There be critters

We'd like to introduce you to some of the neighbors/neighbours you are likely to encounter at the Retreat.  Because the villa is located on a lake, there is an abundance of wildlife.  We've been visited by families of Sandhill Cranes, lots of ducks and White Ibis.  It's also fun to watch the turtles swimming in the lake.  One morning we watched a bird (which, according to our resident family ornithologist (thanks Ken!), was probably an Anhinga ) playing "cat and mouse" with a turtle.  It was the funniest thing to see... the turtle was swimming behind the bird who would let the turtle get to within a couple of feet of it and then the bird would dash about 10 feet away where it would wait for the turtle to catch up with it... and then they would do it all over again and again and again.  This went on for well over an hour. 


Sandhill Crane family that kept visiitng



lots'a ducks



Florida White Ibis



Sunset Lakes fishing dock & gazebo

friend with a big catch

The lake is also reknown for its Largemouth bass.  Fishing is allowed on the lake, on a catch and release basis.  We've seen people fishing off the dock, as well as from the shore.  At first we were skeptical about what we had heard about the size of the fish in the lake.  But, then we saw pictures... .they're big ones in there alright! 

The neighborhood/neighbourhood  "critters" are another great attraction of our Retreat on the Lake.... you get all of this wonderful, relaxing entertainment included when you stay at this Orlando vacation home rental.

Stay tuned for some new renovation pictures, as the work will be resuming after the US Thanksgiving break... upcoming is the grouting of the floor tile, installation of the new kitchen and exterior painting... can't wait!

Visit our website:  http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/

Happy US Thanksgiving

We'd like to extend Happy Thankgiving wishes to all our new American and American resident friends that we've met in the last few months.  Hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow full of precious time with family and lots of good food.

It's nice to have help

Quite a number of people have told us that they think we are being brave for doing this renovation long distance... we are thousands of miles away.  I guess we can understand their perspective, but at first it just seemed rather odd that this should involve bravery on our part.  That is because of all the wonderful people we have helping us.  We've got quite a team backing us up. There's been Dan from Team Donovan, Kenny and Joe from All-In Construction, and Brad and Jeff from Home Staging and Design Pros.

I've posted about Dan, and Kenny and Joe.  They, along with Rob and Michelle Goldspink, our super property managers (about whom I will post later), have been our rock solid foundation.  They have treated us with respect and kindness and we have 100% confidence in them.  They are in contact with us so often, they feel like part of the family!

Brad Fletcher and Jeff Johnson of HSDPros are also helping us... we don't know what we'd do without them.  Actually, we couldn't do it without them.  They are the ones on the ground, advising us how to decorate the villa and helping us buy the interior furnishings.  They've got the expertise about Florida decor, what works and doesn't work in a vacation home, and have access to suppliers that regular consumers don't.  We didn't want a "cookie-cutter" villa... there's far, far too many of them out there like that.  We wanted something special and Brad is pushing me out of my "comfort zone" to help make that happen.  He's suggesting things that I'd never have considered ... and it's all working.  I can't wait to see what he's got to show me tomorrow!  Check out their website and you'll see the wonderful work they've done for others.  We feel very fortunate to have them as part of our team.

Joe told me this evening that all of the floor tiling is now completed.  I didn't think that more pictures of floors would be terribly interesting... so no pictures today.  There will be more pictures soon, though.

Website:  http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/

It's all about tile right now.



tile in the living room



The All-In Construction crew has been busy laying the new tile floors.  We are having tile floor through out the villa, so there's lots of tiling to do.  But, they work fast in Florida and they're already two days ahead of schedule.  It looks like they'll be finished laying the tile tomorrow and then they will do the grouting.  See the pictures below for the professional job they're doing... note the 1/8" inch grout line.... it's as close as you can get.

l

looking from the dining room into the kitchen --- they're doing the professional thing of tiling under where the kitchen cabinets will be installed --- no short cuts here!

On another note, I found the sheets for the two master bedrooms (King and Queen).... luxurious, high thread count, Egyptian cotton.  Plus, we have a selection of both firm and soft pillows.  We respect that an important part of renting a vacation home is buying a good night's sleep, so we are making sure we provide for that.  We're looking forward to the pampering ourselves!

Keep checking our website, as it is evolving too:  http://www.theretreatybythelake.com/

Online shopping adventures!

There are no new pictures to post today as the hard working All-In Construction team has been taking a much deserved weekend off.  They are already ahead of schedule, so we have no worries that The Retreat will be ready on time to rent in January.
Being thousands of kilometres/miles away and having to acquire the amenities for the villa, we are relying heavily upon the wonders of the internet and online shopping.  Ask us anything about online shopping... we're experts now!
One really challenging thing about being in Canada and equipping a villa in Florida is that some of the US online stores/vendors do not seem to want to our business... go figure!  They are insistent that any credit card being used for the purchase have a US billing address.  Well, that's kind of difficult when you do not reside in the country, right?  But, it's all good.  Not all of the online stores have such ridiculous policies and we've been able to provide our business to their competitors -- i.e., the ones who get it that we're all living in a global economy now.
Today, we selected lots of soft and fluffy, hotel quality bath towels and comfy cotton blankets.  Next up, we're on the hunt for silky Egyptian cotton sheets for the King and Queen bedrooms.
We have made a commitment to develop a luxury villa with all the modern amenities and we are going to deliver.
BTW, we are not alone in making The Retreat something really special.  Stay tuned for a future post about Home Staging Design Pros.

Consult The Retreat's website (still under construction too):  www.theretreatbythelake.com

Going, going, gone!

One thing that always struck us as rather odd about the villa was the "art deco" type feature in the living room .... that round corner with the niche in it.  It just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the house, which is all about angles.  We could have left it, but then we'd always regret not changing it.... actually it would have been Mike who would regret it because he'd have had to listen to me complain about it!  So, the All-In Construction team have remodelled that corner for us and it is now gone.  The villa will be much better for it and so will Mike.

http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/  (also under construction)

going.....



...going...

.... gone

A big thank you / merci to Dan

Today's pictures come courtesy of Dan Palmer of Team Donovan, the realtor who helped us find and purchase The Retreat.  He stopped by the villa today and snapped these pictures for us.  He didn't have to do this... but then again he didn't have to do a lot of the things he's done for us... he's brought us water and food, he's fixed the old stove so we could cook our dinner when we were there, he's personally repaired one of the windows, he's given us referrals to a number of different service providers, he's helped us navigate the Florida property tax system, and he's made us laugh on many, many occasions that would otherwise have been quite stressful for a couple of Canadians buying a property in the US.  And boy, does he work hard.... he seems to be available 24/7, no matter what.  If you want to buy a property in the Orlando area.... you know who to call!

Consult the RetreatbytheLake website or contact us directly at theretreatbythelake01@gmail.com. 

a kitchen in waiting



lots of Florida sunshine



always a great view



art deco feature still disappeariing









Wow... they work fast in Florida!

What a difference a day makes.  The All-In Construction team, under the leadership of Joe Atwell, the project manager, have completed all of the demolition work.  The carpets and old tile are gone.  The bathrooms have been "deconstructed".  And the kitchen cabinets have been carefully removed and given to Habitat for Humanity.  The villa looks so different.

Website under construction:  http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/

all cleared away



the hallway to the bedrooms













where the ensuite shower stall used to be



2nd bathroom



the art deco feature is disappearing

kitchen

saving the cabinets - notice the glass block feature!







the ensuite tub is being replaced

 

THE HISTORY

As a family, we have been to the Orlando area several times.  We had always stayed within Walt Disney World.  At the end of the last school year, we decided to do WDW one more time, but with a twist.  We stayed at a vacation home in the area so that we would have lots of space for us and our kids, our own pool, peace and privacy, and flexibility in terms of meals and things.  It was a truly wonderful experience... it was our best trip ever to the see "the mouse"... and we were left with lots of extra money in our pockets and wondering why we hadn't done it this way before.

In fact, it was such a great experience that we decided to purchase a vacation home in the area so that we would always have a nice place to stay when the winters here in Canada get to be too much for us to bare.  It would also be a place that we could share with rental guests when we are not able to be there.

Through a referral from the nice couple from whom we rented the vacation home last June, we contacted Dan Palmer of Team Donovan Realty to help us find a place.  After a two day exhaustive search later in August, we found our place... or, more accurately, it found us.  Dan shepherded us through 17 houses in two days, but when we saw the Retreat we both knew immediately that it was the place for us.  The location of this villa sold us right away ... it is perfect!  It is a four bedroom, two bathroom villa with a south facing pool on a lake and only ten minutes away from WDW (really!), in a secure gated community called Sunset Lakes.  This location is a true oasis in the Orlando/Kissimmee area.  After you've done a theme park or played that excellent (or not) game of golf, you return through the gates of this established community into a quiet, serene environment where you have your own spacious villa into which you can escape.

After deciding that this was the place for us, Dan and the staff at Team Donovan took excellent care of us and patiently guided us through the Florida realty purchase process, which turned out to be nowhere near as scary as we thought it might be.  One month later, the villa was ours.

THE RENOVATION

We absolutely love the villa and its location (can you tell?).  We knew, however, that while it had clearly been loved by its previous owners, it needed to be updated.  [We've met the previous owners and they are truly wonderful people who will always be welcome at the Retreat.]  We had two options for updating the villa.  We could have done a number of small fixes or we could go all out and do a complete renovation.  Given that we've never been ones for half measures.... we thought... let's go for it ... let's renovate and make it one of the nicest vacation homes in Orlando.  So, the place is being completely remodelled:  new kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, fixtures, furniture, etc.

All-In Construction is doing the renovation work for us.  Kenny Padgett is a thoroughly professional and responsive general contractor... he has gone out of his way to make everything as seamless as possible for us.  We especially appreciate that he's been so understanding of the needs and concerns of clients who are thousands of miles away... he's been great at keeping the communications going.

The renovation is about to begin. 

We are posting some "before" pictures.  Check back regularly to see the renovation in progress, and especially the "after" pictures.

You can also consult the RetreatbytheLake website or contact us directly at theretreatbythelake01@gmail.com. 

the dining room and kitchen

dining room



really big living/family room -- look at the view!



the other side of the living room showing the covered lanai



a rather interesting "art deco" feature



one side of the large kitchen

master bedroom

2nd bedroom

3rd bedroom

4th bedroom

ensuite master bath

ensuite master bath

2nd bathroom