Stillwater Luxe

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Black Hawk, CO
Stillwater Luxe

Follow our journey to build a luxury lakeside shipping container rental in the mountains of Colorado.

07/18/2024

I wrote a thing...

I was burnt out. For nearly fifteen years I had worked as a commercial photographer trying to balance art and commerce. I felt like I had…

05/04/2024

From building a classic A-frame cabin to splitting a ski condo, there are plenty of creative ways to own at least a part-time high-country getaway.

02/11/2024

I put the correct duvet in the correct room. Are you happy now !!!?!?!??

09/08/2023

It is feeling like a new life chapter has begun.

07/19/2023

07/07/2023

Things are moving along here.

1. We have a delivery date for the modular of mid August…fingers crossed that nothing will get pushed back! It’s a two week process to get it installed once delivered to the site.

2. I made new renderings of the project as you can see here.

3. We posted the listing on at a discounted rate to see if we can start getting some rentals on the books.

https://abnb.me/0h5yVaaVeBb

After after several years of grinding away at this it feels like things are actually moving fast.

07/02/2023

06/30/2023

Our mascot Rosie has some interesting ideas on good napping positions.

06/30/2023

06/25/2023

I had to do a double take when I saw this picture because it looks like Fall aspens. Instead it’s just an amazing sunset effect.

Believe it or not I found doing the siting for the foundation one of the hardest things. I tweaked it so many times, tested my pathetic math skills figuring out the diagonal of a square. It also just felt like such a permanent decision…because you know it is.

In the end I twisted the site slightly clockwise so that from the West side you see Thorodin mountain peak and from the East side you see a glimpse ok the lake. I also ended up moving it back in hopes of saving money on excavation. I think that was probably only slightly successful. The lot is remarkably level, but of course where it did start to drop off to the lake is where I wanted to have the North edge of the house/porch sit for maximum bang for your view buck. Which probably meant about 15k more bucks when we saw the drop off from the porch to ground level was about 10-12 feet and we were going to need a retaining wall. Like many over budget things in a build it can feel like a real downer when you get the expensive news. The upside though is I think the retaining wall and the tiers it will provide will actually be quite nice for hanging out, double as seating and be more useful than just a slope. Also I know my kids will love climbing on it for years to come.

This being the first time I have remotely attempted something like this I have been full of anxiety in getting it right and that was true for the placement of the site and the no going back nature of it. A few guys from the neighborhood came over though a month ago and one guy, who was a surveyor by trade remarked how great the siting was…damn that was good to hear!

More about my dreams for the retaining wall to come soon!

06/23/2023

Houston we have a foundation. The shipping container house we are building will consist of 5 x 40 ft containers that will sit on the foundation you see with a crawl space below. There are sixteen 8x8 inch plates set into the foundation and then nine pillars with 12x12 plates. The containers will be welded to those plates after being set in place by a crane.

I tried to lay the site out so that the left (North) side of the patio and windows will have a view of Thorodin peak and from the right (South) side you will have a view of Thorn Lake.

The foundation has given me the most anxiety of the construction process so far. I have been playing general contractor after not being able to find someone to do it for the site work. The foundation felt like the biggest thing that could go wrong and the one you least want to go wrong. There have been some hiccups, slightly un level plates and a bit of a scare on dimensions that made my heart stop…but I think we are okay. Delivery date for the containers has been set for August 16, that will be the real test if I got this right.

More to come about the process!

06/21/2023

Check out this exploration of how success and failure in a real estate investment hunt can mirror life…or not you decide.

https://lnkd.in/gcdxdYF5

This is a child looking through binoculars…she could be looking for a property. By Daniel Bedell

06/16/2023

These are some pictures from my first couple times on the land we wanted to buy. Of course I got my drone out and marked what I thought would be the best spot for the house and driveway.

06/16/2023

You probably didn't know this but there is a new blog post out in my series Containing Myself. It will entertain you for approximately 7 minutes according to Medium.

Life is like a box of chocolates, this has been well established. I submit that life is also like a real estate search. You start with a…

06/08/2023

And just like that them Aspens are popping! It all happened in like three days, blew my mind.

06/07/2023

My son exploring his options as a canoe model. Suns out guns out.

06/05/2023

Once upon a time I thought this hair was a good look on me. I also thought that a career as a writer and photographer was in front of me. That combination ended up being a harder thing to make happen. Fast forward twenty years and I’m writing again and all my questionable fashion choices are in again, not so sure about that hair though.Things change things stay the same. Check out my most rencent piece on Medium titled Isolation Training and Flip Phone Lies. It’s the second chapter in my series Containg Myself about reimagining my career and investing for the future by doing something kinda crazy in the now.

https://medium.com//isolation-training-and-flip-phone-lies-f8e845e52aa9

06/02/2023

Hello faithful friends, relatives and probably two strangers who accidentally followed this page because it had a profile picture of a dog. I just published the next chapter in my ongoing series Containing Myself on Medium.

It has the amazingly catching title Isolation Training and Flip Phone Lies.

If you love it...or even hate it after reading share on every platform and with every friend you know. I need, I need, I need.

Previously on Containing Myself…

05/24/2023

If you got a chance to read my first ever blog post you’ll know that the purchase of a 19 foot Airstream in 2016 was the beginning of our putting our toe into short term rentals. We rented that airstream our on our property to spring breakers who realized camping in Rocky Mtn National Park was cold in March. To lots or goes. To mom’s doing birthday getaways with their kids. To Denverites wanting to get away…20 minutes away. BUT we also got to get out and use it ourself which has been one of the great things about short-term rentals for us getting to use it ourselves. It’s made us far better at recommending fun things to do snd see. Biggest of all I’ve gotten to learn all the ways i can break things and warn others not to make my mistake.

This picture was from our first bug trip where my adventurous wife let me to convince her to travel for almost a month around the west with our newborn and cat . This was some of our first and most epic off grid camping and remains one of the coolest places to camp. Also i managed to tear the bumper off the Airstream.

Big props id you can name this place. .williams.photography this one is probably too easy for you right?

Address

131 Meadowlake Drive
Black Hawk, CO
80422

Website

http://www.airbnb.com/h/stillwater-luxury

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Videos

Did you catch her “That was great!” At the end? I’m not a fisherman for sure. I liked casting and reeling as a kid, but not a fan of slime and scales. I got to admit though that it’s pretty cute to take kids fishing and they are all so excited about it…well until they have to interact with the fish. Is it worth constantly worrying about taking a hook to the eye and needing to rebait the hook every two minutes? Mostly. #BlackhawkColorado #ColoradoFishing #MountainRetreat #FamilyGetaway #AirbnbAdventures #FishingWithKids #MountainEscape #FamilyFishing #RockyMountainHigh #NatureLovers #FishingFun #FamilyVacation #ExploreColorado #NatureGetaway #FishingLife #MountainVacation #TravelWithKids #ScenicViews #CatchAndRelease #FamilyTime #OutdoorFamily #ColoradoAdventures #FishingTrip #MountainAir #KidFriendlyTravel #WeekendGetaway #ColoradoLiving #FishOn #WildernessRetreat #NatureFamily

It was almost exactly four years ago that I started thinking about getting a little rental cabin in the mountains. That idea twisted, derailed, derailed, spun wildly out of control and then somehow out of the tornado came Stillwater. I had high hopes for it, but was afraid to have much confidence those high hopes would come true. I hoped to have a place to make memories with my family and friends. I hoped to build a place that could be an income stream to let me pursue career and life goals that seemed difficult until my current situation. I also hoped to have a place that I could go to be inspired. What I didn’t totally expect was to end up a place that inspired others, but somehow I got lucky enough for all these things to happen. And when I saw this lovely video by @naijaa_queen98 capturing a moment in time of friendship, joy, refreshment and creativity it warmed my heart! Thanks for letting me share it and I so look forward to future inspirations. #inspiration #creativity #containerhouse #containerhome #shippingcontainerhouse #honomobo @honomobo #coloradovacation #cabinlife #cabinlust

Rosie pup is really into escaping, running away and driving me crazy recently. This time she escaped the house so she could go paddle boarding and really I can’t blame her. #pup #puponsup #suppup #sup #paddleboarding #lakelife #colorado boarding

Life is change, change is life. Bend at the knees. #rockit #thisis40

How bout dees rocks! I’ve spent a surprising amount of time in the last few years moving around rocks by hand. It’s possible I may be missing something. #rocks #labor #work #gravel

Happy Mothers Day to my little interior designer. Go get it Jenny aka @wallastudiointeriors ! You made our @honomobo look good in @5280magazine . Who knows maybe @taylorswift will want to come stay, you never know. #taylorswift #comestay #5280 #honomobo #containerhome #containerhouse #interiordesign #interiordecor #interiordesigner #lp #recordcollection #colorado #colorfulcolorado

It’s been partnering with some creator influencers and seeing our place through their eyes. Of course as a photographer myself I’m quick to notice it’s not quite through there eyes. Often it’s through the eyes of a partner, spouse, friend or parent. When I saw some of the work that @alloveradventure created one that I loved the most was her using our ping pong table. I noticed though that of course Samantha wasn’t the one with the camera, it was mom filming. And I got to say getting a great clip filming ping pong while playing ping pong is next level mom skills! So to all the people behind the camera, even moms I give you my tip of the hat!!! @honomobo @crateandbarrel @wallastudiointeriors #pingpong #tabletennis #moms #airbnb #vacationrental #colorado #containerhome #containerhouse #interiordesign

I may die doing it but this driveway will get shoveled for the birthday party. Unfortunately my daughter won’t appreciate it or care for 30 years that I cleared 38 inches of snow over 120 feet for her. #daughters #littlegirls #babygirl #snowshoveling #birthday #thethingswedo #ahhhhhhhhh

Cleaning days never looked so nice. These are the winter days that keep you coming back for more! . #stillwaterluxe #goldenairbnb #vacay #bluebird #winter #mountainlife #lakelife #airbnb #mountains #visit

Feeling very grateful today for this little slide of paradise and our chance to share it with others. It was so nice to share it with @ponytail_onatrail and see how many new followers to our channel we have. So forget Disney the magic is here 😁! And there are no lines. #stillwaterluxe @honomobo #paradise #honomobo #containerhome #shippingcontainerhouse #shippingcontainerhome #vacay #boulder #goldencolorado #blackhawk #gilpincounty #rollinsville #dji #djimavicmini #aerialphotography #aerialvideo #drone #deonelife #cabinlust @cabinlust #cabin #cabinporn

Hello…come on it! We cleaned up all the blood, sweat and tears from the last few years of work and wanted to show you around before @ponytail_onatrail came for a visit. Enjoy the decor by my wife Jenny aka @stillwaterinteriors and also enjoy the art! The amazing painting in the main room is by Navajo painter Ed Singer called Down Wind showing the fallout from the atomic bomb testing. You can also see an original watercolor by @kimknoll we got a while back and now fits this place perfectly! @honomobo @airbnb #honomobo #stillwaterluxe #containerhome #vacation #vacationhome #shippingcontainerhome #shippingcontainerhouse #modularhome

I’ve been wanting to build a snow tubing run for a while. I under estimated the amount of shoveling involved! Pretty excited with V1. More work to do on V2 but very fun start. Anyone else out there ever made one? Any tips or examples? #tubing #snowtubing #snow #sledding #stillwaterluxe #tubingrun #sledrun #tubinghill #airbnb #outdoors #vacay #vacation #wintervacation #containerhouse #containerhome #shippingcontainer #gilpincounty #boulder #goldencolorado #rental #str #shorttermrental

Look who didn’t have to repeat the job four times!! Yay. Maybe I will get into professional barrel sauna aluminum roofing. No niche is too small! #honomobo #sauna #barrelsauna #diy #roofing #containerhome #containerhouse #shippingcontainer #shippingcontainerhome #mountainlife #boulder #goldencolorado #colorfulcolorado #coloradomountains #gillincounty #nederland #stillwater #stillwaterluxe #construction #amenities #lakelife

Part 2 in my bio pic Man Works Alone. The story of an inexperienced man working alone with the wrong tools on projects that should be done by two people. An epic saga. #diy #construction #str #rental #sauna #barrelsauna #containerhome #shippingcontainerhome #roofing #colorado #mountainlife #honomobo

My newest attempt to not ruin something by making it better. Let’s see how this turns out! #diy #construction #str #rental #sauna #barrelsauna #containerhome #shippingcontainerhome #roofing #colorado #mountainlife #honomobo

Well I found out why my drills kept burning up! Of all the spots in all the yards of concrete I had to drill into this one. OF COURSE! Fun fact I also didn’t figure out until the end I should be running water while I drilled. Now some might ask, did I drill a different hole? Especially after I had been told damaging the bit would be tons of money. HELL NO! DRILL BABY DRILL! I kept going right on through that rebar and saved the day like a real dumbass. I didn’t break the bit, was ready for inspection with 90 whole minutes to spare and passed! Who needs experience when stupidity and determination will do! Thanks Danger Depot. #dangerdepot #homedepot #diy #idiot #coredrill #construction shippingcontainerhome #containerhouse #building #generalcontractor #honomobo #colorado #airbnb #shorttermrental #str #mountainlife

Another in the series of should Danger Depot have rented this to me. I dug the hole, I drilled a pilot hole and bolted this monster to my foundation and then realized I didn’t know how to turn it on. And I’m dumb but I’m no DUMB! It was not obvious. And of course the model info for the thing is all rubbed off and I immediately lost the receipt in my car somewhere, not that I was going to lower myself to going and looking at that or calling the store. But yeah yeah yeah I eventually figured it out! #homedepot #dangerdepot #diy #containerhome #construction #shippingcontainerhome #building #coredrill #rental #airbnb #visitcolorado

I forgot to post these little gems of panic and power tools right before the inspection as I tried to drill a a 4 inch hole through the foundation for a crawlspace exhaust fan that I didn’t know I needed until the last minute. I bought four hand drills to use with a core bit before. They all over heated so I finally rented a core drill from Danger Depot, got no training, dug a whole, bolted it to my foundation and started guessing at what to do next. #HomeDepot #stillwaterluxe #honomobo #constructionlife #diy #foundation #inspection #coredrill