Wandawega Blog Archive

HOUSE RULE: Nothing crosses the threshold if its newer than 1960. We try to stick to this (except for sheets, mattresses, pillows & the stuff that none of us want if its not new.) So when youre up here next, go on a scavenger hunt: if you find anything new (even a spatula with a plastic handle instead of bakelight or wood) let us now, so we can donate it. Some folks leave new stuff behind (were looking at you, lime green frisbee & purple plastic chip bowl). We like to recycle the old, so thanks for humoring us in our OCD ways. So when resourceful & talented @aimeemazzenga & @jonnymendez__ came to camp to shoot some of the bunkhouse bedrooms, they had very little to work with, (we have been stripping these rooms down a little bit more every year) hoping to get them back a little closer to what they would have been when the Wandawega Hotel opened for business in 1925.

August 2, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

I have never been able to cook. Or bake. So it has become a spectator sport for us. My favorite thing in the world is to have foodies take over the kitchen – and root them on, hang out with a bottle of prosecco. (I was in a friends house nearly 20 years ago who had a couch in her kitchen – its taken two decades, but I finally got to check off the goal of having one, too.)Photo (green couch goal) courtesy of @rejuvenation on their feed today – shot by @nathanmichael Vintage cabinet from @scoutdesign (part of a set of 4). #WandawegaHillhouse

August 1, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

This 75+ pound antique antler mount used to hover over our bed. There were never enough wall anchors to hold back thoughts of sharp objects falling on us while we were unconscious… So after a year of sleepless nights, they were finally vanquished to the rathskeller. Until a couple weeks ago- they migrated over to the #WandawegaHillhouse where theyll remain suspended under the eaves (with tenacious steel rods) for as long as this cabin is standing. // @cassierosch captured the prettiest bride in their new safe spot.

July 31, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Like birds nests… all of Camps Nature watching nests are cobbled together scraps of things discarded- reshaped for a new life with a new purpose. The Aframe Shingles are deadstock shake… flanked with decking salvaged from a nearby BSA Camp. The canvas platform tents where rescued from a neighboring scout camp who were retiring them (along with the WWII bunks inside). The treehouse is almost entirely salvage from the remains of deconstructed barns and houses. #Reuse #Recycle #Reimagine Shots by @bennett_young

July 28, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

We have been hesitant to show anybody what this place really is (underneath it all)Unfortunately, we’ve found that the ‘befores’ are sometimes more information than some folks really want to know. (They get freaked out, question whether they want to stay here.) But now we figure what the hell- might as well tell the truth about how broke this place was- because every time we get scared of another project- we look back and say ‘well, we’ve dug into worse before’. It gives us hope that nothing is too far gone. We got this old cabin for peanuts. It was being sold for just land value because the cottage was all but condemned. For all those years before we finally got it – we watched it disintegrating into the earth, people had given up on it (even though it had lived through so much more than most of us will)So, we’re gonna share out a few more of the scary realities (the original house is still inside the new #wandawegahillhouse) under the floorboards, between the new walls. We call it her ‘skeleton’ inside -we’ve rebuilt a new house around her.THE CHEAPSKATE SOURCEBOOK DIARY: – ///we gathered a big chunk of the rocks for the chimney from around the campgrounds here. (the ones charlie picked at 4 years old are at center inside) – //// the wood chunk mantel is made from one of the old house’s original support beams (replaced becuase the foundation has literally collapsed into itself) – //// the floors are 150+ year old wood salvaged from a barn – stained with a homemade vinegar & steel wool stain made in 5 gallon buckets, then rubbed down & buffed in with motor oil (@hudsonflooringco) – //// the furniture a hodge-podge from thrift & junk stores, flea markets & hand-me-downs. Except one nice couch from @westelm – a clearance floor model scored for $600 because it was missing a button. (we tend to gravitate towards things more when they are a little bit broken ) / diningroom table from Walmart, chairs from @beehivevintage, couch from Scout home for $100, (that we ended up upholstering in clearance military blankets found on amazon). Fav detail: ceramics on table by the Julia of @grandmontstreet #FreedomFromPerfection

July 27, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

AFTER(and)BEFORE When we first started gutting the #WandawegaHillhouse for the rehab – the bathroom was probably the filthiest, most terrifying part. (Although I wish that we could have saved some of its 1940s wallpaper) I love that the former owners picked wallcovering that featured a formal estate with mansions to clad the walls of their shack. We like to think that they must have been optimistic dreamers . ….our dream come true? Not having to just pick from the clearance bin at Home Depot – and getting the chance to partner with @kohler for these fixtures

July 26, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

LONG LIVE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING.A special project for us has been in the works for going on a year now… with our friends at @ConwayElectric.We’ve long been inspired by their founder, Kevin (whos personal motto is rightfully ‘Power To The People’ ) His blog summed it up for us when he shared the story about his dad running a business in their midwestern home for 30 years and what happened with American manufacturing: check out his post : Why we bother being made in America. Our #WandawegaHillhouse partners at @Rejuvenation describe his goods as:”Influenced by nature, architecture and mid-century aesthetic, Conway Electric strives to achieve design simplicity with a quality-made badge. Based in Seattle, Washington, they partner with various suppliers and factories to source and manufacture quality products that support families and friends who make a living building with their hands. Assembled in the USA *In the USA* is the part that pulls at us. When camp was built over 90 years ago- everything down to the last nail in the floorboards came locally. We’d like to get back to, and stay true to that mission.This is all we can say for now, but we look forward to sharing what will make a big difference for our small mom-and-pop. #staytuned #powerTOthePEOPLEphotos: Conway Electric #Ext #Original #Authentic#HandMade #MadeInUSA

July 25, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

My dad was a wrecker man. even when he wasnt driving his tow truck, he always carried a tow rope in the back of his pickup.. growing up, it was common to have him tow complete strangers out of ditches, to gas stations (this was back when us 5 kids would ride in the bed of the truck into town from our house in the country). A few years back, we where cleaning out what was left in dads house, we found his old tow rope. We wrapped it around the base of the tree in his treehouse & nailed it down. A constant reminder that helping strangers is something you just do. and you teach your kids to do. (the treehouse would not exist if it where not for the helpfulness of strangers)So when @emily_katz came to camp this weekend on her @modernmacrame tour, she wanted to create a piece for camp.She chose the treehouse to weave in. I told her the story of the rope- It’s rough & grisly & old, smeared in motor oil from years in a mechanics shop- like our bearded dad was. She cut some rope off & wove it into a beautiful gift that could never have been bought. Scraggly hairs poking through those pristine white braided knots.Instead of choosing a branch to weave onto- we walked the rooms until she spotted the tambourine in the lodge & said thats it. (it was a local flea find, so many guests have used it from @corinnebaileyrae to toddler guests)She taught charlie to knot (last shot),wove this amazing piece & told us the story of how her mom taught her to macrame. I cant decide where to hang it, i want to look & be reminded of how many people have played it in the past 80yrs. I want to be reminded of what a tow rope means. To be reminded that we all need one, that we are better when we try to be one, & at our absolute best when we can learn how to accept one when its offered. Emily had the idea that people can still play it, & that its a piece of living art. For us- the best things are the practical, functional and have real meaning-So when you come visit us next, whatever wall you find it hanging on, feel free to give our little tow-rope tamborine a shake for good luck.Thank you, Emily for weaving our story & memories into this little musical talisman #

July 23, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

After all the years it took to finally get this kitchen built (thank you Craigslist for the 72 South Bend double oven!) we were so excited to have @lastingredient come bake in it! Paige Adams hosted a pie making/baking workshop as part of the @studiogang architects retreat. (She is a lead in interior design at the firm, and calls this her side hustle). It is mind blowing how talented in other surprising ways these guys are . #TalentCrush Photos: @lastingredient & @aimeemazzenga

July 21, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt