Continue reading »]]> One of the easiest areas to see an identifiable difference in the cabin between when we first purchased the property and the remodel is the fireplace and living room area.

Some of the changes included:

* Replacing stucco stone with stacked stone on fireplace
* New fireplace mantel and located at a different height for TV
* Changed hearth dimensions/size and added stacked stone
* All new wiring for High Definition TV
* Replaced old carpet with wood laminate
* Replaced old subfloor with brand new subfloor
* Added custom cabinet area to right of fireplace to hold audio/video components
* All new faux wood blinds
* Painted brass on fireplace black
* Leather sleeper sofa, leather love seat, end tables, coffee table, lamps, decorations
* 42″ HD Flat Screen TV with Direct TV HD satellite. Includes custom surround sound with subwoofer, Blu-Ray Player, DVD Player, Nintendo Wii, IPod docking station for playing MP3′s through surround sound, and a 100+ DVD library collection.

For a little bit of a visual idea of the difference below is a “before and after” photo. The after isn’t the fully completed version of our cabin, but hopefully it gives a good idea.

Before and After photo of fireplace

Continue reading »]]> We purchased the cabin in April 2011 as a foreclosure. When I say it needed some updates and renovations, that is certainly an understatement. Going in to the purchase, we had realized we were likely to dish out quite a bit of money making it the optimal rental cabin here in the Smoky Mountains. To give an idea what we started out with below are a few photos:

Cabin's original family room and fireplace. We will be adding stacked stone to the fireplace and new flooring.

The old cabinets had seen their fair share of wear and tear. The flooring appeared to be original with the cabin when it was built. We had custom cabinets made, stainless steel appliances, and replaced the flooring. Additional updates include new blinds, new lighting, and added a stackable washer and dryer where the hot water heater used to be located (not able to be seen in the photo).

These are the cabinet doors that we had custom made. A glimpse of what is to come when the kitchen cabinets are completed and installed!

The chimney had a lot of rotten wood from where it didn't have proper flashing on the roof. We had the chimney reframed, placed OSB over it and will add stucco stone. Also, the old shingle roof is being replaced by a new green metal roof.

The original subfloor was rotten (especially under the ancient Jacuzzi tub) and uneven in many places. So, we replaced it all with brand new subflooring (pictured).

The old shingled roof had definitely seen better days. Around the chimney some of the OSB was also rotten, which was replaced. The cabin now has a brand new green metal roof.

The roof has new 30lb felt paper down and the new metal roof is being installed.

As much as I love the heart shaped mirrors and the blue Jacuzzi tub, it had to go. Currently, there is a stud wall built (with pocket door), a new Jacuzzi tub (rotated 90 degrees from the photo), the wall to the left of the Jacuzzi pictured has been removed and that spot will be taken up by a new custom shower with travertine.

What Gatlinburg cabin rental is complete without a hot tub? Of course, the foreclosure cabin didn’t already have one, so what did we do? We bought one from another cabin and had to move it with a ……CRANE!

Moving the hot tub from the back deck with a crane. Then transporting it from Wears Valley to Gatlinburg.

There are many other updates and renovations on the way to our Gatlinburg cabin. Future posts will show more of the “before and after” photos along with some of the other renovations made on the way to having the picture perfect Gatlinburg cabin rental!

Stay tuned, it may be a bumpy ride!