THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOUSE

The exterior of the house is now complete except for decks to be built on the East and West of the house. It is sided in corten steel, also called weathering steel. It rusts on purpose. This rusting process is just getting started. It's going to blend into the wilderness setting even better in a few more months. This blog post shows how corten looks when fully weathered.

We like to call this a new house but it is actually an add-on to the cabin we originally bought. To see that cabin, view the Progress in February post of this blog. Even with the additions, there are only about 1000 square feet of living space, but with the open lay-out, it feels spacious.

The front of the house (facing North)

The West side of the house

POWERED BY THE SUN

Most people think that an off-grid house with solar power is a hovel in the woods where you have to go without the luxuries of modern living. Not true. We are delighted that with the ten solar panels we have installed on the hill in the woods almost 300 feet from our house, we can live quite comfortably. With carefully selected low-power use appliances, we usually have enough power for our needs. 

The solar panels installed on the hill where there is full sun

The solar power comes into the utility room here. The box on the left houses the deep cell batteries, which store the sun's power.

LIVING ROOM

There is a formal living room on the lower level but this is the small, one-couch living room on the main level. The couch is by CB2 and it's so comfortable. I plan to paint something on the green wall.

The couch faces this Morso stove (an amazing Danish company). The stove is our primary heating source.

A PEACEFUL OASIS BEDROOM LOFT

The view of the bedroom loft from the stairwell.

These stairs lead up to the cupola (there is now a handrail).

The bedroom with snow on the trees outside

BATHROOM IN BLACK & WHITE

We decided to limit the color palette for the bathroom to black and white only. See the blog of original ideas here.

It's a bit of an optical illusion because next to the toilet is a piece of glass separating the shower area.

This is the view from the door, looking at the vanity in the mirrored cabinets.

THE DREAM KITCHEN

My long-awaited red kitchen is now complete—and we love it. We had Omega cabinets custom painted red and white quartz countertops installed. The gas stove is small because that size is sufficient for two, saves gas and it is quite adorable. The refrigerator is just 10 cubic feet and runs on very little electricity, which is important for an off-grid solar-powered house. We've found it is quite enough space for us as long as we stay organized. See the blog with plans for the kitchen here. We think it turned out even better than we'd expected!

On the left side is the dishwasher (by Fisher & Paykel)

The snow covered trees outside look great with  the red kitchen

Just around the corner from the kitchen is the dining room, which is this simple corner booth we had custom made by cqbooths.com.

FINISHED STUDIO

 The garage has a studio on top. See the original drawing and concepts here. 

House on the left, studio/garage on the right

Here the barn doors of the garage are open

This was at the end of the construction phase

This wood stove is the heating source of the studio

The stairs have tread brite covering

A panorama of the inside of the studio