Eagle Cove Haven: Beauty Revealed, part two

Well,
It is time to really look at what to do..... will just a little paint do it? No. The property had been purchased with tenants.......time for tenting out the termites! I have come to learn that termites, along with ants are a common occurence in the Keys. So it looked like the circus had come to town. Red striped tarp, covered from top to bottom.

I had hoped that there would be some miracle. That when the tarp was removed, there would be a stunning home in its place! Well, we got exactly what the termite man had promised- dead termites. OK, good.
Taking a survey of the floor- what held us up from falling to the ground was the tenting of the shreds of carpet spanning over the holes in the floor.

The sanctuary room and the bathroom had skylights- you’d think a nice feature, except the lights were in the floor. What was intact were too many walls that had to come down! So, tear out all the walls and all the floors and replace all the floors and some of the walls. OK, good.

Why was this bought again? I need reminding- the trailer structure and roof had good bones - strong, sturdy and in good condition, wonderful location in a good neighborhood, close to the water which would be lost if a new structure was to be built, good sized lot; I am remembering now. OK, good.
When something is brown, drab, barren, stuffy, closed in- one starts thinking of bright colors, open spaces, green and growing, fresh air…and so those concepts started to be infused into the renovation project. White walls, open living space, lots of plants, tropical colors, serene and happy. Stuff is happening. OK, good.
The kitchen had been isolated from the rest of the living space- had to go. There were two small windows facing the water from the bedroom-had to go. The termites had munched through the closets hiding the hot water heater and AC unit in the sanctuary room- -all had to go.
And go it all did!

Eagle Cove Haven: Beauty Revealed: part three

NOW! This dock had to be removed - replaced and a cut-out was needed in order to spare our mangrove tree.

So the before dock,



became this!





































The side of Eagle Cove Haven was so sad...no plants, steps and walkways that look like out of a 'fear challenge'.















and the planters and palms were put in!



























The tropical colors and plants started transforming the outside-

No, this is not split frame photography. It's Black/grey to











techno-color!
















We put in these wonderful paths and built the planters to help protect the fruit trees from any salt water issues. The one on the left is a carambola, (starfruit) and the right is a fig tree, just behind is a banana getting started.




























And then there is Milton to thank for my boulders of coral. they were digging up the street for laying in the sewer lines. He was happy to oblige.


















Come on inside:






















This is what WAS there.....

The best part was the little stage of the dining area and the iron balcony. The imagination of a 5yr. old was percolating in my mine. I knew that was going to stay, but in more happy colors.

Fortunately it started changing....






and changing to this:












Unmasking the kitchen:




















Making a comfortable living room:

























This room just feels good-
It is my sanctuary room:




















Scary but a cool color toilet









to much,
much more
userfriendly! and comfortable bathroom!
































This room was screaming to knock down a wall to the existing screen porch:













I loved the change!







and when you want to walk out....














The steps exiting the porch to the patio were just plain dangerous!
All the steps were replaced and my favorite is the Romeo/Juliette balcony. The view is wonderful out ot the bay. It is hard to see the entrance to our canal. It turns a corner at the trees and the water falls into shadow.

Eagle Cove Haven: Beauty Revealed, part one

When Chanoch found this property, we both fell in love with the location- the bay view, the beautiful clear water, the quietness of the neighborhood, well, just about everything. There was beautiful coral on the bank at our canal and a lone mangrove growing right in front!

What was there not to love? Our thoughts of planting palms, fruit trees, especially a Tamarind tree- were formulating. I looked behind the shed- and there was a Papaya tree! Protecting itself between the shed and fence, basking in the sunshine. My mouth watered with the thought of the fruit it would provide for my morning oatmeal.
(That Papaya tree is now quite large growing across the street in our neighbor's yard.)















When we saw the house from the outside,



we figured it probably was better on the inside- wishful thinking. The inside was scary. Even scarier than the outside.






















I decided we could just live in the tiny shed. We could sleep upright aside of the washing machine, wedged between the garbage can, and nestled by the shelf of assorted cans of old paint, ant and bug spray, petrified laundry detergent and the shovel.

I had my Papaya, the Tiki hut was still standing, I like camping.











Well, the house on the property was just going to have to go. It looked so sad, looked in ruins. To say the least, it was quite forlorn.

Off to the building department, permits, building plans, a new flood of ideas of a house layout filled with cantilevered balconies and decks. Of course, so we can be close to the earth and the water.

Ahh, there is this little thing down here in the Keys called, "set back laws".

Set back laws mean, you want to build, forget about being close to the water both horizonally or vertically. For example, seeing this view from the bedroom would have been lost:



















I am not an apartment kind of gal and so the thought of living up a flight of stairs was not appealing. Not being able to see the bay was also not appealing. I returned to my 'camping' ideas.

OK, how bad was the house? It had gone through many hurricanes and was still standing. It weathered Wilma and all the other storms and was firmly attached to terra firma.

It was confirmed ugly,













now













it was time for Stage two: to check the bones and structure of the place and learn whether we could preserve our close-to-the-ground and close-to-the-water life style. Surprise of all surprises, We were very pleased to learn that, in fact, this loney little trailer was a very sturdy structure. And really all it needed was a very serious and major face lift.

Now I needed to work on my own attitudes facelift. My main association with this mode of home was the trailer park that was on my school bus route. Many of the kids were rough- knew 'bad' words and were loud. Some of them were my friends but I was never invited to their homes. I had grown up in a stone farm house, 2 foot thick walls and a dark basement. There was a bit of mystery, curiosity, differentness about living in a trailer for me. The twirling tornato in the Wizard of Oz had convinced me from a young age- a house has to be firmly planted deep into the ground via a basement or cellar!

Needless to say, our little Keys paradise with a trailer in need of a maor facelift was attached quite well to the ground. It had weathered all those storms when other homes had not. We also made sure that additional strength and grounding was done. I think if there ever is any rocking in the house, they will feel it down in China!