Big Canoe Renovation

Years ago Lea and I rented our first cabin in North GA together with our extended family in a place I’d never been to. It was a bit of a drive from Atlanta, but not too bad. It was Christmas, and as we arrived first to get the place ready, we were amazed at the views from the drive leading up to the cabin. We spent several nights there, and got to experience the neighborhood first hand – hiking trails, lakes, heated pools, and more. That neighborhood was Big Canoe.

Ever since then, as we developed our love for vacationing in North GA, we longed to own one day in this beautiful neighborhood. We recently found a place that fit the bill…not too expensive, but it needed some work. Well, we bought the place and we’re fixing it up now. We’ll post updates here as we grind this place into shape. Enjoy!

  • Big Canoe Renovation
    by Brian

    Spent my first night at the cabin. This place is livable, but not yet lovable. Most of the furniture left behind is from 1986. Big Canoe is like a world within a world. I got here about 830PM on Friday night, and as I made my final approach I noticed something quite strange about this place. I’ve heard there are about 3000 people that live here, but along the 20 minute drive up to the cabin I didn’t pass one single car leaving. No oncoming headlights at all. At 830 on a Friday night? Nobody’s leaving to go anywhere?

  • First Snow of 2022 in Big Canoe
    by Brian

    Finally got the dumpster delivered. Most delivery companies won’t deliver inside the gates of Big Canoe. Not having the option of pizza delivery is gonna take some getting used to. Highlights today – got almost all of the furniture out, discovered that the water service line is black plastic and leaks about a gallon per minute, and started discussing finishes with Lea. Tonight they say snow will blanket Northeast Ga. Left a live stream camara on the deck.

  • Starting To Frame
    by Brian

    Well, we’ve been doing a small amount of demo over the past month. But this will be the first time that we’ve had multiple contractors on site at the same time. My good friend Mac with Professional Framing is here to get started on moving walls and installing beams. I also found out last month that I have a massive underground water leak in my service line, so my good friend Brian Bennett with WaterWise Irrigation here to help me find it with a Sonic detector. We’ve also got Hugh with Cheshire heating and Air starting the process of adding a separate HVAC system to the basement level. Let’s git-r-done!

    Old Location of staircase
    cabinets to be removed for new staircase location
    New staircase location
    Old Master bedroom
    Framing in new master
  • Progress
    by Brian

    Well, slowly but surely we are making progress. I admit I had forgotten how much work was involved in gutting a place and remodeling it from floor to ceiling. The last time I did this was almost 10 years ago when we bought a place in Brooks, GA and basically built a new 🏠 over top of the old one, the idea being that we might live there while we started new construction across the street. But around the time we finished the remodel, my parents had left to live in Idaho, and my brother had just moved to Marietta, so alas we decided not to build or move and we put the house up for rent. But I digress.

    Adding built-ins to the loft on both sides
    Basement beam is in, opening up the lower level for a pool table, bar, and lounge area
    New gas lines are installed and framing is in for floor to ceiling fireplace. Got a cool idea for the finish look I’ll reveal soon
    Adding a pantry to fill the awkward space between the spiral stairs and the wall. It will open to the hall – not ideal – but better than no pantry and not much different from the way it was prior
  • Ceiling is in!
    by Brian

    If you’ve been following this renovation, you’ve perhaps fought back the urge to feel sorry for us with our apparent lack of progress over the last three months. And although I would have little choice but to agree, please allow my bruised ego to brag about the new ceiling! Tongue & groove is such an improvement over stipple…don’t you agree?

    tongue & groove is supposed to apply that ‘cabin feel’ that we’re going for
    new his & hers closets in the master, built about 24″ into the sunroom
    sheetrock is delivered
  • Sheetrock almost done
    by Brian

    Aa we crawl along at a snails pace with this renovation, I look for good news where I can find it.  A lot has been going on behind the scenes, but sheetrock is one of those trades that makes a huge difference visually in a short period of time. Alejandro is killing it

    Upstairs kids area
    Future 🔥 tub location with master closets sliding in to provide more closet space
    Master bedroom with new closets
    Basement game room
  • Floors
    by Brian

    This place finally feels more new than old to me. The smells of 1978 paneling and shag carpet, lead-based paint and old cheap furniture – now replaced by the pleasing aroma combination of sheetrock dust, tongue & groove, Loctite, and a tinge of sewer gas from the pulled toilet flanges. Basically the house equivalent of that new-car smell. Gets me every time.

  • Heavy Construction Nearing Completion
    by Brian

    Sheetrock is in, painting is nearing completion. Cabinets are in, countertops scheduled to be templated this week. Now the trim work begins, as well as the slow and methodical grind to turn this place into a mid-century modern oasis. It’s almost time for Lea to take over. When will this place be ready to rent, you ask? Lol, I know better than to answer that question. I’m done picking dates, it’ll be ready when it’s ready I guess.

  • August Rush
    by Brian

    We have seen a lot come together this month. Countertops, fireplace, painting, tile, even the driveway is getting finished. Labor Day weekend is almost here and we’ll be moving furniture around and making final preparations that weekend for an opening October 1, if possible.

    Kitchen
    New pool table
    custom shelving
    sink hardware
  • The Big Reveal
    by Brian

    Well, for those interested in the vision Lea has for this place, this is the post for you. Up until now, it has been moving walls, deciding where switches go, sanding sheetrock, and other necessary things that have set the stage for what’s about to happen, but none of it was very….how shall I put it… satisfying, as my kids say. For fans of Fixer Upper, we could say that Chip’s part is done and now it’s time for Joanna to stay all night and stage the place. That analogy isn’t completely accurate because we’re actually not done with some of the dirty work. But we also don’t have the invisible army of people that do most of the work on Fixer Upper. It’s so much more work in real life people. Anyway, drumroll please…

    Swinging open the front door, this is what you see. Kitchen/dining area to the left, complete with a spiraling staircase leading to the loft – and living room to the right, with a similarly towering fireplace (with an ugly power outlet, which we’re efforting to hide).

    In the kitchen, the first thing you might notice is how the floor and the ceiling seem to mirror one another, creating a woodgrain canvas of sorts upon which we overlay the kitchen. The cabinets are Cracked Pepper, with gold hardware and finishes. They don’t make gold appliances we could afford, so we settled with stainless steel, contrasting with the engineered quartz countertops.

    Upstairs you find the loft bouncing with color, with built-in mattresses on either side (each with it’s own reading light). This is the kids space, giving them their own level, a place where all adults hope they will escape to. I love the geometric texture of the room.

    Bean bags, Connect 4, tea table, and kids tepee all reinforce the the kids theme and the commitment to color contrast – but more work still needs to be done. Lea has decided to paint the lower half of the walls to add some architectural relief.

    This is the loft bathroom, with arguably the best view in the entire house – from the toilet no less – of the piedmont valley below. Nice textures and finishes, and a much better use of the space than the stand-up shower that was there before.

    Looking down from the loft, almost like a 3d floorplan, you see the living room to the left.

    Here we hope you see the blossoming of our mid-century modern theme. Lea chose this couch as a centerpiece but its the carpet that draws my eye when I look at the room. And I love how the blue plays with the dark wood. Looking to the fireplace my attention is split between the fireplace and the tv, while benches to the right add the necessary seating.

    Down the hall and to the right is the master with ensuite bathroom. The master was actually in another room when we bought this house but now when you sleep in this bed you wake up to a stunning mountain view.

    At the end of the hall is the den, with barndoors hiding the washer/dryer, anchored by the fold-out lime green couch. past the den is the sun room, future home of the far-too-expensive-for-the-moment hot tub, with a lovely and unobstructed view to rainy Sanderlin Mountain.

    The lower level hasn’t received the attention it deserves just yet, but we’ve got the pool table, couches, and a few tables. More photos of this soon.

    Well, that was our weekend, full of labor on Labor Day Weekend. That seems to be our plight lately, working every chance we get. Can’t wait to get this project behind us so we can finally relax. Not complaining though, we are blessed!

  • The Overlook – Frequently Asked Questions
    by Brian

    So, how late can I check in?

    Alexis

    Check-in starts at 4pm, but you can check-in as late as you like (preferably before 10pm though). However, in Big canoe the roads are very curvy and dark at night, and can be hard to navigate. I strongly suggest you arrive while it’s still daylight for your first drive. Just sayin.

    What is the TV provider? Do you have live channels? What is the internet like?

    Brian

    Great questions Brian! We have 50mbps speed, which is enough to stream all 6 smart TVs at the same time! All 6 TVs are Roku smart TVs which have all streaming media platforms all preloaded, and a modern, simple interface to keep you from having to be frustrated while looking for your favorite shows. All TVs also have live local channels provided by DirecTV Stream which is paid for by us. Feel free to login to your favorite accounts, just don’t forget to logout! (with one exception…please don’t use your personal account on DirecTV Stream because when you log out the next guest won’t have access to our live channels without us ‘logging back in’, thanks!)

    I see your policy says no pets, it that absolutely set in stone?

    Dayna

    Yes, it is…no pets allowed. The issue for us is more pet dander, since we have a child that is allergic. I’m a dog person also, but I can’t have any dogs right now for that reason. This policy is just easier for us to ensure that we don’t have any issues ourselves, and since we market the property as ‘no pets’ other guests will rely on that info that might have similar concerns.

    What is nearby, like grocery stores, things to do, places to see?

    Dejan

    Great questions…So there is world famous IGA grocery about 10 minutes from the entrance to Big Canoe, as well as a Dollar General. Check out our post on our favorite things to do here. Hover over the menu option that says ‘EXPLORE’ at the top of the page…we’ve laid out some more info for you there. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of hiking, watersports, shopping, restaurants, kayaking, movies, and more.

    Where’s the closest golf course to this cabin?

    Crystal

    Golfer, eh? Blairsville has three of them – Butternut Creek Golf Course, Old Union Golf Course, and Meeks Park Disc Golf Course (not really a golf course, I think). Ellijay has Whitepath Golf Club, and there is one in Young Harris called Brasstown Valley Golf Club. The three in Blairsville are all within 20 mins.

    Can you tell me if there is Skiing anywhere near here in January?

    Dani

    So, I’m not a skier, but I’ve heard of three places: Scaly Mountain Outdoor Center, Ski Sapphire Valley, and Cataloochee Ski Area. Let me know if you like any of them.

    Is there a TV in every room? I can’t see them in the photo

    Colleen

    Yes. Some of the photos are older, and we should probably put some new ones up. All of the bedrooms have Roku Smart TVs.

  • The Overlook Renovation 2022
    by Brian

    We bought this house for the view – and speaking for myself – the spiral staircase (I thought it was cool). Little did we know that we were embarking on a gut job that lasted almost a year. So now is the payoff – the photos on the left were the actual listing photos when we bought the place in December of 2021, and we took the photos on the right in November 2022. Lea and I put a lot of hard work, time, and money into this place so please come stay in it to make us feel like it was worth the effort!