Welcome to Wandawega Week!
What’s Wandawega Week, you ask? Well, it’s kind of like “Shark Week”, but instead of ginormous ocean waves, exploding with super scary sealife- think: a serene midwestern lake- filled with sweet little (non-ferocious) fishies instead. Oh, and a whole buncha this kind of awesomeness in a special series of blog posts over the next 5 days too…
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
This is Tereasa Surratt…
She’s one of my home improvement heroes and she’s created a magical little place in Wisconsin called Camp Wandawega.
It all started in 2004, when she got engaged to fellow advertising executive David Hernandez and they bought a tumbledown lakefront resort in Elkhorn, Wisconsin- 90 miles from their Chicago home.
Even though it needed tons of work, they thought it would make the perfect location for their wedding ceremony and, later, for weekend getaways.
Developed in the mid-1920s, the 25-acre piece of lake property they purchased served as home to many different businesses over the years. A speakeasy, a brothel, a modest vacation destination, and finally- a Catholic priest-run retreat for the Latvian community.
But to David, (who’s half-Latvian) the rustic camping resort was sacred ground. His extended family had vacationed there every summer since he was born, and each nook and cranny of the property held special childhood memories. “Going there felt like a fantasy,” David says. “It was a different world.”
When David initially took Tereasa out to see the place (several years before they got engaged) they left with a parting request to the elderly priest who owned it at the time: “If you ever decide to sell this place, call us first.”
The good news call came five years later, and the couple snatched up all 25 acres. On it, sat four buildings (and all the furniture inside of them), an archery range, a basketball court, shuffleboard courts, a garage, two piers, and some horseshoe pits.
But years of deferred maintenance had left almost everything in a fragile state. Leaky, sagging roofs; critter squatters; and mildewed drapes were just a few of things that needed to be dealt with. So from the time they closed on the place in February of 2004, until their wedding date six months later, tons of friends pitched in on weekends to help them whip it back into shape.
Their marriage celebration also revealed the potential of their new purchase. With 25 bedrooms divided among the main lodge…
…an old hotel…
…and three small cabins…
…Camp Wandawega makes one heckuva place to entertain. Tereasa says, “It’s like summer camp for adults!”.
Tereasa’s decorating strategy is what she calls “found, flea, or free”, and she really has fun with the camping theme. She reupholsters chairs with wool blankets…
…and cable-knit varsity sweaters…
She decorates walls with vintage, fish-shaped jello molds…
…and old school art…
…and colorful fishing lures…
She also took this rundown kitchen from drab to fab on a $5000 budget…
And check out this shot of the amaaaazing collection of Fiestaware they discovered inside a boarded-up wall in the pantry…
SCORE!
Here are some shots from around the dark green-painted cabin that came with the property…
Before…
And the light and airy afters…
Here are some photos from the 3-bedroom, red and white cabin that overlooks the lake…
It was also on the property when they bought it, but Tereasa has given it a sweet & sunny facelift over the past few years…
Don’t you just love those vintage rackets and that pretty painted porch floor? *swoon*
The tiny green and white cottage (now nestled next to the green cottage) was a big time labor of love too…
Plucked from a weed-tangled truck yard in Beardstown, Illinois for $500, the crusty little cabin could barely stand when they purchased it…
Tereasa had had her eye on it since she was “knee-high to a grasshopper”, so David and his brother hauled it 300 miles over to their property on Lake Wandawega…
The white circle on the map below shows where it sits now…
(Take a virtual tour of the whole place at Wandawega.com!)
When Tereasa got around to researching her little cottage-that-could, she discovered that it had several prior lives. In the 1920’s, it was an overnight rest stop for motoring tourists. After that, a rod-and-gun club used it for Friday night card games. Then in the 1950s, it served as the office for a trucking company. Eventually it became a storage shed and when Tereasa and David bought it, it was just sitting there, abandoned.
There’s nothing lonely about it today though…
(Photos by Aimee Herring)
…and would you believe Tereasa loved it back to life in just three months and with a budget of $300!?
I dream about moving an old cottage to a lake someday too, so of course this part of David and Tereasa’s Wandawega story was extra intriguing to me!
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Tereasa wrote a beautiful book about her cottage-moving/restoring experience, and we thought we’d give away a signed copy here on our blog this week. (Thank you for joining in on the fun, Tereasa!)
Swing by tomorrow if you’d like to throw your name in the (virtual) hat, and stay tuned for more “Wandawega Week” posts to come too!
(Note: Photos in this post are linked to their sources if they were available.)
Click HERE to go to day two of Camp Wandawega Week!
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Pam
What a wonderful story of the power of love.
I’d love a copy of Teresa’s book.
Amy Wathen
Ahhhh LOVE this. I started reading and thought this reminds me of that book I want…. I kept reading and fell in love… then I came to the end and saw it IS THE BOOK I WANT. Thanks for a great giveaway. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Flower Patch Farmgirl
El, you were not joking! I am in love with every little thing about this post. The camp is purely delicious and your words were every bit as wonderful. You sure are great at what you do, dear. 🙂
Allison A.
Oh my what an adorable place. I could live there year yound. The cottages and the grounds and well, all of it are so breathtaking. What a fantastic job they did on such a wonderful place!
Trude
Wow talk about the project of a lifetime! So thankful there’s still people out there to restore heritage locations like that. They did amazing work!! 🙂
Stellastarlite
I want a cabin/cottage!!!!!
Wanda Lindsey
Love It!
KatieQ
It looks like such a magical place, it’s like a fairy tale.
Heidi
This was a wonderful read accompanied by gorgeous shots…it kept me company (smiling and dreaming) while up late last night….THANK YOU!!! 🙂
Debbie is reFresh reStyle
Love, that’s the only word I can think of to say about it all! What a great place and story!
Debbie
Michelle Torres
Oh My Goodness, I am speechless! She is very talented and I am amazed by all of the things she did to create such a dreamy place like this! Great Inspiration!!!!!
Michelle Torres
[email protected]
Valentine
Nice post. thanks for linking back to my Wanda posts. T+D are super creative people and have built a wonderful and magical place with Wandawega. I love visiting.
Melisa
Beautiful! I’d love to learn her secrets! 🙂
amy
Love, love LOVE this! What a great story and great place.
gina
Wow, what a place. I’d love to spend some time there. Cannot wait to read more about it. I’ll be back to throw my name in the hat for the book. Really hope I win! What a wonderful story…thanks for sharing.
Lisa
Wow! That transformation is just amazing – Kudos to both of them!
Karen
I LOVE THIS STORY!! All the photos were a real plus. Hurray for this couple and all the hard work they put into this. It looks like it would be so much fun to “play” there!! Very inspiring story.
betsy R.
what a heavenly retreat! Love it !
Josette
My favorite post ever! I must go! I have been thinking about it all day!
Debbie
Hi Layla, What a sweet little get away spot. I know they had a ball fixing it all up. I would love to read her book about her little cabin that she moved in. I started to order it once before but didn’t. I sure would like to win on. Thanks alot!!!!! Debbie G
Cindy Chapman
What a beautiful place! Gorgeous photos, Layla. Such a joy to read! Thanks!
MJ Smith
Amazing … just amazing!
Fiquet
WOW! What an amazing place! Can’t wait to tune in this week! Have fun!
Melanie
i know the camp will make so many visitors happy just as this post has made me feel= The place looks gorgeous! it so inviting. Excellent work-love the photos as well!
Vickie H.
WOW!!!! Truly a labor of love! Thanks for sharing! Just OUTSTANDING!!!
cribtales
Oh! I just saw that book at Borders recently and was so intrigued! Can’t wait to throw my name into the hat…and to head over to their website to find out more about their property! And seriously, hidden Fiestaware?? How awesome is that?!
Hedy King
Layla, of all the beautiful and inspiring posts on TLC, this is the most beautiful and inspiring. Such a treasure for Thereasa and her husband. Thanks for sharing.
erin
Awesome series, Lay! Simply gorgeous and as inspiring as always. I posted the first of my renovation posts today for our own beach cottage and it was so fun to come here right after and see this lake cottage reno, woot woot! and they are right across the lake! Love you!
Sharlyn LePage
Such an awesome place. Their own little world, for sure. Thanks for sharing such wonderful pics.
The Vintique Object
I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this post. Old things and heritage and memories must be preserved. Thank you for introducing me to Camp Wandawega.
Lorrie McD.
What a lovely spot…………..what creative owners!
Jenny Depa-Karl
WOWEE! What a labor of love! un-believe-able! Love it!
Tina Byford
Oh my goodness…….it is breathtaking! I love the beach but think I could quickly fall in love with this Lake! The transformation is unbelievable and I know they have put lots of hard work into it and it shows! Can’t wait to check out her blog!
Heather
Oh my stars and garters!!!! This post made me positively flutter! I LOVE their ideas, their vision, and their lovely camp. What a WONDERFUL idea for a wedding site. I will SO be putting y name in the hat!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this.
Heather
Gina @The Farmhouse Kitchen
What a great idea for a wedding destination! Love their style.
Kelly
How incredible, fun, peaceful, beautiful, and special!!! The post you did on it was great, too! 🙂
Beverly Palmer
I never dreamed about ever going to Wisconsin until this post. The way you wrote about Wadanwega Resort and the pictures you posted, well I could almost smell the lake and feel the breeze coming off of it. It made me want to take my husband and all 3 kiddos (and our dog Thomas) there for vacation. Absolutely beautiful!
The Dutch Girl
I hadn’t yet read this post (catching up after a week of lovely vacation) but I remember reading about this couple in a magazine a few years back. One detail stood out: if memory serves me well, this is the girl who bought all the equipment to make maple syrup only to find out there wasn’t a single maple tree on the property. I love her spirit!
Hanneke
Melanie
LOVED this post! I’m just 30 MIN from Beardstown IL. How fun to put a post with a location. I enjoyed this and hope to do some fun things with our new Cottage!
Linda
I was born and raised in Wisconsin….and subsequently moved out and on with my life in other parts of America. Still love going back home, and deeply relate to the cottage on the lake lifestyle and am thrilled to see so many people hankering for the experience.
Pam M
Love the history. Count me in!
Denise
Maravilhoso seu blog! Estou conhecendo agora e já estou apaixonada por tanta inspiração , beleza , bom gosto e muito arte!
Parabéns!!!
Sucesso!
Denise Moro
Brasil!
[email protected]
What a beautiful history!
I had to forward this to my husband.
Guess what? He loved it!
I guess we will have to plan a trip… 🙂
Thanks, Layla, for sharing this sweet story! 🙂
Cheryl F
Teresa is liviing my dream. Seriously, this has been one of my dreams since I was a little girl. Our family used to visit a resort in Bracebridge Ontario that went up for sale a couple of years ago. Of course there was no way I could afford the multi million dollar price tag. I couldn’t find any news of the plans for the resort and then I found a facebook group and began to absorb the bad news. The new owners tore down every beautiful old building thinking they would sell the gorgeous lakefront property as 3 lots. Their plans were never approved and the land sits empty except for the ghosts of summers past. It was devasting to see the bare land where cabins and lodges used to be, where families used to bond, and play, and laugh for generations. It warms my heart to see Teresa and her family bring life and laughter back to such a beautiful spot.
Cottage life really is something I am very passionate about – I will be a cottage owner one day!
Can’t wait to see what the rest of the week brings on your blog!!
Cheryl F.
jane
wonderfully inspiring!
Diane
i remember when this cottage was in country living
didn’t know there was an extra 25 acres
how great
Shannon
Wow! This is such a beautiful love story:) Cant wait to see more.
Linda
You have indeed created your own little Heaven! I love your decorating strategy of “found, flea, or free” and am SO ENVIOUS of your ability to look at something and envision what it could be. The white kitchen with its light fixtures, cabinet pulls, penny candy canisters, and the cupboard with the punched tin drawers especially appealed to me. The red and white cabin overlooking the lake appeals to my “live simply quest.” I can imagine summer slipping into fall.. What a beautiful respite from the hectic pace of today’s existence. I can’t wait to read your future posts.
Tasha B.
Oh, Wow! So much inspiration! I would love to win that book. And LOVE the “found, flea or free” motto! Adopting it.
Melinda Ke
What an amazing transformation!