I’m amazed any of our neighbors are still speaking to us. We’ve tried their patience sorely with our painfully slow renovation of the little cottage next door. But now, the eyesore of the neighborhood is close to becoming the sweet little cottage I envisioned. Christened Mary Lou’s Cottage in … [Read more...]
The Fixer-Upper Cottage Next Door
Every morning, when I sit at my dining room table with my first cup of coffee, this is what I see out my window (below). Our fixer-upper next door is looking pretty nasty right now. The poor little house is half dressed in its new wood shingles, surrounded by a sea of mud and accented with a big … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Bedrooms
My mom loved a party. So I’m pretty sure that when our big, noisy clan gathers together in the little cottage next door, where she lived at the end of her life, she smiles down on us from heaven. This little nugget of a house, perched on the edge of the lake, has become our favorite … [Read more...]
Bathrooms Get Cottage Charm Makeover
Sometimes, I look at photos of homes with large, lovely, almost palatial bathroom spaces, and sigh wistfully. As a lover of historic homes, big bathrooms are not a reality for me, unless I knock out a lot of walls. But I have found that just because your home has little bathrooms doesn’t mean they … [Read more...]
The Cottage Next Door: A Peek at Nancy’s Living Room
Everyone needs a few Happy Places. Spots where they can go to escape from it all and refill their hearts. One of my friend Nancy’s happy places is her cozy cottage, with its snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug rooms that look out over a placid little lake. Lucky me, Nancy’s cottage just happens to be three … [Read more...]