All language subtitles for The.Cabin.Chronicles.S02E09.Abita.Springs.Treehouse.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb

The first
time I got here I suppose I felt

enchanted, coming up the stairs
and sort of peering in through

these large windows
and thinking that

existence in a house like this
must feel a little bit magical.

I think my original
intention for acquiring

this cabin was just to have
an escape from the city.

Being an artist
based in New Orleans,

having a place that felt in
communion with the environment

allowed me to get away from
the city and practice my art

and be in a place that was
more peaceful, more quiet,

and more nature-oriented.

Abita was an old spa town
known for its clean water,

and the swamps is
kind of what you

think of as South Louisiana.

And so it's
interspersed pine forest

with sort of swamp and
marshland and rivers and bayous.

This property was sort of hiding
in the woods and falling apart.

It just felt like
it was held together

by fishing line and duct
tape, and it had just gotten

to the point of no return.

I was intrigued.

I came to see it, and
I fell in love with it.

That was the beginning
of a very long process.

My first goal was to just shore
it up, clean it up, and save

the sanctity of this structure.

So, luckily, I found
the people to work

with that saw the vision.

I told them that I
wanted to achieve

a place that felt artful and
natural at the same time.

What we added with
the renovation

is almost like a fallen tree
that bisected an upright tree.

That's kind of
how I think of it.

When we intersected
those two forms,

we still felt that there needed
to be this grounding element.

So that's how we came
up with this living

wall that has planters in it.

And eventually, the
plants will grow and vine

and cover that whole structure.

We planted herbs in
some of the planters,

and you can easily pop out of
the kitchen, grab a few herbs,

and go back to cooking
in the kitchen.

You enter by going up
the stairs on the right,

and that brings you to the
main room of the house--

the living room, dining
area, kitchen area.

We have my art on the walls.

We have couches to relax.

We have a dining table
to gather and eat.

And we have the
kitchen, which is open.

It has large kitchen island
with salvaged wood around it

and poured concrete countertops.

Off to the side of the living
area is the master bedroom.

There's a bathroom
with a closet tub

and a large sprawling
ivy plant that becomes

sort of the art on the walls.

And I love the copper
faucets in the bathrooms

that we incorporated.

Off the kitchen side of the
house is another large deck.

That deck has some wooden
cladding that acts as a sun

shield from the morning sun.

One of the most beautiful
features of the house

is the spiral staircase, which
was updated with the renovation

and really made into
a sculptural element--

these floating wooden beams that
come off the center steel pole

and intersect the wall.

And there's gaps of light
in between each tread

of the stair.

The spiral continues up to the
third floor for two stories.

And all along the
way, there's windows

placed at different heights.

Those windows act as like
a viewfinder of the woods

and give you a different
perspective on the landscape.

The sense of raw materials
that we were able to achieve

with the space, starting
with the existing

wood floors and wooden beams.

And to me it just captured
the spirit of the house.

It's so simple but
it's utilitarian,

and it's beautiful to look at.

I like to call
this house the tree

house because it's raised up and
it's the height of the trees.

And I remember one day
sitting down and writing

the tree house
philosophy, and it

starts with "Live by the sun."

I love to just make a coffee
and go out onto the deck

with my journal and write.

Journaling has become such an
integral part of my lifestyle

and my art practice.

The third floor has always
been like this bonus room.

It always has had a real
creative feel to it.

So I wanted to keep the spirit
of that room alive as a space

where you could just
totally hide out.

Really strong morning
light comes in

through those windows right
over my painting area,

right over the desktop.

And it just-- if I get
up and I make my coffee

and I go upstairs, it's almost
like the light just crashes in,

and you're congratulated
for having risen.

I think the best
moments in painting

happen when you don't feel like
there's anywhere else you're

supposed to be in that time,
that that moment doesn't need

to end, and I feel like that
room is great at creating

that sense of time travel.

There's quiet to hear
your own thoughts

and hear them kind
of echo back to you.

The idea of becoming a mother
for me is another creative act,

I suppose.

When I first started to
think about the nursery,

the only thing I
knew for sure was

that I wanted to
put my wallpaper

mural, the enchanted
forest, in the space--

playing off the natural
setting here of the woods

and the magical woodland
vibe of the mural,

making those two
things come together,

creating the type of world that
I've always gone internally

to tap into to give
myself a sense of magic

or a sense of wonder.

And I like to think of
the mural as always being

a way to start a new story.

I think that it will be
another thing that will open

my heart just like wide open.

That's like already
what art does.

The vulnerability that you
have to have to be an artist

is so vast and great.

And I thought that
I knew that, but now

I feel like whatever I've been
doing was just the beginning.

I set this intention
that I really

hope to give her a
life that involves

being outside every day.

I want feet in dirt
and hands on plants.

I want to give her a sense of
the wildness that I found here.

I hope that we'll
feel really centered

and able to feel like
we're in the right place

at the right time.

I think there would be a
real sense of pride in that,

actually.