Recently, my 21 year old son, Wesley purchased his very first fixer upper.

What a Really Bad Fixer Upper Can Look Like

The pictures I am going to show you are horrible, disgusting and totally uninspiring to those who might think they want to get into the rental market. I am not over exaggerating the case but this is probably just about the worst fixer upper we have ever bought.

Sometimes your children can make a really good point.

When I asked Wesley, “Why? Why did you buy this one?”, his reply was “That’s all I can afford, Mom.”

He was speaking truth.

One weekend Wesley was able to get a work crew of friends and family to come and help him get the roof fixed, walls that were falling down built up again and some windows enlarged and replaced.

Warning! Prepare yourself for the following pictures.

The beginning of the morning the roof looked like this.

But with the work crew things moved along quite nicely.

And now things have greatly improved on the outside after a few weekends of work. Where once the trailer had a few different colors of paint going on, it is now 1 solid color…

…and a new roof. No more roof leaks!

A Unsightly Mess Awaited on the Inside of the Fixer Upper

I have no idea how the inside (besides the water damage to the ceiling) became so awful… but the rest? That’s a question we will never know the answer to.

When Wesley first viewed the mobile home it had this to offer.

In this picture you can see there is a big window on the right. That window replaced the bay window that was broken and sagging that you saw in the very first picture at the top of this post.

The Kitchen

I didn’t do much walking around. I just didn’t have the courage.

Construction skills is such valuable knowledge. Mom’s, if it’s at all possible, let your kids learn some of these skills while they’re still at home. Find a mentor and even have your kids volunteer if need be. The things they learn will always be useful. Even small woodworking projects would be a help in developing construction skills and thought processes.

It fell mine and Serenity’s lot to prepare and deliver a lunch to the work crew. So we had a little fun with it and turned it into a cute little tailgate party.

Grilled ham and cheese croissants, chips, grapes, a Clementine and a few apple slices was the fare.

This little monkey Oh, that’s my nephew!

Working on his birthday! But it paid off because he was made his favorite pie – coconut cream.

The crew.

(and I spy that little monkey again!)

Follow along and see how this place gets its makeover.

Don’t worry. I won’t leave you hanging. As progress is made, I’ll keep you updated on this little beauty.

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I realize now that I haven’t given you any more updates! Although it is not completely done it is so very close and the kids have had their very first guests.

Let me show you a few pictures of how things are looking now.

It’s a one bedroom cabin with a bathroom but there will be sliding barn doors that will be able to close in the bedroom when desired. That’s one of the projects that have to be finished this week.

The bed came from IKEA and the comforter set came from Costco. The cost for the comforter? Only $70! It’s a nice weight and for the price and what we got, we are totally happy with it.  Serenity sewed all the curtains.

W = Washroom which houses the shower/tub, toilet and sink.

Wesley built the vanity cabinet. It was his first ever woodworking project of this type and he did a fantastic job. He is a perfectionist so everything was done excellently on his end.

I love the lights.

This past weekend the kids had their very first guest. There were things still being worked on in the cabin but everything had to be done by that afternoon. That’s when that team of young people we had staying here jumped in and helped get it ready.

Our guests arrived that evening – friends of ours with a delightful little family. They named their new baby Serenity after our Serenity. How special is that?

Since the cabin has no kitchen at this point, breakfast was on the house.  Serenity was the chef and delivery girl.

Seth and Jessica will be here next week and are renting it for the month of April and after that? That’s when we’re going to have it listed on AirBnB and other sites. It’s been a fun project and the cabin has turned out so adorable and cozy.