little house in the big woods

2 weeks in the tiny cabin, the longest stay yet and it was perfection. I’m pretty sure I could live there for a whole summer no problem — all I really need next is a wood fired hot tub. We didn’t get as much done as we wanted, as usual – but left my brother with a long list to be done by the wedding. I’m back at work now & it’s culture shock. But for now, come into the cabin…

The doors & windows are all salvage.

The vintage fishing creel hung next to the door holds keys, bug spray, flashlights.

This trunk will double as a coffee table, though we didn’t find a couch. I want to mix in some modern pieces to keep the feel more Scandinavian and less “rustic country.” I need to pore over Anna @D16‘s flickr inspiration sets, for sure. (No, really. I’m going to go through all 900 photos, plus my tumblr, & make a collage to send home/keep my focus so I don’t just buy 48734 mismatched things. Link me to more like minded inspiration, please!)

I’m also looking for a rope chair or hanging chair to hang from the beams – something modern and comfortable. Ideas?

We picked up the ice cream chairs the last trip, and this stunning antique tiger maple table is from my mother’s friend Jane. She is a tiny tiny 90 year old rare book collector – wee and hunched, she answered the door in a button up dress, apron, sweeping with a tiny broom, wisps of white hair like cotton candy. We looked at her glamorous honeymoon photos in Havana, and S. got an amazing vintage Brooks Brothers Panama hat from her husband. She told me stories about choosing shoe buckles to go to the opera! So lovely. That stack of books on the table is from their collection as well, and a lovely old Persian rug.

A better view of the birch tree & ladder. It doesn’t go though the cabin, but is just a support beam. A fancy support beam. We’ll need to add kitchen cabinets and a farmhouse sink where that shelf is, behind the ladder.

And the beams of the loft! Perfect for a hanging chair. This vintage folding screen that hides the storage closet is one of the first pieces I ever bought – ummm, 17 years ago for my first apartment. Crazy.

Look closely and you can see the brook!

Some treasures – the suitcase is for S., camp blanket, yellow linen 40s dress, grey hat, gorgeous 1943 leather folio set with cream paper and envelopes and a tiny calendar.

Upstairs loft! 70s teardrop shelf, which maybe needs to be moved to the left now that I’m looking at this photo…

That little white nightstand was left to me by my grandma. We painted it and my dad INSISTED the handle be black. I like it! Thanks, family.

Late night is cozy, too. Because nothing says cozy like a hatchet.

I woke up at the crack of dawn to read and write.

Thrifted bread box (snack box!!) & Irish enamel stew pot.

I’ll do more woods photos in another post, this one is getting long. But here’s a tiny microcosmic world just down some mossy steps from the front door.

I left my brother (Are you in VT or NH & want to hire him? Check out his site at ferro-construction.com. Ahem.) with a list of things to do, and a robin’s egg and swatch of fabric for the outside trim – because it’s totally amazing to go into a hardware store with AN ACTUAL ROBIN’S EGG to match. What else? Inside trim on the windows, finish the whitewashing, re-sand and finish the floor, & I’d like to add this hanging solar lamp to the upstairs loft. Eventually, the siding will be done and you all can get the uh, big reveal on what the outside looks like. Sigh. Definitely a little frustrated to live so far away…but when we eventually buy a real house in Vermont, it’ll be a great getaway cabin for friends who want to visit!