One step closer....

OK, so it has been too cold in North Texas to do much work on the house that needs to be done without the warmth of a heater (i.e. bracing underneath and re-running the electricity).  Who would have thought that almost every school district in North Texas would have been called due to anywhere from 6 - 12 in. of snow?  Wow!

So to make myself feel like I was making progress, I went to my very first auction!  And the coolest part about it was that I won everything I wanted plus a few other things.  Don't worry, I'm attaching pictures.

I absolutely fell in love with this dresser!  It is old and better yet, someone had ruined it being a priceless antique by cutting a whole for a sink in the top!  Perfect for my bathroom vanity!  Voila! (And I got it for a song!)

I love the details of the knobs.  I wish this picture were clearer, but it was the best of all that I took. 

Check this keyhole.  I love this feature that is on every drawer, especially since I love old skeleton keys so much.

This drawer pull has more rich detail!  I am just so excited by this purchase.

My next bid was really two separate purchases that went together so well that I had to have  both.  I was in a bidding war over these items, but they were worth it and I still paid less than what I would have in an antique store.

I just love the nostalgia associated with the old ice cream parlor table and chairs.  I won 4 of these twisted heart back wire chairs and the oak top table.  I have the perfect material to recover the chairs -- my nautical striped that I had purchased the last of the remnant.  It will be great for the chairs and then to make valances over the windows to tie the kitchen together.  I'm giddy with the possibilities!

I also bought a print of a sailing ship that needed a home desperately and was super cheap and an old shoe salesman stool.  Some of my favorite memories is in sitting in Buster Brown Schoolhouse in South Plains Mall with one of my feet propped on the stool ready to be fitted with my new patent leather dress shoes.  It will be great to have to reach the bottom of the bookshelves without standing on my head.

My next find was actually at an antique mall and I got it for about 60% off the original price.

This is a ladies slipper chair from probably the late 1960s or early 1970s.  It was in excellent condition and the color matches some of the stripes in the bedspread I purchased for my daybed that is going to serve as my couch.

This is a wine rack I bought at a little store here in town.  It was marked to half price and was something I just couldn't pass up.  The top piece is where the wine glasses hang from.  In the background is a chair painted in Mary Engelbreit style with a hole cut into the seat.  Perfect for a planter to sit in.

I can't say that this is my most exciting buy of the weekend, but I do think this is one of my best deals.  My parents and I went to Home Depot to look at some bathroom sinks and other things for my new bathroom, when we stumbled across these two items.  The top is a Pergo floor that looks like tumbled marble.  This is going to be the flooring for my kitchen and two bathrooms.  Did I mention it was $.89/sq. ft.?

This is my new laminate flooring.  I think it will make the house look super without having to go to all the trouble of laying polyurethane or any of that stuff.  This was a low $.79/sq. ft.!  This will be my flooring for my living room, office, dining room, and bedroom.  I am so excited!

When I went over to take these pictures to post, I threw out some paint samples to see what they looked like in the different light.  There are so many cool colors, that I'm having a hard time deciding which way to go. 

I'm really wanting to go with a blue in the bedroom and do something with stencils and joint compound to make the room look very Victorian and be a calming place for me to retreat to.  Let me know what you think!

Demolition!!!!!!

This is what the office looked like before I got a hold of it today. 

This is what it looks like after I ripped out the shelves this afternoon.  The room looks so much bigger now!  My dad and I are going to build floor to ceiling bookshelves in place of the built-in.  Maybe I will finally have a place for all my books!

 

Wow!  This was a long post, but a lot happened this weekend to the cottage.  I hope my next post is going to be titled "Bracing and Electricity is Done!", but we are expecting more snow this week, so it probably won't happen this week.  Hope you enjoy!

 

Inspirations...

The following two fabric samples are my inspirations for the cottage.  Would love to know what you think....

Almost finished...with the Craft Room

Well, the craft room is almost finished.  There are a few finishing touches that I have to do.  Another coat or 2 or 3 of white paint on the bathroom floor (decided it was oh so much easier than laying peel and stick tiles).  The white floors make the rooms look huge!  Then I will polyurethene them to add a protective layer.  It is so wonderful.  Here are some teaser pictures that I took tonight (by the way -- water and electricity are on and everything seems to be good to go!).

Here is the bubble wall I painted. I bought a giant compass at Lowe's and went to down drawing the "bubbles" and then I went back and filled them in with paint. Turned out to be really cute!

Here is another picture of the "bubble" wall.  I am so not organized yet!  But getting there!

Here are some additional views of the craft room.  I bought new white miniblinds and my wonderful mother hung them for me.  Everything in here looks so clean and crisp!

There is a little cubby that must have been used as a closet at one time, but in a craft room was pretty much just wasted space.  I ran across some inexpensive plastic shelves at Lowe's (my favorite hardware store) and they fit just perfectly.  Now my soap and scrapbook paper are all arranged in an orderly fashion (once again thanks to my sweet mom)!

Here are two pictures of the floors.  The top picture is the craft room the bottom is of the bathroom.  It had one giant sheet of linoleum laid down with little blue squares.  It was curling at the edges and all around dirty.  It is amazing what a few coats of white paint will do.

This picture is taken looking into the bathroom.  The walls are Neon Mint, and the trim and accents are two different shades of coral.  I didn't want anything too pinky and these really turned out well.  My nautical theme is carrying over in the bathroom a bit.  Instead of hanging a blind over the door in here, I frosted the glass.  It turned out really well.

Here is another picture of the bathroom looking at where the washer and dryer would go.  I also frosted that glass.  It really lets in the light, but provides the privacy I was looking for.

Wow!  What a sense of accomplishment to be so close to done with one part of this massive project.  I have so much still left ahead of me.  Clean, clean, clean then paint, paint, paint!  Such is the life of a renovator.  Bye for now.

The Cottage

Finally, here it is.  Pictures of the cottage.  I'll start with the outside.  The views really are spectacular here on the Brazos.


This is the front part of the house.  I love all the windows and all the light that can be let in.

Part of the wrap-around deck.  It needs some work, but one small step at a time.

The view off the back deck.  I told you it was beautiful, didn't I?

Looking up at after coming back up from the tree house.  Being built partially on a hill worries me some, but we are taking precautions.  We will be placing some additional bracing underneath the house.  It should be loads of fun!

Now to the inside....


The next 2 pictures are of the kitchen and breakfast nook.  The builder put in some neat little features, like the built-in shelves my mom is standing next to and the loft above the kitchen.  And what Karli at RockyBella has done to her countertops have given me a brilliant idea! (Thanks Karli!)

The next picture is of fluorescent green bathroom.  My plan is to paint everything of color white.  I'm not going to touch the natural wood right now.  Can't wait to see the transformation for myself, but first it has to be cleaned from top to bottom!

Here are pictures of the dining area, living area, and office area.

Finally, the stairwell and the bedroom.  It has the beginnings of a restroom.  I'm thinking about putting one of those composting toilets in the bathroom.  Even though they are pricey, in the long run I think it will pay off.

Stairway looking down....

I apologize for the blurriness of this picture.  My sister is the photographer of the family.  This is the bedroom and bath.

Door leading out to wrap-around deck.

Stairs going up.  There is a French Door at the top of the stairs that lets in a lot of light.

So now you have seen the before pictures of the cottage.  It is definitely a work in progress, but I can't wait to see what it will look like.  After my bill at Lowe's today, I definitely am not throwing in the towel!

The Tree House...

A tree house.  Isn't it amazing?  I always wanted one as a kid and now I'm too scared of heights to enjoy it. :-)  Oh well.  Here are the pictures that I have of it.  Oh to be a kid again...

side oval window....

front door and window

The Craft Room...

When I first saw the bedroom/bathrom combo, I knew what I would be using it for.  It would become my craft room for my scrapbooking, soap making, and painting (when I'm inspired).  It is a good sized room with a nice sized bathroom that even has a washer/dryer connection -- which will come in handy at some point. 


The only before pictures of the Craft Room that I have are of the outside.  But here it is.

Trust me when I say the inside was nothing to write home about it.  It is still a work in progress.  New paint everywhere.  New hardware on the doors.  I'm going to be putting down new flooring in the bathroom.

My major concern was -- this is a craft room.  It should be fun and inspiring.  Here is a little teaser of what I did to get it that way...

Me and mom love it.  Dad and Maggy (my sister) not so much.  I can live with that.....

Storage Shed...

We ( my mom and I) really didn't do much to this because we were in a hurry to get our things moved out of a rented storage building.  What we did do was paint whimsical flowers and a sun on the windows to keep people from looking in.  It really turned out cute.


This is the front of the storage shed.  For right now the reflecctors are still on the posts.  I still haven't had the electricity turned on, so it is very dark at night.

Here is the side view of the storage shed.  My mom painted the flowers.  We decided it looked very Bohemian and we were okay with that.  Don't know that dad was....

This is the back window that I painted.  Mom loves the sun, so this is my little tribute to her.

The paint on the outside needs to be spruced up on all the buildings, but that will come with time.