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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This has to be one of the most amazing posts I have ever read. It is a beautiful love story, really. I had to read it again. And again. I will be back tomorrow to throw my name into the hat! I lived in MN for a year and (happily) traveled extensively into Wisconsin for business each week. I told my boyfriend at the time (now hubby) we’d retire there someday. Now I remember why. Thank you so much for sharing. xoxo michele
Thank you Michele. You have no idea how incredibly happy your comment made me tonight. I’ve been working on this post for quite a while, and I had so much fun putting it together! SUCH a special couple, and SUCH a magical place! I hope to get a chance to take my Mom to Wandawega for a girls trip sometime soon, and sure would love it if you could roast a marshmallow with us too! 😀
I had to come back again and show my hubby! He agrees, we must plan to visit next summer. I plan to link to this tomorrow in my post about the great outdoors. It has inspired me to action. Had to thank you again for this beauty, Layla – it has me dreaming and planning!!
xoxo michele
I’m half Latvian too!!! Sooo cute!!! What an amazing transformation!
Her story is my dream! My husband humors me by listening and smiling at the right times but I’m so serious about finding a place just like Wandewega.
Wow, that is one amazing transformation! I so wish I had the money to do something like that! My dream is to find an old farmhouse with a few acres and do a total transformation. Great post!
What an amazing story! Camp Wandawega looks like the perfect place for summertime fun. Love everything about their restoration, just perfect.
I’m a midwestern girl and growing up good times in the summer were always at the lake… gonna have to check this place out! Thanks for sharing! xoxo
I have this book and really love it! It’s such a wonderful story! It’s great to read more about it and to see more pictures! Thanks for sharing! I hope I can find a place like this to own someday!
What an awesome project! I love that the priest who owned it actually called them. And the before and after pictures are unbelievable!!! I can’t believe the kitchen in the one.
Layla,
OMG…I love this post. It is like stolling down memory lane. Reminds me of the cabin on the lake my Grandpa had when I was little. I also hope one day to have a little cabin nestled in the woods, now if I can just convince my hubby I’m not insane.
I will be book marking this one for sure. Look forward to entering tomorrow.
Great post, as usual! And so inspirational. We need to redecorate our basement – it is now vintage toddler/bachelor, lots of toys everywhere and my husband’s hideous bachelor furniture. This post may inspire a theme!
OOOOOO I so love this post and would love to go for a visit. It looks like the perfect place to find some peace and relax with the kids.
Beardstown is one of our neighbors, so it was quite a surprise to read that one of the cottages came from there.
I can’t wait to see what more you have in store for us this week.
I love this post! Oh, how I’d love to visit this place. What a gem! Thank you for sharing with us all the wonderful pictures, virtual tour and story behind this dreamy place!
Amazing. And VERY moving. Teresa’s story also gives me a little hope. One day I want that same cabin on the lake as you do. 🙂 Funny how some dreams never seem to completely dissipate….
Wonderful post Layla!
Donna
wow. That´s such a lovely and peacefull place. And one day I really eant to spent some time there to take a rest of all the stress.
Thank´s for showing this great resort to us 😀
Wish you a good start in to this new week.
Christiane
Oh my gosh! Can I go? I’m still trying to decide which cabin is my favorite. Oh wow. So very cool.
Love this post! Love them all, actually!
Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Amazing transformation, and what a lovely place to call home away from home : o )
Wow, the possibilities that life holds!!!! Amazing!!
I just loved reading this post while gulping my coffee down. My favorite par.t is the fact that real serine beauty came to life at low or no cost.. This is a true are in itself..
Oh, Layla, I LOVE this story! Absoutely amazing!
I adore stories like this! What a labor of love for them… thanks for sharing. 🙂
That place is like “died and gone to heaven” gooooooood! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I have been seeing that book in Country living mag and keep contemplating buying it. I will be back tomorrow, but if I don’t get it here, I will definitely go out and buy it!
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful place! Tereasa and David are like the Layla and Kevin of the North Country. Thanks for sharing their fabulous renovations.
…it’s a place where dreams come true!
I love this post so much. Was hooked from the first words and photos.
This little camp brought tears to my eyes. I live in a little beach community on the Chesapeake Bay and this is a bit how things looked when we first began to come here over 40 years ago. It reminds me of the summers of my childhood. So lovingly restored. I can’t wait to see more!
OMGoodness, I want to go to adult camp!!! This post is adorable, Layla. I recently saw her book advertised in Country Living Magazine. I think it is a neat story, and I’m sure I would love the book. I hope I win it! Thanks for hosting a fun giveaway, and posting such an amazing story.
(((hugs))),
Ricki Jill
Amazing story!!! I could only dream of a place like that! Can you imagine the fun my boys would have there?! They certainly would love it if we had our on campground to live on.
And I love the name, since my mom’s name was Wanda. 🙂
Have a great week, Layla!
Traci
Just dreamy!!! They have created something truly remarkable. I am dreaming of a cottage on the lake someday too.
My best- Diane
Simply ahhhmazing work! Beautiful! I love what she did with reupholsering the chairs. What a dream to have that space on a lake!
What a labor of love…..I would love to take a trip over to Wisconsin and stay there for a day or two in that tiny little cabin….would love to see that book too!
WOW!! Dream come true! Simply amazing!
MEMORIES!!! Light the corners of my mind 🙂
I grew up going to northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin to resorts JUST like that….wow!
Beautiful post and beautiful re do! I love, love how something broken and falling down was redone so beautiful and COMFORTABLE. It’s a place that is going to make wonderful memories for family and friends….it’s somewhere that just screams pull up a chair, relax, soak in all that is good!
Thanks for sharing this Layla!
Hugs from Iowa,
Michelle at Pine Needle Hill
This is amazing. Love it all
This was a wonderful “wakin up in Michigan” reflection for me this morning. I was born in Wisconsin, familiar with and have family who live near here and this brought back memories galore.
Fabulous, simply fabulous pictorial storybook dream!
thank you . . .
Just wanted to say thanks for featuring this beautiful little spot in Wisconsin! I grew up there, but am in FL temporarily while my husband finishes grad school. I go through severe bouts of homesickness quite often 🙂 Any little reminder of my homeland sends my heart all a-flutter! Can’t wait for the rest of the week’s posts!
I am speechless!! Amazing Transformation. Definitely putting my name in the hat for the book!
oh my GOODNESS! this is just awesome! i have always dreamed of doing something like this! what a labor of love and dream come true! thank you for the beautiful post and chance to look at before/afters! happy monday! 🙂
Loved this post! What a beautiful retreat … so inviting… a delightful place to spend making memories with friends and loved ones. Thanks for sharing. I’m looking forward to reading more this week.
WOW! What an awesome dream come true! They are one lucky couple and what fun they’ll have for years to come! Thanks so much for sharing all the lovely pictures. I can’t stop looking at them! 🙂
This post made me GIDDY. Oh my goodness. How wonderful! I am reminded of the camp I grew up attending and that sense of magic that would always come over me when I got out of the car upon arrival. It’s still my favorite place in the world and reading this post gave me that same feeling!!
This was an incredible post! What an amazing transformation and story. I want to go to adult summer camp! Thanks for sharing.
Layla you always find the COOLEST stuff. Would LOVE that book.
What inspiration. I’d love to visit there…
Just your style.
wow. that’s it, just wow. what an incredible place. i could get down with a lake-side vaca if it looked like that! {i’m a beach girl….}
I’ve been a little obssessed with this cottage since I first read the story in country living mag. I had NO IDEA what they had done with the lake resort! Amazing! such an inspiration!!! i would LOVE to be able to do something like this!
Oh, what a beautiful story. Such talented people with such a love of nature and old things. I so want to vacation there. I would love to win that book and read all about it. Thanks for the story.
I LOVED this post Layla. Perfect summer spot. I love all the bright cheerful rooms. And for such a tiny budget…ahhhmazing! With our time constraints think full-time job and 4 busy kid schedules, we have not had time for a vacation. This reminded me how much we need to carve out some time for a much needed break.
What a delight! They are almost my neighbors! I love the care and heart they have invested in this gorgeous place. Cozy, beautiful, clever and so appealing. I love it.
Yes, please!
Oh my goodness, my heart is going pitter pat reading this article! I am so in love with this place!! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ve seen that book but had no idea of the story that went with it 🙂
LOVE. On every level this is an amazing story. What a beautiful, relaxing, peaceful and rewarding place that they’ve now made their own. I love that their backgrounds each had a unique and individual history leading them to this camp, first. Now they can connect the two roads that lead them each to this beautiful place that they can share for years, to someday look back and at that time only see one road behind them, theirs.