The Cottage:: Renovation Part I

Neighboring our small first home, #theeliotlakehouse, lays this small little cottage also known as #theeliotcottage. An empty shell of newly insulated, electric and dry wall waiting to be completed. Taylor and I had hopes of finishing it next year (2017) but when the thought arose of finishing it now to rent out and after a week of convincing Taylor, we decided to pull the trigger on renovating it. So we dug in. First thing first, emptying the cottage of all "junking finds". 

Next on the agenda was painting all the windows white to match. Since they were a product of the Restore, all the windows came in varying colors. A great money saver that some white spray paint could easily fix. One of our favorite things about this little cottage is the pine ceilings. These ceilings add so much warmth and character to this small 600 square foot cottage. We also chose a slat blue/charcoal to cover the main walls. With the lighter pine ceilings and the lighter flooring be installed, we decided to have a nice contrast of a darker color. 

Since this cottage was a completely empty shell, everything needs installed.. even water and sewer.. which was the main reasoning we chose to purchase our first home neighboring this property instead of taking on this large project right before our wedding. My in-laws are allowing us to install this gorgeous vintage sink that came from Papaws house. I loved the idea of giving it a fresh facelift that way it could be enjoyed for another many years and it would be going into a space that welcomed this farmhouse style. 

We chose a buttered maple flooring to be laid on the main floor. The frosted white maple flooring will be laid in the top loft. Before we laid any of the flooring, we had to lay sub-flooring for an even playing ground. Once that took place, all the painting was in my hands. I just love the contrast between the dark walls and the white vintage appliances!

One problem we had to fix was the small bathroom vanity idea. We only had about3-4 feet to work with so we needed something with character and slim. I found this gorgeous piece on Craigslist that would hold the sink. It offered storage and character. I also purchased this gorgeous matte rectangular sink off of Wayfair. I love the mix of the old with the new.

There was still one problem with the vanity though. It was about 2-3 inches too wide for the walkway. So the circular saw gave it a run. We shaved off the back to fit the sink just right and now there is plenty of space to walk through. I can not wait to see the faux marble tiles mixed with these pieces. 

Thanks for reading up, Hugs, Alyssa