It took six weeks to fix the kitchen floor, but so worth it! The floor was kind of like the elephant in the room. The floor in the kitchen had been added to, but never removed, any of the existing floorings before adding to it; this was now a tripping hazard along with an eye sore. The question became, “what’s under the existing floor”? We could tell it was a floating floor. And we could see the many layers when we took the hall entrance to the kitchen out. There was the first layer of 1920s linoleum, then the 1950’s linoleum square tiles, on top of that was a sub-flooring,…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…