The Little Cottage October Update

Hello friends. While sometimes I am very, very busy… my busy-ness doesn’t always translate to beautiful rooms or amazing DIY projects I can share with you. Sometimes, what I’m doing is tedious, boring and down right un-glamours. But it’s real, and I think I need to start sharing more of my busy behind the scenes stuff. I think it’ll be more fun to follow along if you’ve seen more of the process and how I get from start to reveal. If you are local and you’ve ever caught me at the hardware store, or running new merchandise down to our booth and Vintage 101, you’ll see just how un-glamorous I am! Sorry about that. haha

I’ll cheater catch you up verbally here – We have an additional home on our property (The Little Cottage, referred to as TLC from here on out). My MIL lived there for many years. When she moved out, we tried to use it as a makeshift workshop (we don’t have a garage). Fast forward and we realized that is was not working, so we bit the bullet and built a real workshop. You can see our WORKSHOP [click here]. Having a workshop was going to leave TLC vacant. And this is where we are with that…

With lots of help from family & friends, TLC is now thisclose to being empty of everything “workshop” related. We have two light supports an one tool left. Other than that… it is all mine!!!!! I’m using my exclamation allotment all right here. 

Which might not look very exciting in the photos below, but I think it’s got potential. I took some quick cell phone shots, after I spent the day doing some cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. 

Just picture this layer of sawdust…

Everywhere. 

And I do mean everywhere. My vacuum and I became BFF’s as I sucked up dust like a reverse sawdust sandstorm. It’s so fine, that it clung to the walls. I actually used a push broom to sweep the walls. As far up as I could reach that is! I didn’t have a ladder so the light fixture escaped my cleaning frenzy. 

The great thing about cell phone photos, is the panoramic option. They really help to share the layout of the space! You can see the main entry in the distance, by the drill press, the open doorway is the bedroom, the bathroom is to the left (not visible), with the stairway to the loft in the foreground. Then, the main living area and the tiny kitchen to the left. 

I’ve got lots of plans & ideas for this space that are still forming and rolling around in my head.

Finally having it open for me to get in and play and start working is so dang exciting!! I’ve been patiently waiting for a long time. I’m sure any of you who’ve ever built or renovated a home or space, can understand. We are so fortunate that we have this now to host company. The main house is small, and before Austin moved, we didn’t even have a guest bedroom to offer. This will give our guests the privacy of a bedroom and dedicated guest bathroom as well. Along with a washer and dryer… living space and a kitchen are their disposal.

The only bedroom had carpet I was not willing to keep. I had Austin pull it up, and I’m so glad I did! I don’t know exactly what kind of flooring I want right now, so I have no plans to replace it.

I can’t decide between adding new flooring in the bedroom, and replacing the whole main floor. The house isn’t very large, so that isn’t out of the question. I’ll have to decide where I want the budget to go. For me, the other flooring is something I’m not in love with it, but it’s not in disrepair. So I’ll mull that one over. 

There is a lot going on in the bedroom, my biggest challenge is going to be working around all the doors, and the fact there is not an undisturbed wall in the entire room! But it’s bright and airy and has a vaulted ceiling. So there are good features too. 

I have a dream plan for the bathroom, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull it off. I may be forced to do paint & fluff “I’m broke” makeover. I’m getting pretty good at those, unfortunately. hahaha.

The bathroom is a good size, with a partially vaulted ceiling, and it’s a space I feel like I could really have some fun with it!

If I had taken a picture of this little house just a few short weeks ago… you would have thought a wood-working hoarder lived there! We had pallets of wood, at least 20 vintage doors and 2 dining room tables stored inside. And that was just the bathroom. 

I don’t know how much I’ll be able to get done in the coming months, with it being the holiday season too… but you can bet I’ll be trying my best to squeeze in a project or two. 

If you have any ideas or suggestions, I’d love to hear them! What is your favorite go-to paint color? What kind of flooring would you do in the bedroom? Would you keep the pedestal sink in the bathroom? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can share them here in the comments, or over on Facebook or Instagram. Thanks you so much for joining me here today, and sharing our life and stories with us! xo Shannon (and Jim) 

Little Cottage Updates

See the ENTRYWAY Now [click here]

See the GUEST BEDROOM Now [click here]

See the BATHROOM Now [click here]

See the LIVING ROOM Now [click here]

The Little Cottage Kitchen Dreams

You [click here] or on the photo below to visit.

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