My goal for our room was to add elements such as built-ins, color, wallpaper, and items that would make someone believe they had always been here. Let me know what you think!

I’ve been asked about some of the paint colors I’ve used. Although the cottage was finished in 1925, I really like the 1930s and 40’s. I am going with this area rather than the 20s. The door is gone, and the ceiling is painted. After I was done painting it, I went back and found the picture of the original wallpaper that was on the ceiling in the living room. I think it’s a match!  

Someone told me years ago that my bedroom should be my favorite room in my home. However, two issues keep me from doing anything in this room. One, a door joins our room with the second bedroom. I believe our room was the sunroom that connected it to the primary bedroom. This was very common in the South with the heat. Two, to get to our room, you have to walk through a bathroom. We won’t be addressing this issue for a while, but soon, I hope. Here are some glimpses of our project!

We are trying to finish many projects, including repairing and painting the exterior trim. We are also considering insulating our attic with ceiling spray foam to help with electrical bills that have more than doubled in the past month. So, I thought I would look at what we have accomplished. We have done so much in the past two and a half years! Dining room,       Living Room.     Front Entrance             Side View         Backyard               

Many here in Texas consider the mosquito the state bird, lol. And like they say, “Everything is bigger in Texas.” And, of course, the mosquitoes are. The past two years have been a battle dealing with them. I think I should own stock in repellent. Tony says I walk from the backdoor to the car and get attacked, and I do. So, our next project was to enclose the back porch.   These pictures are how it looked when we first moved in; not much has changed. We started with pressure washing the deck and stairs, we thought we would have to replace some decking, but after pressure washing it,…

As we went on our road trip in August, it became obvious we needed somewhere to cool off in the Texas heat. Everyone we visited had a pool. Tony’s sister in Phoenix, Arizona, had just installed a beautiful pool, and we enjoyed our visit with them and their pool! Our problem with our cottage is twofold: one several hundred-year-old trees with roots all over the property and a sprinkler system. Digging a hole would not be wise. I’m not a fan of hot tubs (I don’t need the heat), so that option is a no. Our only real option is an above-ground pool. The next question was where to set…

It has been a while since my last post. From the end of July through the third week in August, we took a road-trip to Omaha, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; Washington State; Phoenix, Arizona; and then home. When we arrived home, we discovered one of our neighbors would be moving closer to her family. The house she was living in here was one she was renting and going to be sold. I knew the people who owned the home, and they planned on selling it. They had moved out of state and asked if I would be willing to work with their realtor; I said “yes.” That led to also working…

It’s definitely too hot to be outside! I go out only when I need to water my new plants, which means every evening after eight PM. And it’s usually over 90 degrees then, but the sun is not beating on the plants. So the next indoor project was the living room. Of course, that means painting more walls and trim. And I could go into great detail about all we did, but I think I’ll show you so you can see the before and after. I will say one thing, though: we found the original shutters in the attic for a few of the windows and installed them in one…

I’m starting to feel like it’s our home now that I can go outside and get my hands in the dirt. I started by getting a “How To Garden In Texas” book and researching what plants and trees do well here. Texas is so big I needed to find my zone, zone 8b. I also paid attention to what I saw around town. Brown is the color of the fence and the trellises and the accent color on some of the cottage. With the trees providing quite a bit of shade, I think they need to be given a freshening up. With a new style and fresh white stain, they…

I didn’t go anywhere; It’s been a very busy season. When we took time off for the Christmas season, it took a bit to get back into the swing of things. We did take time to realize how much we had done and said, ” That was a lot!” We also had several guests, and seeing family and friends was wonderful. And because we knew we had guests coming to stay in the guesthouse, we concentrated on getting it in proper working order. Our great-granddaughter Ava called the guesthouse the tree house; I think trees surround it you can see from every window when you’re inside the guesthouse. Tony started…