Getting happy with the dust

Getting happy with the dust, originally uploaded by Sweetland Retreat.

Joy creates a happy face on my ass with the shop vac


This is how I got to that point. I spent a good 4 hours sanding this with very fine sand paper all by hand and dragged my butt all over the place...you gotta get dirty! Brian sanded it with rougher stuff right before me. We have just stained it in an Early American finish and are about to put the polyurethane on it tomorrow.


Brian did an awesome job installing pine boards on the landing upstairs. It looks fabulous and is awaiting a stain and polyurethane, also.

Master bedroom painted

master bedroom painted, originally uploaded by Sweetland Retreat.

We have painted the Master Bedroom in two tones of yellow/gold. It looks amazing in the morning light and with the newly sanded floor. We're still in progress on the floor but it's looking beautiful...


This is a before (gray paint) and during (top sanded portion) shot of the original wood floor. We didn't think it would be so pretty but it certainly is! Now we need to decide on a finish! Any ideas???

Winter berries

Winterberries in snow, originally uploaded by Sweetland Retreat.

A view of the winter berries outside of the living room window. Lovely!

Joy painting the upstairs master bedroom

Joy painting, originally uploaded by Sweetland Retreat.

Joy with her BFF the paint roller. These slanted ceilings are literally a pain to paint. This is the primer going on. We've already painted the main color but will take photos over the weekend. This is the 2nd floor master bedroom which is over the workshop space. It will have a private bathroom and a private entrance from the studio. Since this is in the converted woodshed it has wonderful slanted ceilings. It'll be a nice hide away!


The underflooring on the landing needed to be repaired so that we can lay down new pine on top of it. The rest of the floor in the bedroom is going to be refinished to it's original state! It's very pretty but not done yet...more photos to come!

Workshop has been painted

Workshop has been painted, originally uploaded by Sweetland Retreat.

We chose a buttery yellow for the workshop walls. Soothing, bright, and neutral. Now we need to figure out what to do with the floor. We lucked out with the rest of the house, most of the other rooms have original wood floors underneath their current coverings. This one, though, used to be a wood shed so there is only a sub-floor under the carpet and linoleum. Anyone want to donate wood flooring???

Welcome to Sweetland Retreat!

SnowingAgain, originally uploaded by Sweetland Retreat.

Sweetland Retreat is currently under renovation! We plan to open the Retreat for workshops in late Winter and for Bed & Breakfast guests in the Spring. Drop us a line, comment, here, or bookmark our site! If you would like to join our mailing list please email Jamie at jamieribisi{at}gmail.com

More news REAL soon!