6 days before hosting over Christmas, the painting finished. Then countertops went in. I had my mom and sister spend the day up there one day just deep cleaning and then two days before we hosted family for the holidays, we moved back in the furniture. Some was new, some came with the cabin, some we had at our own home. It was a mix to make it work and over the next several months it will all evolve. It was one of the busiest weeks ever (we were so exhausted!), and of course Jordan (our videographer captured it all on camera). Here’s a recap of those 6 crazy days–including a clip of me in my element educating the painters in color theory and why we needed to go in a different direction for toning the beams.

There are some rough parts–entire rooms!–in that video and some spaces that look almost there. I mentioned it on Instagram because I think it’s beginning to look like we’re nearly done with the cabin and in reality, we’re finally at a starting point. Once we finally welcomed our guests, we learned pretty quickly learned some things/pieces/rooms worked well (that big, slouchy sofa in the basement is actually ridiculously comfortable), all needed improvement and some things didn’t work at all (hi, we need pantry storage and a place to hide a broom!) because since we’re committed to taking you through this renovation journey, troubleshooting is at the top of the list right now.

Today’s about 6 days leading up to Christmas. Tomorrow is about reviewing what’s working and what isn’t.