Building an Entry Cubby

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It's hard to believe it's been over a year since we bought our little foreclosed marina condo!  The condo was in rough shape.  Someone had tried to remodel it themselves to flip, but the remodel was a failure, and it was foreclosed long before it was ready to flip.  When we purchased the place it had a leaky roof, no bathroom fixtures, bare drywall in places, holes in the floor and walls, paint and primer dripped all over the floor, and a broken, cracked and lumpy DIY concrete counter top.  People thought we were crazy.  Especially since we were still finishing up the beach house remodel.

 Yes, we keep three canoes in our boat slip!  There is nothing more relaxing after fighting city crowds, than getting in a canoe and paddling through swamps, enjoying nature.
I guess we probably were a tiny bit crazy, but the foreclosed condo came with a boat slip.  Do you know how rare it is to have your very own boat slip right in the middle of a huge city?


We have been making slow, but steady progress on the condo.  It now has a beautiful new bathroom (which I still need to share).  We made it through the rainy season without one single roof leak, so I think it is safe to say the roof is repaired.  The drywall has been taped and patched and painted.  The stains on the ceiling have been primed and painted.  The holes in the floor have been patched.  The fireplace has had a facelift (though it still needs new hearth tile); and we have a new entryway.


The condo kitchen had originally been just to the left of the front door (above), but the flipper had moved the kitchen, creating a weird open area right as you enter the condo.  There was a ton of wasted space and no place to hang a coat or drop your keys when you walked in.  Plus, there was absolutely no privacy from the front door.


Moving the entire kitchen back to it's original location was out of the question, so we created a little entry area by adding a partition wall next to the door.


The partition wall was built with nooks to create a coat cubby on the entry side, and a charging station, message center, and shelves on the other side.


We used tongue and groove paneling, since this a marina condo, and we wanted it to have a vintage boat house kind of vibe.

All the paneling got primed, then painted.


 A little bench and shelf were added to the entry cubby (I still need to photograph the final reveal).


We even included a little dog feeding station under the message center, where our sweet, nearly seventeen year old pup eats his dinner. 


You can read about how to make a simple raised dog feeding tray in this post.


We have loved working on our little pied-a-terre, and it is very nearly finished.  Just in time, too, because we are under contract to buy another unit in our building.  The new unit has the prettiest view!


Our plan is to turn our present condo into a rental, and to move into the new condo.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us, that we will have a smooth closing!