The Barn - Part IV

So for the inside of the barn we needed a "pro".

We found him two cabins from ours, a retired Navy nurse and ex pharmaceutical salesman, Chris Love.

His father was a carpenter and taught Chris from an early age to swing a hammer and drill a hole.

Chris had just completed a porch add-on to his cabin and his craftsmanship was right up my alley, plus he was bored, 

so perfect timing!

This was the interior shell before Chris got started.

His first mission was to wire the whole cabin.

I wanted plug-in switches on all the walls, 

as well as a light switch on the wall when you enter.

So Chris drilled holes in all the two by fours and wired the place up.

In the meantime Jim and I dug a ditch from the cabin to the barn and laid in all the electricity.

I told Chris I wanted a loft big enough so that it would sleep 3-4 people on air mattresses with a little walkway/kneelway in between,

so he used redwood beams and planks to built that with.

He also used exterior siding for the walls so that I'd be able to nail things on without worry of finding a stud.

He and Jim installed the cutest little air conditioner that works like a charm. 

Next he painted the wall siding a swiss coffee neutral, 

and put in the most gorgeous ceiling.

He used pine tung and groove, and stained it Walnut Pecan, 

and framed out the windows in the same color.

Jim and I went to Ikea for the overhead lighting which Chris installed next.

I couldn't decide on flooring so Chris suggested we go with pine and stain it the same as everything else for a really cohesive look.

Sounded good to me.

He had to rent a heavy duty sanding machine to do the flooring

 and there was so much sawdust that I was able to mulch all my plants with it  :)

Then the work began on the ladder and railings.

Both are works of art!

The ladder was so large that Chris had to suspend it from his workshop ceiling to be able to get all around it to build, sand, and stain.

And of course he put multiple layers of varnish to protect all the wood from top to bottom.

And this last weekend he finished up bookshelves above the front door and window.

Love how they turned out.

He also cut out part of a side shelf to be able to store the ladder out of the way when not in use.

Check out the close up below to see the details of how he had to notch the wood to make it fit just so, so that we could still open the door all the way.

Genius!

I also really love how the railing turned out with all the black steel details. 

So a great big THANK YOU Chris Love for this amazing space you turned our little barn into.

Your craftsmanship and design skills are incredible, 

and it was so easy to work with you.

We will enjoy it along with our children and grandkids for many years to come!!