The Lake House || An Ode to the Old Fishing Cabin - Southern State of Mind Blog by Heather

An ode to the old fish shack. Built in the 1930’s and original to when the lake was first created. The rustic little cabin that will always hold a special place in my heart. It took some serious work but we got it “livable”. One bedroom, no heat, no air, and if we were lucky – hot water. Full of rustic relics and a long history of sweet family memories. We tried to save it, move it and even considered fully disassembling it. But sadly it didn’t work out and we had to tear it down to create space for the new build. We did end up with some wood, that vintage canoe, the doors and as many other fun things that we could to incorporate into the new build.

Last week I shared our big news about the lake house build. Today I thought I would share some details about the sweet old cabin that came with the lake property we bought. The property came “as is” with an old fish shack that was over 90 years old. The family we bought the property from were the original owners and they built the cabin. They actually shared some old family cabin photos with us which made the cabin feel extra special. They enjoyed it for many years – and even used the back porch as a sleeping porch!

When we bought the cabin it was filled with old cabin things. There was years of trinkets and furniture to sort through. It took us awhile but we were able to fix it up so we could enjoy it as a family. We brought in some new beds and family room furniture, and even got a TV working so we could watch sports. Priorities! The fireplace was very drafty so Mom found that fun electric fireplace. We replaced the fridge and got the coffee brewing. I always referred to it as “glamping” when we were there because it was pretty rustic.

We definitely enjoyed our family time here over the past year and used it all four seasons. There was no heat or air and the hot water in the shower was always a maybe. It did start snowing one night when we were there which got a little cold (and interesting!) – but we just chalked it all up to part of the adventure. Here is a snapshot of the main living space- that canoe was original to the cabin and I could not love it more!