So here we go: We’re taking a 10-year deep-dive into the origin story of Camp Kelso. How we found it, the urban legends surrounding it, and many of the things we’ve done to it. For years I avoided blogging about the property because I’m really NOT a DIY, HGTV, Home-Remodel blogger. Sure, we (Billy) did a lot of it ourselves, but we also designed it and hired it out. The most recent, which you’ve all been watching was the kitchen remodel I spent the last 9 years planning. I’m about to blog all the before and after pictures, not this week, but over the next few months. So this is the anchor post to follow along with all the links… until tomorrow: The first picture I ever took of Camp Kelso.
Camp Kelso Week Post 2
Here we have the first-ever picture I took of Camp Kelso, on 2/7/15. I was holding a 15-day-old Wyatt, being given a “Trust Me” tour around this property that was mostly covered in mud. As mentioned last week, Billy had spent the whole last year living in a 5th wheel trailer in the Salem around, searching for our forever home, while I was still in Eugene. This property had been through a few owners and was a little under the radar. The outside doesn’t look too intimidating, in fact very much the same today. But it was the inside that was questionable. See all the Camp Kelso- Moving In Pictures from 2015 over on the blog for all the details.
Camp Kelso Week Post 3
When something has that bit of a back-glow, you know it’s meant to be… Camp Kelso, despite being mostly mug for a long time felt like that a lot. One of the other major factors was this giant yard that so many of you have seen the boys play in throughout the years. Many of your kids too, which has been an honor, of course. I bet it’s hard to guess by looking at it, and the Clark Griswold approach Billy has to perfecting it, that this whole area used to be a dirt bike track! Oh, and BONUS, there was a giant burn pile full of nails out in the middle of it.
Camp Kelso Week Post 4
While Billy was working away on the outside, Newborn Wyatt and nearly 2yo Cash were helping me fill the inside. Cash had the run of a nearly empty house for a few months and they both got to play inside of a LOT of boxes. Since we moved into Camp Kelso in March, it was still pretty muddy and we didn’t let Cash run around outside due to the creek, which would have been then, and definitely is now, his favorite place to be. Instead, we put him in swimming lessons as soon as we could to get us through to summer, and that Camp Kelso Creek Life we love now.
Camp Kelso Week Post 5
There they are, out there in that beautifully massive yard, planning all that would be someday. Welcome to Someday. This big square patch of mud, he turned into our patio. Over his left shoulder, is where he built the fire pit surrounded by my favorite strand of Edison lights. Over his right shoulder is where he built the half-court basketball court. To his 1-o’clock is where we built the boat barn and behind that, my new office building. It’s been a productive 9 years.
Camp Kelso Week Post 6
And here we are with an old, low-quality BEFORE picture taken in 2015 when we first moved into the house. You can still see my trailer our the front window as we were unpacking. If you missed it a few days ago, I posted a link to the blog for all the 2015 BEFORE pictures of Camp Kelso, before we started upgrading. There are some very interesting details to take in. If you look closely at this picture, you can see I had already started taping the trim for painting these walls, which I did immediately. Fun Fact, whoever had this house before us, attempted to make the trendy “concrete countertops” we saw for a few years across HGTV… we found them buried out in the yard and used them to make the Fire Pit Area counters! But they’re these exact corner shapes! Tomorrow is the AFTER view for this exact picture.
BEFORE Link: Camp Kelso- Moving in Pictures 2015
Camp Kelso Week Post 7
Annnnd AFTER! We just finished our biggest remodel to date, thanks to Allred Construction and their whole team of AMAZING people. I spent these 9 years plotting this out and we were finally able to pull it together over the summer of 2024. It was a dream come true. And I cannot wait for phase 2! (Well, I can, because #savingsaccount) I’ve got another plan to remodel the bathrooms and guest bedroom, but that will be in at least another 5 years. I have plenty of before and afters to blog about until then! I’ll be keeping a running blog list of posts on this new anchor page so that you can keep up with all the things Camp Kelso.
Blog Page: https://www.acottonkandilife.com/camp-kelso/
Next Week is Kitchen Week, where I’m diving into the little details of the remodel.
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