And here is what Stephanie built with these plans!

How beautiful is that!

Well another weekend at our remote cabin has ended, and we have almost completed the cabin.  We have been working hard on siding, so hopefully soon I will be able to unveil a finished photo of our cabin.  All projects at our cabin are infinitely more difficult just because the cabin is off the grid and off the road system.  So all materials have to be hand hauled in by boat, all power tools run off a generator, and no heavy equipment.  But that's just the start . . . it's also five flights of stairs up the hill side.  And putting lap siding up is quite a challenge with an 11' difference in slope over 16 feet.  We ended up building some primitive scaffolding from scrap boards.  Bad Ana forgot her camera.

This weekend was particularly challenging because new neighbors moved in.  Two bee hives moved into the eaves and a family of bats moved into another side of the eaves.  I remembered all over again why I married my husband - any man that can take his preschool daughter's Melissa and Doug Butterfly net to a nest of two dozen fierce and angry miniature hairy dragons . . . well, I just felt like a princess being rescued!  The hubs would later admit that he'd take care of bees any day, but the bats were admittedly terrifying.

You may be thinking why would you ever want to live in such a place?  Why create a lifestyle that is so difficult and inconvenient?  What's wrong with being on the grid?

I've pondered this myself, and coming from a girl who's baby toenails are permanently deformed from wearing pointy toed Kate Spades up and down the hills of San Francisco for years, it's surprising shocking.  But the bottom line (business gal coming out in me again) is I feel happier, less materialistic, more free, healthier, and less gossipy when I'm at our cabin.  At our cabin, I'm not a slave to things, constantly picking up toys and feeling frustrated with my family because everything isn't put away just so . . . because there is no "stuff" to put away. There is no media to break bad news or phone lines to talk about someone, not that you would have time to gossip.  And because our cabin is so small, the great majority of our time is spent outdoors, from cooking on an open fire to working on the property.   And you can only imagine the amount of natural exercise that we get in a day, s'mores please!

Another thought is when you are at the cabin, everything is appreciated.  There are no complaints about bad coffee or burnt suppers - you are just happy to have something.  The simple lifestyle puts into perspective what really matters.  Now I don't know the answer to this entirely yet, but here's what I do know: I'm happier, Grace is happier, Jacob is happier. Perhaps in the next episode of Ana Gone Wild I'll have it all figured out.  Until then, we'll be building furniture.

I'm especially loving this collection for the very same reasons I have odd aspirations to live away from it all.  The rustic solid wood boards make me feel like furniture factories haven't been invented yet and the sturdy simple design let's me focus on the people who live in my home, not the stuff in my home.

Pottery Barn has recently introduced their fall preview collection, and I hope you take a moment to look through some of their new designs.  Looking at Pottery Barn's new collection, I get the feeling that I am not the only one that has a huge life goal to become simply happy.  I get the feeling that simple sturdy solid wood handmade furniture is in style right now.

Today's plan is for the hutch for the Tryde Media console.  A common issue you have with a tv hutch is building a back that is wide enough for your tv.  Sheet goods come in a maximum standard width of 48" - so what happens if your TV is 50" wide?  We've solved that issue AND added character with a planked back.  It'll be a little pricer and a little heavier, but worth it.  Of course, you could make the hutch 48" wide and use sheet goods if you wanted to save a little money.

The plans follow.