• COTTAGE PATH,  Kitchen

    Almost Done

    As I said in my last post, my range, refrigerator, and backsplash came! And I LOVE them! I had a hard time choosing a backsplash for behind my range. The shiplap wall had been changed when they opened the breakfast nook to the kitchen. Also, with the stove on this wall, I thought it shouldn’t be just the wood. I began looking at tiles, but I couldn’t find any that I thought would fit the kitchen. Actually, I found many but didn’t want to choose something I would grow tired of; nothing seemed right. Then while I looked at some photos on a site called HOUZZ (my go-to place, houzz.com,…

  • COTTAGE PATH

    Staying Busy While Waiting

    While waiting for our new range, refrigerator, and backsplash to arrive, we decided to work on the dining room. I had already painted the walls (I had to remove the painter’s tape blue color). But the room had a formal feel that I wanted to stay away from in this house; I wanted a more cozy cottage feel. And looking into the kitchen from the dining room and seeing the shiplap walls, I thought we should continue the same look. Tony started with the ceiling and then moved to the walls, where we discovered more of the past. We removed one layer of sheetrock to find another layer with wallpaper…

  • COTTAGE PATH

    Blending the Two Sides

    The kitchen had two faces that I needed to figure out how to make them become one. With the entry moved and the pantry relocated, I started painting away the brown cabinets and ordered new hardware. At the same time, remove the sheetrock and brown and gold tile from the backsplash to expose and paint the shiplap. I added small details with the vintage towel rack and roller shades on the windows. We came up with the detail on the wall they left in the middle of the counter. Plus, new ceiling light fixtures are also much-needed fans. Then you turn and look at the other side of the kitchen…

  • COTTAGE PATH,  Kitchen

    Hidden Treasures

    When we moved in, we began to discover left behind items. First, we found two original interior doors, complete with the hardware. Knobs and hinges. One door had the same knobs on both sides of the door. The other had one knob that matched the other door with a glass knob. The doors looked pretty rough, chipping paint and possibly lifted veneer. We had a debate on whether or not they were part of the original house or if they were just miscellaneous doors. Not sure where I would use them or if I would use them in the cottage, I began to strip them. I tried a heat gun…

  • COTTAGE PATH

    Out of Town

    We’ve been visiting two of our boys and their families this month. I love my kids! And it was so good to be with them. One is in Omaha, Nebraska, and one in Washington State. It was the most challenging part of leaving Washington, many tears. The funny thing is we thought we would get out of the Texas heat in Washington, but it was in the upper nineties. Our neighbor, before we left, asked us if we were coming back; they worried we might not. As they keep telling us, it has been unusually hot, over one hundred degrees for several weeks. And I was thinking; I wonder if…

  • COTTAGE PATH,  Kitchen

    Uncovering the Past

    Just when you think you’ve found the original layer, you find another. As I’ve said, all the walls and ceiling were constructed with a 3/4 inch shiplap in 1925 [the year our cottage was completed]. They didn’t have sheetrock. The finished surface is a cheesecloth material tacked up with upholstery-like tacks, then wallpaper with paste is smoothed over it. Incredibly, you don’t see the lines of the shiplap at all. This first picture is a wallpaper that was on the ceiling. Moving into the kitchen while removing the sheetrock off the walls that they eventually put over the wallpaper, we came across many layers of wallpaper. We found the original…

  • COTTAGE PATH,  Kitchen

    Over 7,000 Vendors

    Our first trip to Canton was the first weekend in April. My dear friend Jan who moved to Texas, I believe, last November, called and told me about Canton. It’s the largest flea market in the world. Canton is located just southeast of Dallas and puts on the event the first Thursday through Sunday of each month. We met Jan. She is a pro in flea markets and showed me how it is done! She asked me if I was looking for anything in particular. I told her I had been looking for an old drainboard sink. When we arrived, she said, “I have found two!” But when we went…

  • COTTAGE PATH,  Kitchen

    Focusing On The Kitchen

    Our heads were spinning at first, trying to address the most critical issues. The popcorn ceiling was first. Of course, Tony focused on ensuring everything was functioning correctly and safely. All I could see was painters tape blue walls and brown painted kitchen cabinets. I started by purchasing two five-gallon buckets of neutral white paint for the cottage and carriage guest house. Believe it or not, I didn’t paint the blue first! I started with the kitchen cabinets. I would send Karlee pictures of what I was doing, and she would laugh and say, “mom, I can’t believe I can still see blue walls!” Looking at the cottage’s layout, you…

  • COTTAGE PATH

    Our First 3 Months Continued

    It was a 70-plus page inspector’s report we were handed before we made an offer on our home. The previous owners had received and accepted an offer from someone else that bought it online. When they came and saw the house in person, they backed out two days before the closing date. The reason they gave was that the house was too small. Who knows? Many of you know I’m married to the man who trained MacGyver. He even has a t-shirt saying this very thing [thank’s Cindy]. He combed over the report, plus we had our own also done. There was nothing that showed up that he felt he…