In November of 2005 I moved into my house in Boquete. My house isn’t in a gated community or gringo development….it is in a Panamanian neighborhood in the beautiful Palo Alto section, which we call “the back of the bowl”, meaning the far edge of the valley in which Boquete is situated.
The house was very charming, but of course, I had to “do my thing” and renovate it…..mostly the kitchen, laundry room, outdoor living spaces and of course, new floors. It was a 2.5 year labor of love, and I am grateful to all those who helped get it done…..here are some photos of the project, followed by photos of the finished product.
First priority....change these floors!
- New floors going in the Living Room
The living room really needed a fireplace
So...we put one in
The finished living room, complete with fireplace
The other side of the living room
In Panama, outdoor living is wonderful…..the original patio was small and not used much….sooooo, work began to make it bigger…
The patio begins to grow
Living next to a volcano means BIG boulders need to be removed
The old septic needed to go....poor Gary!
As the patio grows, the roof must grow too
And grows.....
- Then the patio roof needed drywall
And more drywall....
And, of course, there must be a hot tub……
Trench for pipes to heater and pumps
The trench goes around the corner
Zap watches the hot tub case getting built
And then covered with stones
Ready for use.....por fin!
Back to the patio renovation……
New patio looks great
More patio
Patio dining area
And even more patio
So…..back to the inside….anyone who knows me knows that a new kitchen is almost always called for….here’s how it looked to begin with
Unpacking fun!!
This window needed to be a door….out to the new, improved patio
The window came out, and french doors went in...oh yeah, the cabinets and sink went away too
Let's replace that other kitchen window too
Now the window is a door
So....here it is now!
The other side of the kitchen was pretty sparce
So...there wasn't much to remove on that side
But that doorway was a waste of space....so we blocked it up
Then, the block was sealed
The refrig was relocated to the space where the door was blocked up
The old refrig was here....
Of course all new tile was needed
Where old refrig used to be, and a new pantry
So....new kitchen overview
These dry rock walls are amazing…..these guys are real specialists and it’s all manual labor
The wall begins
Making little ones out of big ones
And then it was finished
Now, the house is as good as I can get it…..here are some other photos
Front of house
Dining Room
My office
My Bedroom
Other end of My Bedroom
Hand carved door to Social Bath
Did you want a closer look at those masks in the dining room….these are the devil dancer masks made of paper mache by a VERY talented Panamanian guy…
My gardens are beautiful….there’s a little stream running on the side of the property that I can hear babbling
Left side back yard
Center back yard
Right side back yard
Beside my bedroomGarden near front of property
Peeking over the rock wall
Penny In Paradise 
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