After nearly 2 years of searching, and a few close calls along the way, I finally found the cabin I loved and we were fortunate enough to close on it last month. It’s a cute and cozy A-frame on Harstine Island, nestled in the woods above the Puget Sound and Case Inlet –pinch me!
My heart was really set on a waterfront beach house or cabin. We spent many months on and off looking at several properties around Puget Sound, before deciding to start searching around Hood Canal and South Puget Sound with beach access, and boy are we glad we did! I spent some summers in my youth at the Canal so I’m familiar with the area and have gained a better appreciation for it as I got older. The water body temperature of Hood Canal is considerably warmer than other Puget Sound regions, allowing for comfortable swimming and water activities. Hood Canal is a 2-hour drive from Seattle which isn’t too bad if you’re looking for a weekend getaway, and access to fresh oysters from the beaches is a bonus – I LOVE oysters. We stumbled upon Harstine Island by way of our Shelton and Belfair search. I had never heard of this island before and learned that it was connected to Shelton via a bridge. Shelton is part of Hood Canal, often referred to as the Gateway to the Olympics, and is commonly known for its Taylor Shellfish Farm empire. Harstine Island itself is more remote and an insanely beautiful, quiet, peaceful area. While most of the properties in that area weren’t any where near our price range for a second home, this one popped up and we had an agent video tour it for us immediately, loved it and put an offer in that day!
Here are some things we considered:
1.) Our family isn’t getting any younger. John would fish 24/7 if he could, and Jonah and Baron would BE fish is they could. We all love the water and we try to get on it as much as possible. The Pacific Northwest is our first and original place we call home and we wanted a place to come back to during the kids summer breaks. We want to invest in our family….and we feel a cabin will create some fun memories for us.
2.) We view it as an investment. Not only is real estate property always an asset, we also want to make some updates to the cabin and rent it out a portion of every month and as a summer Airbnb vacation rental. We have an opportunity with a great platform to reach a large audience who may want to enjoy cabin life and beach living as much as we do….and the fact that we can potentially have a cabin that could pay for itself, WHILE we still can enjoy it? It’s a win-win in our book! As we look to the future, this could be another great opportunity to generate additional income while not taking away from our family.
3.) Accessibility. I love riding the ferries, but I was looking out for the ability to rent it out and the accessibility factor for potential tenants and guests for this home. Not having to rely on a ferry schedule was one less thing I had to worry about when managing a vacation rental from out-of-state.
As avid users of Airbnb, VRBO/Homeaway ourselves, and working in the OTA industry for many years, I felt I had a good grasp on what it would take to manage and market a property of my own from both the traveller’s perspective and from the accommodations side.
With all of that thinking…a lot of discussing and researching, we purchased the cabin for exactly what we were hoping to get it for.
While the A-frame alone excited us, what sold us was the beach access and private community. The beach! I grew up in Seattle, and even having lived in the NW all my life, I’ve never seen anything quite like this beach and forest combination in a unique island community. The water and salty air is just as crisp as I remember, and the view of Mt Rainier is remarkable.
Our plan is to Airbnb it (listing here!), then rent it out (you’re invited!) and continue to enjoy it as a family, too. We already spent a wonderful weekend here with the kids and are looking forward to making more memories starting now. While this post doesn’t include any mood boards, my plan is to produce a cozy cabin vibe. We love the natural wood walls in the main areas and can’t wait to add in more modern, nautical style touches to our forest island getaway. Here’s how it looks on the inside now.
The front door, per se, is actually in the back of the cabin, and upon entering, the wood paneled walls and wood floors and bright room is the first thing you notice.
The cabin came furnished and I packed and travelled with my own decor items, some of which I’ve had in storage and some I acquired and saved knowing that we’d own a vacation cabin one day. The only items I needed to buy were the essentials: linens and towels, toilet paper, paper towels, soap, etc. Thank goodness for AmazonPrime! I wonder if the driver was beginning to think I was a crazy lady ordering every day all day with packages arriving every day when we were at the cabin.
Small yet functional kitchen. The a-frame windows really bring in a lot of natural light.
The main floor bedroom also has a door to the bathroom.
The bathroom had an older sliding shower door that we removed and replaced with a curved shower rod and a crisp white shower curtain.
The fun part is the loft. I wanted to create a fun sleeping space for the boys and with kids in mind decorating with fun modern nautical decor. The colors are classic and fun for any age and gender.
Loft or kids sleeping area
The Community
As a bonus, the cabin is in the Hartstene Pointe community, a private gated community with tons of amenities we knew the kids would enjoy as would we. There is a seasonal outdoor heated pool if the kids ever get tired of the beach (highly doubt it) but nice to have the option, along with a children’s playground and a clubhouse with a library, pool table, ping-pong, foosball and good old-fashioned board games. There is also a boat launch, a marina, picnic areas and gazebos on the beach, sports courts, a lagoon and spit, walking trails, and miles of private beach. The island is home to many wildlife with deer, fox, eagles, and cougars, while the Sound is home to the occasional orca sighting.
Puget Sound Case Inlet on the North Point
The boys loved the pool and playground and we think our guests with kids will love it too!
The photo above is the from NWMLS and is the perfect gathering spot for summer bbqs.
During our first week at the Pointe, our nightly routine consisted of going down to the beach after dinner to play in the sand, hop on the rope swing, play in the fort and watch the sunset.
We even dug for dinner one of the nights – fresh clams off the beach!
This is the entrance as you enter the island. How cute is the oyster shell covered median with a little row boat? Of course we had to get out of the car for a pic!
A couple of months ago we celebrated our 10th anniversary and throughout the past ten years, I’ve learned that anything feels possible with John by my side. We are so excited to be able to create a place for not only our family to enjoy, but for any of you to eventually come and experience, too. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for so long and I can’t wait to get started. Now, pass me a hammer!
Thanks for reading and following along this new project as we enter the world of vacation home ownership. Follow @harstineislandbeachcabin on Instagram!
oh cute! I think I remember seeing this one on Zillow a while ago. I’d love to find an A-frame type cabin in the same are, but now the market it terrible 🙁
Thank you! How bad is the market? I’m sure you’ll find something soon!