A New Door and Decisions To Be Made

It seems forever since I've been here with all of you wonderful readers. 

I miss you and always wish I could spend more time posting here and also visiting all my sweet friends around Blogland. 

Life gets in the way, no doubt. 

Progress on the Deck

Wow, what a busy weekend! 

I'm sure with this glorious weather many of you were doing much the same as I was all weekend....spring projects and chores....and all of it outdoors!

I Have a Dream....

I love my house, no secret about it. It's such a great little house, just perfect for me. 

But that doesn't mean it's perfect. It has a few flaws, for sure. 

One is that the garage is not attached to the house. I have never ever understood why people would build a garage in the snowy northeast and not attach it to the house. 

Another flaw is that there is no proper entry. When visitors come to the house, they are not really sure where to go.  I usually stand out on the deck waving people up the garden steps and in through the kitchen door. 

Through the long months of waiting to close on my house I thought of many ways I wanted to improve my home. Things I had always dreamed of having in my home like a sunroom, a proper foyer, a greenhouse, a beautiful entry. A screened porch and/or a covered porch. 

I looked into adding a sunroom or four-season room to my house, with a doorway from the living room. The price was crazy, I couldn't justify it. 

I tried to figure out how to make a proper entry in my living room using furniture - a bench, a hall tree, something. 

But it's just too awkward. 

And then one day the light-bulb went on over my head. 

Via

Bingo - an enclosed breezeway between the garage and the house that would serve as the formal entry, the foyer, a small sunroom, and a bit of a greenhouse for all the plants I would like to overwinter. 

It would have French doors that open onto my stone patio that is in between my house and garage. It would be like a secret garden back there!

It would need to be a multi-purpose space. It will give me the coat closet and proper entry/foyer I am lacking. It will serve as my sunroom/greenhouse in the winter months and my covered porch/screened porch in the summer months. 

It needs to be big enough for a small table and chairs and have a source of heat as well as a ceiling fan. 

I need to be able to sit there with my coffee in the mornings and my wine in the evenings. 

Via

And the dream was born. 

My contractor and I have discussed options on how to make it work best, given the tight space we are working within. 

Via

We have tossed around ideas for months now. 

I originally wanted it finished before the first snowfall. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a proper place to take off my boots and coat when I get home other than in the kitchen doorway?

When it came to October and my contractor was still finishing up the many other projects we took on, it was determined it needed to wait until spring. 

I thought the Gods were stepping in and telling me to take a break. Six months of continuous construction and projects was a long time - it would be nice to have my house to myself for a little while. 

And I also thought, let me live through the first winter in my  new house and see how it goes. 

How icy will the steps get leading down from the kitchen entrance to the garage door?

How hard will it be lugging firewood up those wooden steps and in through the kitchen?

How messy will things be when we are tracking snow into the house every single day?

Via

Well, our winter got off to a slow start but now it seems to be here to stay. 

And although my daughters carry the firewood in from the garage I'm constantly telling them to kick off their snowy shoes by the kitchen door before they track snow and salt all over my house. It's a continuous battle. 

The pups also bring in the snow on their little paws. My wood floors are a mess of little footprints constantly. 

The treads I added to the kitchen steps do help with traction, but we still have to be extremely cautious. 

And I absolutely hate not having a place to come in, take off my shoes and hang up my coat. 

Via

So, the wheels are spinning again. 

Too bad I didn't hit the Powerball. That would have made this a no-brainer. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sharing at 

Inspire Me Tuesday

Organizing the Garden Cottage

My garden cottage has been a work in progress since I bought the house back in April. 

I absolutely loved the fact that I would have a whole separate space for all my gardening tools, pots, soil, etc - it was a great selling point for me. 

However.....when I closed on the house and finally got in there to take a look around...I fell right through the floor. It was a hot mess. 

Don't get fooled by the photo above...that was taken after we put a ton of work into this building. 

I wrote about Phase I of the garden cottage improvements back in this post  and then shared Phase II in a second post, which you can view here. 

Since then, there have been other updates to the garden cottage - one is still in progress, so stay tuned on that one - and one was a very nice surprise from my sweetie. 

I woke up one morning in September to see this outside my bedroom window - Sweetie was having the grungy old skylight replaced in the shed - what a treat to have all that sunshine in there! And when I want to start seeds in the potting shed it will definitely help out!

We couldn't even see out of the old skylight - my sweetie tried his hardest to clean it up but it was too far gone. What a difference the new skylight made! This is what it looked like back in September, the morning after installation. 

And what it looks like now in November. 

And since it's November it's time for me to gather up the rest of the garden pots, clean them out, and store them for the winter. I knew I needed more storage - Brad's Daily Deals to the rescue again!!

I had this small metal rack for quite a few years - it has stored flowerpots in two previous homes and was my only shelving in the potting shed. As you can see, it was already overflowing and I still have a bunch of pots outside the shed that need to be cleaned out and stored. 

So when Brad's had these shelves on a daily deal for about $30 each shipped from Walmart I jumped on the deal and ordered two. 

I should have ordered more! These can be used so many different places!!

Next time. 

Anyway, yesterday when I was puttering this was on my list of tasks to complete. I put the shelves together (which was super simple!) and started organizing the pots and gardening supplies that were scattered all around the shed. 

The last project I completed in the dying afternoon light was to rehab my potting bench. It's been on my to-do list for months now and I decided to tackle it right then and there. 

I found a can of deck stain the previous owners had left behind - we haven't been able to figure out where this was used, it must have been something they used prior to the colors that are on the house and deck now. 

But I always hold onto this kind of thing. You never know when you might need it!

When I finally went inside the house to make dinner the shed was in much better shape and the potting bench was drying. 

It was too dark for any decent photos. However it was just the right time for a cocktail!

This morning I headed back out with my camera and froze my little buns off to take a few photos to share with all my blogland friends. 

Look at how lovely and organized my potting shed is now! Do you have any idea how happy this makes me?

Yes, I know I'm pathetic. I can't help it. 

The mulch and moo-doo organic veggie garden soil has been stored in the deck box under the window....which doubles as a nice resting spot when I'm working in here. 

My clay pots and other outdoor pots are all stacked neatly on the small original rack along with the saucers. Having everything stacked by size makes it so much easier for me to find and grab what I need. Also makes it easier to keep things tidy because it's so much simpler and quicker to put items right back where they belong. 

The rack in the far corner holds a few plants I'm hoping will survive the winter. Also some buckets and other tools, lime, organic food for the veggie garden, and other various bits and pieces. The metal boxes on the top will go back on the potting bench for easy access on a daily basis come spring - they hold my gloves and small tools. 

The rack right across from the potting bench holds my houseplant pots as well as some larger garden pots. The top rack has all my self-watering hanging planters and some other lightweight garden pots. 

It's so easy to see exactly what I have now and just looking at everything lined up all neat and tidy makes me smile. 

I still have some things I'd like to do in here - for one thing, I'm going to dig through my bins of old curtains and hang some cute little curtains on the windows. 

I'd like a little chair in here to watch the rain on a spring day. 

I'm thinking of getting a rolling plant rack that I can put in front of the rear French doors - perhaps I can keep my violas alive until the spring if I bring them in now. I'm not sure....but it's worth a try. 

Other than that? Who knows!

But for now....I'm loving my organized little garden cottage. It's come a long, long way since that first day we fell through the floor. 

Spaces That Inspire Me

My style is most definitely random, I would define it as "Cottage Eclectic" at best. I love the warm and cozy interiors of a cottage style home, but I also love the color and casual vibe in a bohemian home. I can appreciate the beauty of a light and bright neutral colored interior but I am not totally convinced that I could live without color.

In my new home I chose to keep the base neutral and bring in pops of color that I could change out on a whim or with the seasons. I thought long and hard about how I was going to decorate my new home and since  I had to invest in a lot of furniture I really wanted it to be classic and timeless. And very, very neutral. I don't want to buy something trendy and then it's out of style in just a few years.

I chose slip-covered sofas for both upstairs and down as they make the most sense with my lifestyle. My home is not hands-off by any means, although I do  like to keep it clean and tidy. However, we do have snacks and beverages in the living room if we're cuddling in watching a movie so it's important that everything is easy to clean. Plus, my dogs love to cuddle on the furniture as well so to be able to throw the covers in the washer is a huge bonus to me. 

My throw pillows are all feather pillow forms from Pottery Barn with covers that can be removed, washed, and stored away easily. I took advantage of every sale Pottery Barn had during the long winter while I waited to close on my home and stocked up on pillow covers!

I love looking on Pinterest and on various decorating blogs for inspiration. I never want my home to be a copycat home but I do think it's great to be able to find inspiration and new ideas out there on the web. You take those ideas home and incorporate different elements of each until your own style emerges. 

Here are some spaces that inspired me on Pinterest when I was waiting all those months (5 long months!) for the closing on my home. You will notice that my tastes are all over the shop. How on earth do you figure out what your style is when you love so many different looks?

Via

Those purple lanterns!!! Love! What a cool space. I can totally imagine hanging out here with a glass of wine. 

Via

This dining room feels organic and peaceful to me. A little sparse for my taste but good bones to build on. 

Via

Neutral furniture with pops of color - exactly what I had in mind. And I loved this paint color so much I used it in my living room, dining room, and kitchen!

Via

I have always loved a colorful quilt with a metal bed. Old school country, so simple and welcoming. This was my inspiration for my guest room. 

Via

What a great space! Neutral backdrop with pops of color. And the built in bookshelves....and storage under the seats! If i was ever going to do a banquette.....

Via

Those wood counters just make me drool. With the white cabinets. I'm so tempted to paint my kitchen cabinets but they are very good shape so far so I'll hold off. And I may go for solid surface counters in the kitchen when the time comes, like the ones I put in my master bathroom. However, this would be awesome in my lower level laundry/mini kitchen area!

Via

I pretty much love everything about this little breakfast nook. Everything. 

Via

That sofa is fabulous!!!! However, I really had to keep it neutral. I don't have the budget to change out my sofa every time I get tired of the color, and I know I would. I love those window treatments also. 

Via

I love the boho vibe in this room. The color. The plants. The shag rug. I don't know if I would like living with this style long term so I'll just pull elements of this to incorporate into my home. Like the plants. And the fuzzy pillow. And the pops of color. 

Via

Same with this room. Totally boho. I adore all the plants, of course. And the hanging lanterns. And the colorful glass window hangings. It just feels cozy!

I guess the common denominator in all these inspiration photos is the casual, cozy vibe. They all have greenery and/or natural elements. 

It seems my dream home is an intimate space with sunshine warming the rooms during the day, and ambient lighting and candles galore for evenings. Lots of pillows and blankets to curl up with and plants everywhere you look. And books, books, and more books!

I think I achieved that. I'm living in my dream home. 

Lucky me!

Before and After

Today is my anniversary!!  Well, half-anniversary, to be exact. I moved into my new home exactly 6 months ago today! 

I dug out some photos from when I toured the house back in November of last year - excuse the quality, most of them were taken on my iPad. I thought it would be fun to see what has changed since I moved in. Keep in mind the photos from the tour had all the previous homeowners' furnishings so that is, of course, a big part of the change. 

Ok, I'm excited, here we go!!

The Kitchen before had a very dark green paint which made it feel dark, despite the skylight. 

Now the kitchen is light and bright and sunny. My sweetie changed out the previous light fixture to a custom made cottage style fixture, created by me. And all the knobs got changed to these bubbly green glass knobs  from Pottery Barn's clearance page that I fell in love with. I bought them the day my offer was accepted!

Dining Room then.....

And now. Fresh paint, new rug, and new windows make it warm and welcoming. I actually loved the homeowner's dining room table and chairs so I bought them with the house. We had an additional leaf made for the table to accommodate larger dinner parties. It seats 8 comfortably now. 

Living Room then....

And now. Biggest change here was replacing the wood burning insert - the previous one was an antique and not energy efficient at all.  Of course fresh paint and new windows make a big difference as well. And the addition of a soft rug underfoot not only brightens the space but also makes it feel more welcoming. Someday I'll get around to adding some more artwork to this room and changing out those sconces. And of course I'm still debating how to hide the TV.

What once was two bedrooms.....

Is now my master suite. Open the one remaining door and get the full tour in this post

What was once this....

Is now this, part of the master suite. Huge difference! That's your sneak peek at the master suite.....

One of my favorite transformations that didn't involve major construction is in the lower level. 

What was once a man cave....

Is now a cozy and comfortable family room. 

I wanted to create a comfortable place for my daughters to watch TV, entertain friends, and just relax. I love this space! The sofa also pulls out for additional guests.  The door by the staircase leads to my younger daughter's room, which is an en-suite with a full bath and private entrance.  Very important when living with a 24 year old daughter for us each to have our own space for a little quiet time when the need arises!

The previous owners' little corner bar.....

Now houses an extra fridge and wine storage. 

The laundry and workout area....

Is still a laundry and workout area! In addition to a coffee bar and mini kitchen. Sort of, if a table and chairs, coffee maker, microwave, and fridge serves as a mini kitchen. It's plumbed for a sink as well if I ever want to turn this space into a fully functioning kitchen. Who knows in the future if that might be something our family may require....it was a great selling point for me. 

Behind the curtains is my older daughter's space when she comes home. The sofa pulls out to a queen size bed. This is also my workout space when she's not home. It didn't get much use this week....busy, busy. 

The laundry area is the largest and nicest I've ever had! It's mostly used by my daughter now since I have laundry facilities in my master suite. 

Looking back through the curtains you can see how the spaces relate to each other. If you make a right by the wine rack you're back in the family room. The curtains offer a hint of separation without blocking the amazing light that comes through the sliding doors in the mornings. They could always be changed out for more privacy if the need ever arises. The lower level is a great place for the girls to share - they each have their own space and can bring friends home at any time, knowing there's plenty of room. 

The original listing photo, taken obviously before the previous homeowners painted the house and deck. 

This space is now my heaven on earth. I'm so sad to say goodbye to this space for the cold months...

I hope you enjoyed my half-anniversary edition of the home tour as much as I enjoyed showing you around! The only space you haven't seen yet is the guest room and guest bath....soon!

Have a fabulous fall weekend, everyone!