CottageK: The bedroom and bathroom

I know most of you are going into your Thanksgiving weekend, and many of you may be travelling today so be safe and have a special weekend!

It may not be Thanksgiving again here in Canada, but I am thankful that we are nearly finished with CottageK and that we have had a wonderful  response so far. I didn't take any before shots because it never even crossed my mind, but Sean and I are just putting the final touches on the basement here that we decided to finish off as well. We did some new laminate floors, added trimwork and beadboard for a brighter, open space. 

But in the meantime, I've been neglecting my hour tour here. So let's talk about the bedroom and bathroom.

 

Before, it was darker with all those old window coverings.

 

I think it is a calming, happy space now. I brought in my own antique childhood bed. It is a beautiful piece that I have always loved. These awesome pillow cases from Uncommon Goods add the perfect touch of whimsy.

 

I ended up not painting my yellow pedestal table, it seemed happy as it was! Plus it ties in nicely with our yellow accents in the kitchen.

For the lovely reader who wanted me to link the light fixture, here it is.

Our last room to be completed was the bathroom. In fact, I took the afters before it was quite done, and have yet to update the shots. But I think you can see the transformation still on these ones.

Here was the pepto pink bathroom before.

And a much calmer room after. We did an Ikea vanity and basin (which is impossible to fully shoot!)

some caulking, trim and bath fixtures were yet to be completed here, but I was happy just to see the pink all gone!

A HomeSense mirror is a little hit of glam in an otherwise simple, white bathroom.

I apologize because for the life of me I cannot remember the paint color here, but I will check the can and update this post ASAP. 

That tentatively concludes our tour of the happy little place I like to call CottageK! It was a lot of work, but I am so thankful for all your words of support, that totally makes this gig so much more fun. I hope you had fun following this journey. While I love love love working on these houses I do enjoy getting back to normal life for a bit, back to regular blog posting about fun things like clothes, christmas and lots more DIY. 

CottageK: The Kitchen Reveal

 

It's time to talk kitchen! This is where we spent a good chunk of our time and budget, and almost all our energy.

You probably remember how it looked before:

 

Linoleum floors, dated colors and minimal lighting. But the overall layout was fine and the cabinets were solid wood and replaced in the last 15 years. We could have ripped them out and gone with new Ikea cabinets but the time to demo it all and then build and install the new ones would have really stressed our deadline out, and me along with it. So we decided to turn lemons into lemonade.

 

As you can see, we ripped out the upper cabinets to let more light in. I understand this was questionable to some of you,  but there was really no way to update the original uppers with their orange glass inserts and odd cubbies up top. As for open shelving, in talking with my friends and realtor I think the buyer who would love this house ( most likely a hip, urban buyer since this is near downtown) will most likely have lots of cool things to display and be okay with it. Plus we added the new island (from Target, $249) for extra storage. I totally appreciate that the shelving isn't for everyone, and that's ok.

New honeycomb tile floors were one of the biggest improvements in here! ($5/foot special ordered from Tile Town here in Edmonton).

 

The three pivoting sconces from Restoration hardware add great task lighting in the evening, and lots of charm the rest of the time.

As I mentioned on Instagram, the shelves were a Holly creation. I stained and sawed down a couple cedar planks for a rough edge (I didn't want that slightly rounded edge you get on lumber). And the brackets all came from Lowe's for under $2 each.

 

Looking into the dining/living area, there is still a good sized walk way with our new island in place.

 

I sprayed all the cabinets in Martha Stewart's Bedford Grey, a nice, warm grey for added depth to an otherwise white kitchen. It's definitely a grey I will be using again!

I want to thank Derrick and the wonderful people at D. Lawless Hardware for all the hardware at CottageK. I knew exactly what I was looking for and they made these stainless steel bar pulls happen. Thanks again guys!!

 

The new island is a nice spot for entertaining, and helps create a little separation between the kitchen and dining room. The pillow on my old chair, as well as the bar stools, island and YUM letters are all Target finds. Seriously, what did we do before Target???

 

Derrick and the D.Lawless folks also helped me out with my hook wall! Sean told me this is an unfortunate photo that looks like the hooks are about 2 inches apart... but in reality they are about 8 inches apart and the wall isn't nearly so short. But as anyone in an old home will tell you, there isn't much storage or closet space, so I thought the least I could do was add a good number of hooks for hanging coats and scarves at the back door.

 

The planked wall is insanely cool, and I think it is the perfect contrast to our modern touches. I've had a couple people ask for a tutorial, but I have to give full credit to Sean for this creation so maybe he will walk us through it all. But if you are at all handy all you need are 6 inch wide MDF planks, screw them into the studs, then fill all the screw holes and paint. To clean up all the edges just use smaller trim along the corners and edges.

The mugs are Ikea as-is finds, and everything else came from my own house!

 

The counters are honed marble, keeping it bright and open. The sink and faucet are both Ikea (the sink is the Domsjo, but I can't remember the name of the faucet).

A small detail, but isn't the food guide tea towel too cute (check it out here)? The lovely team at Uncommon Goods were kind enough to send over a few goodies to help make CottageK feel more like a home and this was one of them. Many thanks guys!

 

The new ceiling light is a huge improvement over the fluorescent lighting that was in here before.  

Some unbelievable things are coming up in this little cottage (and my own house) in the next couple weeks, as we get set to welcome the talented team from Style at Home. I have been excitedly preparing for them at home, but I got word yesterday that we will be spending a day shooting CottageK as well! As I learn more about when you can expect to read all about it I will be sure to let you know! 

Thanks again for all your patience and support, I can't tell you how fun and exciting it has been to share it all with you.

(edited to add: Many of you have commented about there not being a fridge. C'mon guys, do you really think I'd eliminate a fridge? LOL. I'm a little out there, but not that far gone! It just hadn't been delivered yet when I took these photos (and is still backordered until this weekend). 

CottageK: Living and Dining Room

Today I am sooo excited to give you a tour of the little living/dining room at CottageK!! It is an open space, but the house is on the smaller side so it was really important to keep it feeling airy (which means not over filling it with furniture, one of my biggest decorating sins).

There really wasn't a lot of extensive renovations to tackle in this room, which made it one of the last rooms we completed. 

The small list of renos included:

New baseboards

Paint (Vermont Cream on the walls again, Francesca by Martha Stewart on the windows)

patching and filling about a thousand old nail holes...

and a new light over the dining table and a sconce on the wall by the hallway.

Though it was the easiest room to update, this room was where I spent 80% of my staging dollars. I think small homes can be a challenge for buyers to visualize their things in so this may help them feel like it can be home-y still, and definitely hip!

I'll share all the befores before the afters to remind myself that while it wasn't an extensive reno, it was definitely a dramatic one!

I kept the original door (OBVIOUSLY!! who could replace that beauty) and hardware. I would hate to stripe such a beautiful old house of it's charm just to say it has 'all new everything!'.

The mirror is one of a stash I picked up at auction a few years ago. The rocker is borrowed from our house, and while I have enjoyed the little table from Target's new Roots Line in our own house for a month or two, I bought it knowing I wanted a handful of bright colors in this room. But I'm sure it will come right back home to my open arms soon.

The old curtains and exterior awnings really kept out the sunshine...

But not anymore! The School House electric light looks as great as I hoped it would (if you need to swag like this be sure to order an extra long cord). The cowhide rug (from Ikea, but similar online here) and antlers on the table are a nod to local prairie/farm style, but the mix of modern Ikea chairs and replica antique bistro table (I found this one at HomeSense, but here is a similar one from Restoration Hardware)

All the pillows in here are from Indigo, this past summer on clearance (and stolen from my own living room LOL).

I found the rocking chair print at Ikea as well, for only $0.10!!! They still had a pile at my store last week if you are in the Edmonton area. The frame is another Ikea purchase, and the vintage plates are out of my ridiculously large collection.

This little wall is the first thing you see when you walk in the door.

So I really wanted it to tie in with all the elements in the house, and make an impact.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but my family recently tore down our old cabin that was well love over the past 50+ years, but too far gone to save. We are building a new cottage out at the lake that I will give you all the details on soon, but before the bulldozers tore the old place down I saved my great grandparent's awesome old mid century modern credenza. 

It was so perfect for this spot and room that I could hardly believe it. The sentimental value and amazing price (FREE!) only make it so much more special, and it is almost like my great grandparents are helping in this family project as well.

This sconce from Restoration Hardware is great for those of use who don't want to rip open our walls to install a new light since it is a plug-in unit. And while I ordered two for this wall, even the smallest size seems pretty big. So in the end only one went up.

The big canvas is $30 HomeSense find, and the print of the impala on a station wagon may just be my very favorite thing in the entire house! I love all of Jacqueline Schmidt's whimsical creations.

So what do you think??? Totally out of my usual box, but this place just makes me happy.

CottageK Unveil: The Office

Thank you so much for your patience while I took a little sabbatical last week. And by sabbatical, I mean a chance to catch up on the disaster that has become my own home, as well as all the the odds and ends over at CottageK.

I am SOOOO excited to share the finished house! The only difference from previous reveals is that instead of doing it in one big, long, epic post (that seems daunting to write, let alone read) I am going to share a room or two every day this week. This gives me a chance to cover all the sources as well for anyone interested.

Today we are going to talk about the office, which may be my favorite room in the whole house. It is just so bright and happy, yet still light and airy.

You probably remember the before. It was filled with a giant old cabinet which had been there so long that the floors underneath had a totally different finish (forcing me to spend a few extra days refinishing them) and an abundance of 70's curtains.

What did we do as far as renos in here?

I installed some simple millwork to the ceiling for extra detail and to add some dimension. I love the continuation of the squares and rectangles from the windows in the light fixture ($79, HomeDepot) and the new ceiling trim. 

New Light/outlets.

And as I mentioned, I refinished the floors, and then everything else was just paint (LOTS and LOTS of paint!).

The walls in the entire house are painted in a soft cream called Vermont Cream by Behr, the black is all Franchesca by Martha Stewart, and the white trim and ceilings are all untinted white paint. 

 

A sleek desk from Ikea and a vintage chair from a local thrift store make a sweet little work station.

(flamingo tray is also from Ikea this past summer)

 

The black and white rug was in my cart at Ikea the second I saw it, even before I saw the price tag, knowing it was the perfect fun touch for my otherwise square-filled room. But then I saw the price ($29.99) and I loved it even more!

 

I picked up the little wicker stool at a thrift store for $5 and everything else you see here was rounded up at our own house.

 

Lamp is from Target, and I know exactly where it will go when it comes home... I have been wanting one of these for ages.

The ottoman and pillows were all rounded up from our own house as well, but in the event they are still available, the black pillow was from Urban Outfitters, the white one from Ralph Lauren, and the ottoman is the Ektorp from Ikea (the pink covers were on sale for $5 a few years ago, so I'm not sure they still come in that color).

I can already tell you that while this is the smallest house I've done, it is my absolute favorite by a mile.

And I can't wait to show you the living room tomorrow!!

Closing in...

We are on the brink of finishing! I actually think I have tricked my brain into believing we are already finished because I've been packing up and trekking bags of accessories and odds and ends since last week. 

For this house, I am mainly staging it with items 'borrowed' from our own house, but have set aside a small budget for a couple extras. 

We still have a ways to go until I declare it 'staged!', but I will be adding a few items with every trip.

The stools and pillow are two of those additions, both are Target purchases (the Beaver Canoe pillow is on clearance right now for only $7!)

 

Just a note to any potential buyers out there: cute little girl and dog are 

not included. Sorry!

A few of my other purchases are a couple of these transparent and chrome dining chairs from Ikea (which I was thrilled to actually find at a local thrift store for a fraction of the price!!!!!!!!!)

Those sleek, stylish chairs are going to be paired with a beautiful black iron pedestal table for an eclectic twist on cottage-style.

With a little fun and quirkiness thrown into the mix thanks to these guys

(letters are also from Target)

Of course, no reno would be complete without some drama and CottageK is no different! Somehow we ended up short 4 sheets of tile for our bathroom. Doesn't sound like a big deal... but when it was a special order that took 3 weeks to arrive it totally is!!!!

 Thankfully my tile suppliers are super heroes and put in a rush shipment for me that will be arriving today, but the pressure is on to get everything wrapped up within the next 3 days thanks to the delays it caused. There is sure to be lots of craziness, and frantic cleaning/decorating/touching up in my immediate future.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Style At Home Magazine

I am over chatting with Elaine Song at Style At Home Magazine today! Click here to hop on over to read about some of my favorite things, where I find inspiration and lots more. Thanks so much to Elaine, Erin and everyone at Style At Home for having me!!

We are hustling hard over at Cottage K to get finished this week! I have so much to show, but in the meantime here is a little ode to my best 'employee': Sean.

November Candle of the Month

 

I know it is the season of apple cider/pumpkin spice and all that jazz, but you know what? I miss Summer! I've been juggling so much these past few weeks that it feels like I barely turned my head around and it went from Summer to early Winter...

I am going to pretend it's Summer for a few moments again with my November candle of the month: Tilly by Rosie Jane. 

 

Oh My Gosh, this candle is by far one of the most fragrant, beautiful candles I've ever enjoyed burning (coming from a candle addict, that is high praise! Well Done Rosie Jane!!). It is a fruity bouquet, filled with the scents of grapefruit, pineapple and gardenia. And I love that it's named after her daughter Matilda.

 

The candle is a little more money than I would usually spend ($38 here) but is has already lasted me well over a month (60 hours burn time) and like I mentioned, SUPER fragrant. In fact, they recommend burning it no longer than 2 hours at a time because it has such a high fragrance oil content. 

 

I actually fell in love with this scent so much that I have decided to deem it my personal fragrance. I don't think I've bought a bottle of perfume for myself in over 10 years, and am almost out of the last one Sean bought for me. But I am not really a perfume kind of girl anyway, and this roll on oil feels much more natural to me. Maybe it's because it's an oil and doesn't have that sharp alcohol smell perfumes usually have. 

Have you been burning a delightful candle lately? I'm curious to hear whether anyone else out there is still dreaming of flowers and fruits instead of pumpkins and caramel apples...