this is the main room. the place is just 550 square feet so this room is going to serve as the main living area, dining and where i sleep! watch me make this happen!
this is the little kitchen. self-explanatory.
here is the bedroom, which will be eli's room. however, the current plan is to build a simple partition so that the first several feet of space, including a closet behind the door there, will be my work space. it will be small but doable.
this is my landlord's chicken coop which is off the back of his barn and right out my front door.
this is a space out my front door the landlord is currently landscaping. he's talking about pouring a concrete patio area.
out a window of the new place you can see a neighbor's horses...just barely in this picture.
the landlord did a lot of landscaping recently including leveling this large area next to my cottage and putting grass seed down. hopefully some grows before the chickens scratch it all up.
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as i said, the whole place is just 550 square feet. living and working there is going to be a challenge but i feel up to it. i have been brainstorming ideas to that end since i signed the lease. the first thing i did yesterday is clean because it really needed it. and it needs it some more. second, although you can't see it in the pictures, the walls and ceiling have that gritty textured surface thing going on. you know what i mean...super ugly stuff. in the next few days i'm skim-coating at least the main room walls and maybe ceiling to smooth them out. aside from this and scrubbing the place clean the other project is building a twin sized daybed which will be both sofa and where i sleep. i have a builder friend to help me and will surely show you pictures!
once i move in i have a few other priorities- there's a ceiling fan and an ugly ceiling light fixture in the main room and i want to take both down and replace the fan with a light fixture. i think i'm going to situate the day bed in the center of the room facing the little wood stove. the fan is over this spot now and i can visualize a hanging bare bulb fixture there.
also, and this may be controversial, you tell me in the comments your thoughts, the landlord said he wouldn't mind me painting all that wood panelling and built ins. it is rather dark in there and it may help. i'm thinking white walls and pale grey woodwork.
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so that's what's going on right now. i will try to take a picture today of what the cottage looks like on the outside. it's situated behind the owner's house which is a big old antique colonial brick home. you can't see my place from the road, which is a big YAY for me. and though it's small the trade off is it's a free-standing place and not in an apartment building. there's a ton of outdoor space and privacy and it has some charm.
what do you think??
27 comments:
Definitely yes to white walls and pale grey paintwork. Go for it! x
So cute! I vote for paint. your color idea sounds great.
Seems great and I can't wait to see what you do with the place.
First, thanks for sharing with us all these photos of your new space, it looks awesome, and I love how green it is outside. Then, I wanted to say that downsizing is a smart idea, if it possible. Space is fabulous but the more you have space, the more stuff you want to fill it with, and it's not always the key to happiness.
About the paint. I love the look of natural wood, and I'm not a fan of painting, really. But if you feel it will make this place more luminous, cleaner, then maybe that's the right thing to do.
Good luck for all the cleaning & renos. xoxo
Looks awzsome and i'm sure you will make a home out of it. We live in the heart of Paris on the same surface, now 2 but 4 whe the kids were still at home.
Is this your garden? Surrounding seem nice too.Good luck, will follow your adventure.
Liane, I LOVE it!!! I say go for the paint, too! It sounds like a great way to brighten up the place. I am excited for you! I have always wanted a tiny place, though I have lots of stuff. Main motivation - less cleaning - ha! Can't wait to see what you do with it! I know it'll be an inspired space! <3
Ah, I can't wait to see what you do with your new place Liane. I would paint everything white and grey because that's what we've done in our home. I'm know you'll have lots of other nice wooden accessories to keep it looking warm and cosy.
A new start -enjoy!
this looks so pretty! the kitchen is small but practical and i love how the cottage is rustic but totally charming.
if you're looking for a great grey for woodwork, i painted the trim in my house thunder by benjamin moore. the color is a moody warm grey that looks very historic and melds beautifully with other colors. we chose a color called morning dew for the walls that is like a pale off white that can look grey, green or pale blue depending on the light. drop me an e-mail if you want me to take a pic. i also probably have a sh*&load of it leftover and i'm in southern maine if you dig it.
so happy for you!
I would hold off on the paint you already have a lot of walls that have paint and a large bright painting over the firplace will make a huge difference. It is not like it is ugly crap paneling, there is a certain charm to the wood and it is going to take a lot of pai nting to cover it and you can never go back. white walls are so over ad if you find it bugs you paint it latter. I just think you could be more creative than white walls and grey trim. my ooops not so humble opinion.
So you're basically getting a NYC sized apartment in the heart of rural New Hampshire.
You're resourceful and ingenious and (relatively) low maintenance, you'll make it work.
-- The chicken coop could be turned into an extra guest bedroom, who doesn't like to bunk with poultry? --
I love the place...
I don't think I'd paint the paneling since it is "good" paneling, not like the 70's crap. Maybe just painting the walls white and adding in all of your cool stuff will add to the charm of the paneling as is?
Congratulations with your new home!
About painting or not, you could go for a sort of middle course and rub it with white linseed oil paint. I live in a rather dark, old house, and this treatment on the woodwork really makes a difference, lightwise. More light - and still the wooden look. It's also much easier and faster than 3 coats of paint.
Small cottages rock.
Love your idea of the daybed.
About paint: I'm very thankful that I painted my houseboat's wood paneling white before I moved aboard, or I'm pretty sure I never would have given the boat a chance.
Intrigued by Mona's comment about white linseed oil paint -- will have to check that out for future reference.
Looking forward to seeing the "after" photos.
i think: rock on! i absolutely LOVE small houses. there's so much potential there to make it special. can't wait to see what you make of it.
oh man, i don't think i'd paint the wood panelling. the first thing i thought was how cozy it looks...but, it would certainly be brighter painted! congratulations-cool place!
i think it's awesome! and i know you'll make it look amazing too - your style is so unique and beautiful! can't wait to see it all decorated. :) praying for a smooth and easy transition for you and your son. :) lora
Awesome place, can't wait to see how you make it your own. I do love the wood wall. Does the wood burning stove work? That would be great. I hesitate to paint unpainted wood because there's no going back without a lot of work. But I can see the gray scheme you mentioned. Personally I always leave wood unpainted until I move in and get a feel for it. I do like the idea of day bed/sofa. Be sure to include pics of it. Have fun moving......Lisa
looks awesome, I would def paint that wood! :)
can't wait to see what you'll turn this place into !
Too much pine wood panelling can give a bit "finnish sauna" look, imho, so I would either darken it to have an aged, grey "old barn" look of the wood, or lighten it by painting.
It's look so lovely and charming already, and can't wait to see what further transformation you will instill upon it.
I would hold off on painting over that wood trim, maybe at least until you are somewhat settled in. I can understand wanting to brighten the place up a bit, but wood adds such warmth, and once it's painted over, there's a lot of stripper involved to go back! Definitely get a nice fresh coat of paint on the walls, though.
What a great little house! We have original wood trim in our farmhouse. We painted the walls a honey beige, which looks lovely with the woodwork. The kitchen would probaly look fresher with paint and, let me tell you, the wood is hard to keep clean in a kitchen if it's not sealed well. Sounds like you have great plans for the place! Thanks for sharing with us.
Thanks for sharing these pics and your ideas, it can be daunting moving into a new space- but room by room, right? So glad I found your blog, I'm enjoying getting to know you a bit on here~
What a perfect place for a new beginning. I cannot wait to see what you do. I swear between your Blog, Pinterest and Etsy pages, many days I find it's all I need to to get amped, inspired and ready to create. So thank YOU for that. Best wishes to you and your family :)
oh yeah, i positively stand behind you in painting that paneling! did it in my house and it magically transformed the space. yay!
Paint! Paint! Paint! Paint!
(love your new digs)
uI'd leave the wood wall behind the woodstove and paint everything else. That way it becomes a special focus rather than just another wood-fest. And it's nice; not crap panelling.
The cottage has great bones. I love the wood - that place has some soul.
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