Finding Inspiration

Sorry folks, nothing new happening lately (well there is, but I can't talk about it yet).  We spent last weekend working on drywall at the cottage, yes, lot's of fun with a capital "F".  Seeing our progress has made me hopeful and excited about decorating the cottage.  So, as of late I've been searching for beach cottage inspiration.  Here are a few things I've pinned to my Cottage Decor Pinterest board.

It's hard finding ideas for small homes since most peoples' idea of a small house is 1,500 sq.ft. What I'm looking for are homes under 200 sq.ft. Yep, that's about the size of our cottage.  It takes a lot of creativity to figure out how to have all the comforts of home in such a small space.  I consider myself creative but not that creative - so I need to find ideas from others who've done it.  Tim's favorite blogs on this subject are  Tumbleweed Houses and Tiny House Blog.  I'm so impressed with what this designer has done with his 271 sq.ft apartment.

Photo credits: Daniel LiCalzi

Loft bed above the sofa, not shown in picture.

Although I like the design concepts and storage elements in Daniel's home, I prefer rustic cottage, simple style like the pictures below. Here's an adorable little kitchen space.

Photo credit: Koch Architects

Clever idea for built-in book shelves.

Photo credit: Sullivan Building and Design Group

More clever storage ideas. Here's a reading nook with a fold-out bed.



A kitchen in a closet!!! Wow!

http://www.culshawbell.co.uk/completekitchenette.html

I think Tim would be happy with this.




Ok, so the following is not for the cottage but I love this fantastic barn door headboard project from Ashley at Little Yellow Barn.



Unfortunately, I don't have a bedroom where I could have one...hmmm...unless...Nooo, I don't think Tim would let me convert his tool room into a rustic guest bedroom.  Out of the question.  Great project idea though and I'd love to do make it!

Well, that's enough inspiration for today.

Winter at the Cottage

This is why we love going to the cottage - even in the winter.

Progress in the Craft Room

About a year or two ago - I can't remember, it's been so long - we started renovating what will eventually be my craft room.  We ripped out wall to wall wood paneling.  The entire room, including the ceiling was covered in wood paneling.  We then reinsulated and put up drywall.  What we thought would take a day or two has taken months.  Even with the help of friends, we still couldn't get it done quickly enough.  Thanks Jen B., Aaron M. and Matt F.!  We'll always be grateful for their help.  Drywall mudding and sanding is hard, messy work.  I hate it.

This is what my work space has been like for many, many months. Most days, it was not this tidy - hehe.

Over the past two weekends, I've made some real progress.  I mudded, sanded, mudded and sanded over again a few times to get it right; because we've done it wrong in so many other rooms, e.g. the kitchen, our bedroom and downstairs bathroom.  You get to a point where you're so tired of doing this that you just don't care how it turns out, you just want it DONE!

Work in progress, nook for the bed and storage.

Left wall.

 View as you're entering the room. 

I did have some help from Tim this past weekend. He too was busy with his own project - no, thankfully not the boats.  He worked on the 2nd floor bathroom, mudding, sanding and painting too (more on that later).  Since his project was smaller, he had a little bit of time to help me with the craft room. More importantly, he gave me the motivation I needed to push through. Finally, after months of drywall dust, the walls are done, primed and ready to paint!

My next problem is what color should I paint the room?  That's a fun problem to have, at least for me.  I'm leaning towards a blush pink because after all - it's my craft room :P.  I'm thinking of going with this pink, Martha Stewart's Ballet Slipper Pink - I'll have to test it out to see how it looks in the room.

Along with the pink walls, I want to paint some of the furniture pieces in Behr Chocolate Froth.  It's a beautiful gray brown which will compliment the pink nicely. I can't wait to see how everything will look when it's done. 

Behr Chocolate Froth

So beautiful, I love the color.
http://www.wayside-furniture.com/Item.aspx?ItemID=802441805&ItemNum=1514-46978

I'm hoping that Tim will install two long shelves above the daybed/storage area.  

Kind of like this one here (minus the toys...and kid...although that might come later...TBD).

http://www.dwell.com/house-tours/slideshow/almost-perfect#8

Or a floating shelf like this one: 

West Elm day bed

So many fun decisions to make! This is the part I enjoy most, choosing paint colors, furnishings and room accessories. For Valentine's Day, Tim is taking me to Home Depot AND Lowe's to pick up paint samples.  I'm such a lucky girl!!! 

Hearts and Hugs,

Lissette

Something New

...Building a blog.  It's here!!! Finally, after months and months of pondering the perfect title, researching blog designs, endless hours creating backgrounds/banners, and figuring out HTML - we have our blog!  For a long time our friends told us we should blog about the stuff we do, like our home renovation projects, crafts, creating a green cottage on the VA eastern shore, native gardening/landscaping and of course the adventures we find ourselves in along the way.  We're still working on adding more Before and After pictures so check back often for updates.

Hope you enjoy reading our posts!