Almost every summer memory of my childhood is from the lake. Growing up I was lucky enough to spend the entire summer at Shuswap Lake - swimming, building sand marinas (no castles here), and relying on my imagination to create fairytale lands in the vacant lot next door. Only now do I realize how lucky my mom was as well - oh to trade in my day job for three months in the sun making sure sunburns, duck itch, and scrapes are attended to.
Initially we had a small travel trailer (with power, we were so lucky!) and then upgraded to a large covered deck and running water (via a garden hose hooked up to our neighbour's house). Although not completely roughing it, we did bathe in the lake and rely on an outhouse* until just recently.
*I outfitted the outhouse with movie posters - John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Greece greeted you upon entry...
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| Past the tubers, you can see out little trailer on the left behind the trees |
And then everything changed... Two years ago we decided it was time to build a cabin on the property. Goodbye little trailer containing so many memories, hello big changes that at times hurt my heart; The entire lake has changed - not always for the better.
The cabin was supposed to be small, unlike some of the gargantuan estates that dot the shoreline. However, a small living space over a garage quickly morphed into a loft-like space with an attached outdoor kitchen. We've been slowly making progress between days of relaxation in the summer, utilizing my brother's electrical background and many of his friends that work in the trades.
And now, we have running water, a flush toilet and fully functioning shower - no need to bathe in the lake although my brother and I are still doing so in protest. The cabin is wonderful, a natural progression that will work well as my brother and I start to have our own families (that is, if my mom has her way...).
Now, an outdoor shower is in the works. I'm in love with the open roofed, tropical dream spaces found at swanky four star resorts - ours on the other hand will be more one or two star. We've talked about a curved rock wall and the need for a roof to accommodate our less-than-tropical weather. Here are a few that I've pulled off the internet, although a bit fancy, they have some great features that could work for us...
I love, love, love this slate which is run up and down in a super modern pattern.
This shower is great because of the large amount of natural light. I really like the gap between the high ceiling and less high walls.
A curved wall - what a great idea! The tones in the dark rock here are great and again, the walls are just high enough for privacy but don't go right up to the ceiling, letting in a ton of light.
This shower is a bit dark (may just be the picture...) but I really love the extra large glass doors that open up to make it feel open. The wood floor is pretty great too.
I promise to keep you posted if/when anything progresses - we'll see if any of these ideas can be worked into the plan...
Enjoy!
Calli
