Bed Time!

Hello! It's been a true grey PNW winter so far, though the temperature has mellowed enough that Spring feels right around the corner. Of course Spring this year will bring us a little more than April showers, May flowers, etc. which means we've got a lot of work to do before new baby D-Day arrives! Even though I titled this post "Bed Time", James is hardly resting on his days off (I manage to fill my days with walks and books and prenatal yoga classes... lucky me) But the big project that wrapped up this past week was the building of the bed!

Oh hi, Little Mac.

James had most of it built within a couple weeks, borrowing pieces a la Dr. Frankenstein from an old IKEA bed frame and a dvd shelf he'd built a few years back as well as some knotty pine and plywood which he painted white (there is such a thing as too much light-stained pine... and anyway the existing bed frame was not going to jive). It was so nice to move off our temporary aerobed and on to the real McCoy, especially since I've started building pregnant lady pillow forts around me at night and a queen size bed helps in that regard. I didn't realize I would need pillows holding my belly up, pillows between my legs, a pillow putting pressure on my back... Seriously, basically all the pillows on that bed are utilized. Poor James. Extra bonus at night when the cat settles down on the back pillow, providing furry warmth and pressure. Bliss!

Won't you be my pillow?

Anyhoo, the real star of the Bed Time Show is the storage. Storage! Sweet, sweet storage! James built in four really deep drawers and then two smaller drawers (which are probably normal-dresser sized) on one side of the bed, leaving a gap on the other side for bags, bins, hiding cats, and other randoms. That is good, since our kid's room has turned into Random-Central and we've got basically T-2 Months to put the kibosh on that. 

Huge drawers hold all our clothes save a few we hang up in tiny closet.

Really there was no way we could have drawers on both sides, seeing as the bed itself barely squeezes between the door frame and the wall. Luckily I'm tall and my pregnant belly rides over the top of the mattress when I scoot in the gap on that side to make the bed. It also fits right over the counter tops, meaning I don't have to reach out like crazy when doing the dishes or chopping. Score!

Barely squeezing in. But what's a bedroom for, amiright?

We'll paint the front of the drawers some non-rainy, non-pregnant day in the future but for now we're moving in. I put down some contact paper yesterday and then Kondo'd all my clothing into three of the six drawers. Not too shabby but of course my pregnancy wardrobe is certainly a wee bit smaller than my norm so I shouldn't pat myself on the back too much.

 Pre-pregnancy I did get rid of about two thirds of my clothes, though, and I'm sure another culling will take place once I am ready for the non-stretchy pants again. The idea of everything having a place, and everything you possess bringing you joy has certainly been easier in this house. But still little piles do erupt here and there. The trick, I guess, is to utilize them! 

Need a place for cookbooks? Use them as a night stand!

Two months to go! Thanks for reading!

Little House Tour #1

Hello! The little house is finally here and most of the bits and pieces are in place enough to start sharing it with you guys. We've been in here since just after Thanksgiving so the month has been a whirlwind of projects, from ripping out the original toilet and the bulk of our kitchen cabinets, to building a deck, putting in the electricity, water, and propane, getting our storage situation down (or at least started), mega cleaning, putting in the composting toilet, hooking up our oven and on and on. James is certainly doing the bulk of the to-dos and I'm thankful there is such a handy man in my life.

 

The day after we got it. I can still fit in my carhartts here! And zip up my jacket! This is pre mega-projects... it's crazy to think how much we've accomplished in a month!

Look at all the amazing windows and light! It's a beautiful frosty morning today. James built the deck while I and my coworkers were hiking at Dosewallips for Black Friday. 

My beloved little kitchen. Originally we got the house with a two burner cooktop so James and his dad cut out a cabinet and we put this beaut of a propane oven in. We are taking full advantage of our height and using the vertical space of this place for storage.

Our neat table/ dining area. It's usually set up for the two of us but wings fold out for when peeps come over for food and games! A pretty good look at our knotty pine walls, too. 

Big Men, Tiny Couch.

Our bedroom. The loft is right above it so our ceilings aren't as obscenely tall but still way better than what we had at the trailer! The next big project for James is building a bed with two sets of drawers underneath for all our clothes storage.

Gratuitous loungey cat photo. Little Mac enjoys a sun spot after being "so helpful" while I made the bed.

You can see the chicken coop out back. They are freezing their feathers off today, I bet! 

Alright. This room isn't much to look at just yet. But once the projects are done or the baby arrives (whichever comes first) this place will be the ultimate tiny kids room. Bunk beds are already in and we'll put in tall shelves for books, games, toys, baby paraphernalia, etc. For now it's construction storage zone :)

Our bathroom! More super high ceilings and great light but the star of the show is obviously our composting toilet. Straight outta Sweden, here is the Separette. It's a urine diverting toilet, so the liquid all goes into a gray water system and the solids get dried out from a super silent fan that runs continuously.

When you open the top, a panel hides the poop storage. It just opens when you sit on it and all you have to do is remember to throw the toilet paper back there. Brilliant! I love not shitting in drinking water!Also apologies...  What would a tiny house blog be without talking about the bathroom at length?

We have an on demand water heater which gets things super steamy and also saves some major energy. I attempted to harness the steam room effect by putting a eucalyptus bouquet above the shower head and have convinced myself that I can feel the freshness of it but have yet to convince my husband, who thinks I just "put branches in the shower".

Obligatory pregnant lady selfie. Plus more bathroom! 

These are the steps to the loft with the genesis of our food storage at the ready. We're going to put in drawers for jars and canned goods underneath.

And while I'm excited about the jar storage, I will be sad to leave behind the sweet, xylophone-like sound the cats make when they plunk up and down the stairs.

The loft, which is particularly festive for about one more day. Even though it's only five or so feet tall we love it as a hang out spot. I have the red rocking chair in the corner and James has his black IKEA chair. The table is about the only piece of fancy furniture I own and I bought it back when I turned 19 and thought, as a grown-up, I needed to go buy nice things for my home...

James' chair and footrest, which gets a lot of play from the cats looking into the yard.

The view from the loft. 

Tiny gingerbread house for our tiny house. 

Thanks, guys for taking the grand, virtual tour!