Cutting Edge Stencil.  

Just to make sure I knew what I was doing, I first watched this instructional video. 

To enter the giveaway, simply visit Cutting Edge Stencils and let me know 

which stencil you would love to have.

For a second chance, blog, tweet or Facebook about this giveaway 

and leave me comment letting me know you did so. 

The giveaway is open until 12:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. 

I will announce the winner on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. 

Good Luck and I hope you all have a great weekend.  

I've been on a bit of an organizing mission this week.  I'll fill you in on my projects next week.

Love this sweet santa cookie jar my sister-in-law gave me years ago. 

My mom and I made the Advent Calendar several years ago and I had our name embroidered on it. 

The kids love coming down in the morning and finding out what their surprise is for the day. 

This jolly ole guy makes me smile overtime I pass by him.

I wanted my husband to have some sort of Christmas tree in his office and this is what I came up with. 

Notice the twig theme going on here. 

This pillow came from TJ Maxx.  I originally bought it to give as a gift, but I just couldn't part with it. 

We finally got the tree up over the weekend.  I'll share some pictures tomorrow. 

Our Christmas cards arrived today and hopefully I will get them in the mail tomorrow. 

Twelve days and counting!

You must check out Carmel's "North Pole".
If I had an organized space like this for my Christmas decor,
I may just leave it stored away all year long and
invite everyone into the closet for some Christmas cheer.  That girl is clever!