Welcome to our little Cottage

Although I like to have everything planned, and explain said plans- I think its time to share our cottage with you! We are slowly working away room by room, and I am loving it! Sure, sometimes what should be a 15 minute job ends up taking 2 hrs… but thats just the way it goes. So, I have decided to take you on a little “Before” house tour. I wanted to be really faithful at taking before pics of everything, but somehow, in the moment, I decide it’s not that important- because I FINALLY have a chance to work on something- so I don’t snap a pic! But, if you follow me on twitter or Instagram- you will be able to get some sneak peeks of the cottage- before I post about it here on the blog!

I have intended to blog much more, but when you live out of town, where the only amenity is a corner store/coffee shop/ gas station/ice cream parlor all in one… internet is just something that is not reliable. At least not in our house. So- we are working on a solution to remedy that.

When I think of a “cottage” there are all kinds things that come to mind… board games and books, bare feet and must… simple fun and lots of laughs. Morning coffee on the deck, and late summer nights. Kids riding bikes through the streets, and sledding in the winter. A Christmas tree in the window and sharing a room with 4 other people 🙂 Creaks and stories, wrapped up in the character of an old cottage. We feel so blessed to call this place ours, and hope you can capture just a bit of the beauty that we first saw when we walked through it just 3 short months ago.

I snapped most of the photos the day we got possession… I have been busy painting and making it more “us.” We have 2 bedrooms, a covered entry, a back entry/laundry room, bathroom, living room and kitchen! It is a modest 917sf. It sits on a 1/2 acre lot. For us, it is a little home that screams potential!

Bright! I know… although we have somehow gotten compliments on this bright crazy trim… it will be going. Haha. I will paint all of the frames and windows white, clad the house in a deep blue siding, and add cedar accents… and we DEFINITELY need a new front door! Still on the hunt for that. I don’t want to spend a ton… but I really would like to find a wood door. Of course the version of the craftsman door I really like (in a fiber glass) has a price tag of $1100… so, I’m just going to have to find something $imilar for le$$. We are working on some landscaping plans… please do not judge this pathetic little area! I promise, my garden will be lovely… This was operation keep my transplants alive from the old house! We will be adding a stone edge, more perennials, extending the front deck to carry across the length of the house… stairs up the front of said deck, trees, hedge… planter boxes! the list goes on… but, some of that will have to wait until next summer!

Kitchen Before

When I saw this wall… I was giddy. Granted I painted it white- but, I have dreamt of a day when I could have white planked walls… This wall will have a built in fridge and some open shelving… eventually!

This is not the greatest shot… but this captures the 2 things I love the most about our kitchen! The floors (i LOVE them) and our old original cabinets. The insides are painted in lime green and yellow… there is a nostalgia about them that I love. The 2 bases to the right of the sink are old flour/ sugar bins… so cute. We will keep the uppers, but eventually replace the lowers. Although cute, all of those little drawers don’t offer much practical storage space.

Here is a shot of the kitchen from the living room… very woodsy! You will notice we have a doorway from the back entry to the kitchen… that little area back there doubles as our laundry room and rear entry way.

Living Room Before

This room looks the most different at the moment… very yellow here! We have given this a coat of paint… and I’m in the process of painting all of the trim white. I love the floors in here 🙂

The Boys Room

I realize that this is really not a shot of the “room” however, the boys room is one of the first things we started working on, and this is the only “before” shot I have! It has been a little interesting working around these low windows- it doesn’t leave a ton of options for placing the bed… but we have it figured for the time being. This room has since been painted “heavenly blue” and clad with board and batten.

Our Room (for now!)

I am not planning much in here at the moment. We are going to be building a new master bedroom… this will eventually be a room for the kids, office or guest room… I don’t really know!

So, that sums up the house tour for now! I am going to quickly hit publish before my internet crashes… and will hope to get some more pics of the progress we are making, little by little!

Happy Day!

-Miss Ash