I would make the spare bedroom into the bathroom. You already have a bedroom and lovely bathroom downstairs for guests. They’d only be sleeping there so it would be perfectly suitable,when cleaned up. Personally, I’d be happy to stay there because having a decent bathroom is more important to me.

Have you considered using your porch as your main (summer) dining room?… You ate outside a lot in your early videos. That view would be spectacular for that. It also means that you only need a small space for both of you to dine in the cabaña during winter… When you have guests in the colder months, you could make eating on the porch quite an event with thick covers, perhaps some form of heated cushions (like the bed heating pans from victorian times), enclosed candles, etc. You seem to be designing the cabaña interior as if that is the only space available to you… the porch is a fantastic area that you can probably use very well during most months once it is repaired.

@WaleandMe

5 ай бұрын

We'll definitely use the porch, it's the most beautiful spot of the house! 😀We just have to make sure to design the interior space as well, because you have quite a lot of rain and strong winds here, so we won't always be able to use the porch.

option 1 & 4 are the best basic designs. I like that in option 4 the sink and the stove have a view through the window. Also your dinning room table could work real well as a single pedestal half circle with a bench against the wall. This could fit four people comfortably, but when it is only the two of you, you could push the table towards the wall and make more room for yourselves. Also, the fireplace you have is extremely bulky, a slimmer stove would heat the space just as well and occupy less space; this would give you more room for your lounge-love seat and also make for a larger entrance to the living room. Another idea would be to have a single metal bar above the lowest part of the stair to hang coats along with a simple metal box incorporated into the stair rail, suspended above the stairs, to hold boots or shoes (headroom considered).

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for all your great suggestions. We'll definitely take them into account. You're right, the fireplace is extremely bulky (and because of that also less efficient). We're still looking if we could replace it with another smaller model, or whether we keep it and make do. We'll definitely want to continue using this system where it is connected to the radiators and those are quite pricey. We had thought of the bar as well and updating the stair railing so it could be more functional (i.e. shoes, storage etc.), so we're definitely on the same path 😉

I would also ditch the guest bedroom. Why do you need two bedrooms on the this floor to rent it out while traveling? Wouldn't you rent it out to two people? I would try to think up a solution where you can divide the entrance and staircase off. This would help very much with keeping the draught out in autumn and winter.

Thinking about storage... have you considered a bed base with drawers in it? Under the bed is always a big waste of space. We have one with 2 really large drawers on each side - so we only have bedside tables and our built in wardrobe, no need for a bulky chest of drawers... just a thought... good luck with your designs, I love watching your videos!!!

On option 4 with the window problem I thought of ending the cupboard and making a true island, or customize the cupboard around the window. It's not easy getting around it but so entertaining.👍

I looooved that you talked us through everything with so much detail! It creates a really good picture of what is possible. I think my favourite is layout option 4, even though I also liked the bathroom in the far corner of option 3; but the round shower in option 4 is amazing!!! Btw I really love your videos 😍PS.: I don't think your spoken english is bad (you said that in one of the other videos). I am not an english native speaker but still watch your videos without subtitles

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Aw thank you SO much for the lovely comment! It means a lot. And thank you also for joining us on this journey ❤ It's good to know you enjoyed seeing us brainstorm because we had a lot of fun making this video 🥰 I definitely agree with you that the shower in option 4 could be really cool..

some 30 years ago when I started a new life in a city I wanted to be able to have at least 10 people for dinner, I love cooking and I wanted to entertain, make new friends. In reality all this only happened on occasions, still all the seats and large amounts of cutlery took my daily spaces. How often will you have friends/family as guests, the rest of the time there is a room you can't use because of the beds. And if there are family/friends don't you want to give them some privacy and give yourself some privacy. Bottom line, use that second bedroom upstairs for your own daily convenience would be my advice, that is a daily happy making situation.... good luck with your project

@WaleandMe

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for your insights!

I do also like the layout with your bathroom split, it does create a nice barrier between the bedrooms and living area.👍❤

I love the last design you came up with for the layout. With the dining table between the bathroom and the stairs. If you hardly ever use it, sacrificing some of it for walking through makes more sense. It is also something that you can easily move to one side while it doesn't get used to create more space.👍❤

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Thank you! That's true, it gives us some more space when we don't use it. The nice thing of the table there, is that it gets the evening sun in, so it would be great for dinners.

It would nice to have both fires to be able to be used for heating water and heating the spaces

What if you forget about the guest bedroom. If you really want an extra sleeping space use a sofa bed or other multi purpose bench that can be turned into a bed. Maybe you can have a ( fold away) desk?

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

We probably won't have the desk in this cabin. We thought of using the studio space on our land for that (that's for another video). We would like to have a separate guest room for guests, so they have some privacy, since when people come here, they'll probably be staying for longer. 🙂

I would ditch the guest room (of open 2, if i'm not mistaken) and use the nice window view for a reading, sleeping nich, open to the seating/ kitchen area. And put the bathroom in the current area of the guest room. So, a modified option 2 😉 . And with time, for a 2nd renovation phase, make a nice room with extra bathroom downstairs.

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for your suggestion. In many cases that would work really well, but here, since it's so isolated, having a nice guest room to entice friends and family coming over, is very important for us. We will create a bedroom + bathroom downstairs, but that will take way longer. 🙂

I would renounce to have a second bedroom upstairs. Then you can but the bathroom there and make your bedroom bigger. For guest you can have a bedroom downstairs. When you rent the house, you but your things in your bedroom and close it. The guest can use the livingroom with kitchen and habe their bedroom with bathroom below. The diningtable should be bigger, because in winter you will eat inside. And you will find friends in the area and have familiy visiting you. May be, you will have kinds sometime? A big diningtable is also usefull for many other things. Playing games, working...

What fun! The change of fireplaces is very interesting! To use the other fireplace, I vote for solution 1, the kitchen where the fireplace is now. And the bathroom... the one on the ground floor has a very low ceiling, but having just one shower, downstairs, would give you more space upstairs. Perhaps the floor of the downstairs shower could be lowered so it could be used? Although it is not very comfortable, it may be worth having more space upstairs.

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

It's true that we may have to end up prioritising some functions over others, and there is much more space downstairs.. But then the top floor could never be independent. Lot's to consider and continue working out. Thanks for the idea! 😘

Hi loving your videos, the views are amazing. I thought of a couple of things to think about for your layouts. Do you really need a full time spare bedroom? if you are going to have guests while you stay there you probably would want them to have their own room but could the sofa, be a sofa bed? When the property is rented out, your renters may prefer a bigger bathroom especially in summer season and if there was more than a couple of people they wouldnt mind sleeping on a sofa bed short term but if you dont like the sofa bed option could you make the spare bedroom smaller and put in a murphy style bed so that when you dont have guests or renters you can put the bed up and use it as a separate dinning room, or office or starter craft room, or whatever you need it for but maybe speak to locals or if you know any AirB&B owners about what type of accommodation people look for when they are visiting the area that way if you were renting out before you move to your property you wouldnt have to make any major changes to make it appeal to future renters, although i think they wouldn't care when they see the views 🤣 Also does the dinning table need to be out all the time? could you change to a fold away table and chairs? or have bar stools if you have a kitchen island Hopefully I've not added to the stress of the difficult decision of layouts, its just things i would be considering for myself in that space.

@WaleandMe

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your comment. We think we don't need a full time spare bedroom, but definitely need a proper guest bedroom setup for our guests, since we already have had a couple people come over in the relatively short time we're here. A sofa bed or a murphy style bed is definitely a great idea to make the space more multi-functional (i.e. for an office space). It depends a lot on whether we'll create the studio space soon(ish), because most of our activities like working, crafts etc. will be done there. You're right that the dining room doesn't need to be out all the time, maybe we can push it to the side or something. However, it should be easy to create the dining setup so you don't feel it's to much of a hassle to set the table (although we don't eat at the dining table often). Bar stools at a kitchen island could be a solution for that. Many ideas and food for thought. Thanks for taking the time to letting us know your thoughts!

Loved watching.❤

i would have one bedroom on the main floor (upstairs?). Two guests bedrooms on the other floor (downstairs?). Guests and you have your own space, and you all share generous living space. (Later build an additional outdoor kitchen )

@WaleandMe

5 ай бұрын

Oeh an outdoor kitchen sounds amazing! We're working on the design at the moment and will probably stick with two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs (there's only one window downstairs, which we'll use for that bedroom). We'll show and explain the updated design soon! 😀

En el piso de arriba si ponéis solo una habitación os quedaría increíble, y abajo podéis poner más habitaciones, no???

Oooh how exciting! Lots of different ideas. Funny I thought option 3 was the most functional, however understand the comment that it breaks up the view of the cabin and prioritises the bedrooms too much. Option 4 is probably my favourite of these. Something we did at our place; designed the island bench so it was sittable both sides as our place is too small for a dedicated separate dining area. It's been a really good solution, especially when we have people around as they can sit facing us as we prep food, and then we can just clear the prep space and sit with them as the "dining table".

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

It is true that option 3 is perhaps the best use of space. It's just that for us the kitchen is so important and in that design it feels like it has been shoved in the side corridor.. However, really glad to hear the island/table combo has worked for you because its definitely something we considered, but having never tried it, didn't know if it would be comfortable enough. We need to continue trying different options clearly. Thank you for being excited with us!! ❤

I really love your approach to this whole exercise.❤

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your comments. We were a bit nervous about sharing it, but we love the feedback and suggestions we're getting. 😄

I loved it to see your design process, great ideas! :) my personal favorite is option 1 (maybe without kitchen island). In 1 I like that the dining area can profit from the view, while if you would put the kitchen like in 4, you'll never see the view trough that window because you'll be standing there all the time. (or does the window come higher than I imagine?) Keep us posted about how it evolves, I hope to be able to visit you one day and see the amazing views myself :) good luck!!

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Yeah, option 1 is a good one and we'll definitely look at a design without the island. The funny thing of the dining table is that we don't use it as much, and when we have people over and it's 'okay-ish' weather, we sit outside on the porch. The windows are a bit of a hassle because you cannot see through them when standing and it's going to be very difficult to increase their height. You're absolutely more than welcome to come, we'll be waiting.😀

Hola chicos !!! Es un sitio precioso ,yo vivo en Galicia y es muy parecido,mucho ánimo para realizar todas la mejoras, yo iré viendo los avances en vuestros videos

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Muchas gracias por el apoyo! Apreciamos mucho que estes aquí con nosotros.

I agree with your final choices of 1 & 4, the window in the kitchen throws me a little. Not sure how to overcome that issue, but loved seeing the process of trying to work out the space. Great results guys.👍❤

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Yeah, the windows are a problem. They are all very low and small, but we'll have to make it work. We have some ideas on how to integrate them in the interior so it works, but it's going to be difficult. Thanks so much for your support.

Guests do need closets wardrobes and drawers guests like to put their personal items to be organised

I prefer option 1

Option 1 😊

Hi guys. My wife and I love your videos and adventure. We're following you from the US! One question: what is the name of the 3-D software you used to visualize your designs? I know you mentioned its the one you use at your work as well? I understand there are some free options, but I wanted to know the one you were using. Thank you and keep it up!

@WaleandMe

4 ай бұрын

Hi! Thanks so much for following along and for the love. The program is ArchiCAD but take into account that it is a very technical program meant for professionals (it takes a long time to learn how to navigate it) 🙂

4. But build open shelf’s between couch and sink

Could you put in rectangles window that are longer to give more light

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

We would LOVE to do that, but for now at least its not possible unfortunately..

Where will the dining table go ?

Yo haría un simulacro ;) 10 días usando sólo la ducha de planta baja para ver si es posible tener sólo una ducha para bajitos ;) Quizás resulte posible o quizás se os ocurra alguna idea para poder mejorarla. Incluso ducha en la cabina de sauna?? En la solución que se separa wc y ducha, el espacio que ocupa la ducha os vendría genial para la cocina.

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Ahora mismo la planta de abajo no apetece nada. Esta siempre fría y oscura, y hay que agacharse en muchos sitios. Tendríamos que priorizar el arreglarla antes. Puede que merezca la pena 🤔

We made a rolling island it work so well

@WaleandMe

7 ай бұрын

Really? I would have thought it'd be difficult to move, but knowing it works gives us lot's of possibilities. Thanks for the tip!

@charmainemanley

5 ай бұрын

My sister has a large island on lockable caster wheels. Easy to move when needed.@@WaleandMe

You're hardly going to use the dining table but I get you want to incorporate one if you rent it out. Why not create a dining table that folds away for when you don't need to use it. That way it would feel less cramped.

make bedroom much bigger with en-suite Match it downstairs so 2 en-suite bedrooms

why don’t you put the bathroom behind the lounge and this then can have a window

Hi there! I’ve just discovered your channel, have watched various episodes & I’m feeling confused. If you have your own property why are you going to spend money on a rental? I understand you are going to be in this rental till you can at least restore/renovate one of your own cabaña & that it’s important to address structural/energy/insulation concerns & damp issues but why would you spend more of your hard earned money on ‘cosmetic’ changes for a property you don’t own? Sincerely confused!

Excuse me guys this would be a no brainer to me there's only two of you it's your house why do you need 2 bedrooms with only one bedroom you would have a deluxe area to design try it just saying!

You will get more rental income for 2 bedrooms as you could accommodate a family of four rather than just 2 guests

Definitely lose one bedroom and make a beautiful ensuite bathroom.