A 12 Year Old Dream Fulfilled

In 2012, my husband and I had a dream to buy a property some day that we could renovate and use it as a HUB for families and couples to spend intentional time away from the frantic pace of life. It would be close to a lot of outdoor activities and situated on a body of water for outdoor play and peaceful rest.

We prayed about it and God told me it would happen in 2024. We would have to wait 12 years.

In 2021, I grew restless. I thought it would be impossible to afford a second property on my husband’s salary. I was homeschooling and finances were tight. We started looking for a property in our hometown that could possibly make money to finance our dream. We had a verbal agreement on a property for 30 minutes before it fell through. I had been praying about that property for over a year and the price was WAY below asking price. Plus, it was right around the corner from our home and would be so convenient.

I was confused and growing impatient. Why did that fall through God? He consistently told me to wait. We went through multiple properties and made multiple offers but nothing happened.

In the spring of 2024, Mitch found a run down cabin 2 hours and 15 minutes away in Northern Michigan. It was for $220k which was in our price range. The location was perfect. It was on 2 acres on Bear Creek, a blue ribbon trout stream and near mountain biking trails, Portage Lake, Bear Lake, hiking trails on the Manistee River and M22, which is our favorite scenic highway running along Lake Michigan. We offered $200k and it was accepted! Swipe through the slideshow to view all the before pictures.

The cabin was neglected, smelled and was so ugly and needed A LOT of TLC. We could envision what it could be and couldn’t wait to get started and then I broke my jaw. I had to have 3 weeks with my jaw wired shut and 8 weeks on a liquid diet. That was HARD and in the middle of it, Mitch got to building a new deck every weekend as I laid on the couch.

A month into my recovery, I got to work painting every surface inside (including the retro fireplace) and Mitch continued building the two story LARGE deck (33′ long X 14′ wide) with the help of our two teenage sons. We had to invest in all new electrical and new windows, as well as a new entryway which our handyman built (the old one was like haunted house entrance).

The cabin wasn’t cared for well by the prior owner. Mice had taken up residence in the attic and basement, so Mitch removed all the insulation and paneling in the basement. Let’s just say that was disgusting. We decided to save time and hire a company to remove the insulation in the attic and install new insulation. That was worth every penny! Mitch installed tongue and groove boards on the ceiling which made it feel warm and cozy.

This fall, we painted the stairway leading down to the basement, finished the pine paneling in the entryway, updated all the exterior lighting, installed plumbing for a new washer/dryer set and finished hanging all the artwork. I decorated most of the spaces with items from our home, thrifted items, and DIY’d some furniture that was original to the cabin.

In the winter, we enjoyed going up to the cabin and skiing at Crystal mountain as a family. We would ski and then eat dinner at Iron Fish Distillery, which has delicious cocktails and craft food. Work was stalled due to the snow outside and we rested and played in the beautiful winter wonderland surrounding our cabin. We enjoyed nightly fires in our wood burning retro fireplace and played hours of Telestrations at the dining table.

This spring we hope to install all new LVP flooring upstairs, paint the exterior doors black, add new planters on the deck, and put in some new landscaping.

We hope many people will rent our cabin and enjoy all that Northern Michigan has to offer. Last summer, we spent countless hours boating on Lake Michigan, Portage Lake, Bear Lake, and going to our favorite local beach Pierpoint (which is this secluded gem of a beach off M22).

We hiked and biked in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, visited Frankfort for great food, hiked and canoed the Manistee River trail, saw fireworks from our boat at Onekema Days, watched a drive in movie at The Cherry Bowl and went to Glen Arbor and Traverse City for great food and views.

Interested in renting our cabin? Check out our Airbnb listing here. The steelhead are running this spring so grab your fishing pole, and enjoy the peaceful solitude and outdoor adventures up north.

Curious as to where I found affordable products for our cabin’s renovation? Shop products below or shop my LTk shop here for more affordable design options.