We are so happy to share a heart warming follow-up that we received from the amazing people who adopted this pre-loved Pan-Abode into their family!
The new owner provided us with the following touching count of her journey towards her new home:
“I grew up in Ontario spending weekends and summers at the family cottage: this building and this land that had been in my family since 1895. I knew my ancestors through the trees, the water, the tongue and groove pine paneling that covered the walls and the ceiling, even through the kitchen utensils that were over 100 years old. I’ve now lived in Vancouver for as long as I lived in Ontario, and for a quarter of a century I’ve been searching for the West Coast equivalent of the family cottage.
Could there be somewhere out here my soul could rest?
Finally, this year I bought a piece of land – no services, no buildings. Bare land. My intention was to spend three years paying it down, coming up on the weekend, making paths, clearing brush; then maybe, three years from now, I’d start thinking about all the steps required to build a cabin. This plan was not to be.
Not two weeks after I’d taken possession of the land, a friend of mine was searching “cabin cruisers” online just for fun. What popped up was a Pan-Abode cabin for sale. She sent me the link. I said “no, it’s too soon.” She said “open the link.” I did. I instantly fell in love. It was perfect – old growth cedar, wood visible inside and out, small enough to be a cabin, big enough for friends to share in its beauty.
My friend and I went to look at it – all 700 square feet of it. The owners were kind and welcoming. The cabin was well loved and breathed an ease that was calming and eternal. The cabin and I were already meant to be. It’s not that I could see myself living in it, I could feel myself living in it. I could feel the adventures this cabin and I would have. I could feel the way it would ground me when I needed to destress, and the way it and I would be together for a long, long while.
The next step was to connect with Pan-Abode head office. They would draft new computerized drawings for me from the original hand drawn layouts in order to meet 2020 building codes. I’ve been moved by their kindness and genuine interest in my project. They are invested in my happiness and success.
About a month after the purchase I was on site, tools and dollies in hand ready to take it apart and store it until I was ready to re-assemble. I hired someone who had done this before. I am also gifted with some selfless friends who wanted to give of their time to participate in this adventure.
Growing up with lots of cottage time I am familiar with – and enjoy – wielding tools, building stone walls, tearing things down and generally doing heavy lifting; so, it brought me great joy to be hands on in taking apart my new home!
I thought I would be putting it back together exactly as it came apart but folks on site would share their ideas about the re-assembly. Oh, you could put a skylight here, you could extend this room, you could make this area a spa bathroom, you could enlarge the kitchen.
Of course, my budget will dictate what is possible, but as all the logs sit in freight containers waiting for their next pattern, it’s exciting to dream about what might be possible to make the cabin even more my own.
Prior to this adventure I had never heard of Pan-Abode homes. I didn’t know they were part of the Canadian landscape. Now that I’m part of the club of Pan-Abode owners I couldn’t be happier.
For now I’m content to dream about putting the puzzle pieces back together, but I am also excited for the day when the headlights of the cars of family and friends shine into my cabin windows as they pull onto the property, I hear car doors slam, bags dragged out of trunks, and the voices of loved ones coming onto the porch to fill my new cabin with love, joy, peace and hope.”