3.29.2013

Making a cottage...

I love old homes.  My dream home is a 100+ year old farmhouse.  My reality is a 2010 builder grade home that comes in at just under 2,000 square feet that we affectionately refer to as the cottage.

But it really isn't a cottage.  In my mind it is, so to help it along we added some things to give it a cottage-y feel.

Architectural salvage...




I love salvaged windows.  This glass is beveled and catches the lovely morning light...


 A ceiling becomes art when we put up my dad's nautical maps...


Adding vintage doors & knobs...the more mismatched the better!




Tore out builder grade upper cabinets and built open shelving...


I really dislike our builder grade bathroom cabinets....so I skirted them...



Painted our interior doors using ASCP in Graphite...


Added a few industrial touches...



Pitched out the builder grade lighting and added our own style...




We opted to nix the towel racks in the bathroom for vintage hangers...



I have a few more ideas of how to give our cottage a little more charm.  A trip to the architectural salvage in Houston is on my to-do list!

Have a lovely weekend!


Linking up at Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative Friday Link Party!
Liz Marie Blog

PJH Designs

45 comments:

  1. Your home is beautiful and totally you!! I love all of your special touches. Have a special weekend.
    Lynda

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    1. Lynda- Thank you so much! I love getting to know someone by seeing the things they surround themselves with :)

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  2. You have such a great eye for detail...all of your ideas, however small or large, add so much to your cottage feel!

    XO,
    Jane

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    1. Too funny- my neighbor told me that too! I do love the details ;) Thank you so much!

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  3. I love this post and I love your house! I have a hard time changing things in our house because for the most part things were done very nicely. However they lack the vintage, cottage, farmhouse feel that I truly desire. I struggle with knowing how to change something that already looks good...but not my style. It's very tough!

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    1. Jennifer- Staying true to yourself while decorating is tough- especially when we see so many different styles on other blogs as well as the decorating trends. Maybe try adding some elements in that do reflect you- just email me if you want me to look at some pictures or give some suggestions. I'd be happy to do that :)

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  4. OMGoodness...you have really turned this home into a real cozy cottage....LOVE IT ALL!!!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  5. Looooove all your cottage touches. I too call our home a cottage yet it's a 2008 special at 5400 sq ft. It's not the size or era of the home, it's those special touches that bring out a homes personality and charm!! Ps that map on the ceiling is nothing short of amazing!

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    1. OMG! How hard is all that square footage to keep clean? I struggle with all the clean up in ours- I couldn't imagine swiffering/vacuuming any more space ;) It is all about the little things we do to give our homes our personality!

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  6. :-) Luv all the cottagey touches you have added.
    My dream home is an older home with lots of charm and history, instead I am also in a builder grade 2006 ( we had to build fast as our other home sold in 24 hrs) we laso call the cottage. It comes in at just 200square feet and we make do with it's cozy living spaces.
    Making builder grade home has been fun!!
    Hugs, Gee

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    1. Gee- It is fun! I do love that we don't have old plumbing, electrical or structural stuff to repair though :)

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  7. What a great job you've done of turning your home into a cottage! I love the salvaged pieces and ruffles you've added. White is my fav!
    I'm visiting you today from Liz Marie. I hope you get a chance to stop by my blog and leave a comment, too!
    ~ Megin of VMG206
    Spring JOY Frame ~ Printable

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    1. I did stop by- beautiful blog :) Thank you so much for visiting me!

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  8. You really did make it lovely - very nice improvements on bland builder stuff.

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  9. Beautiful! I think you can create a cottage out of any home.... all your touches are perfect. Here at Muse Cottage, which is more of a 1940's ranch style home, we are hard at work to bring it back to the charm we are sure it must have once had or perhaps "wanted" to have... like you said little touches, like mis-matched vintage door knobs can go a long way.. and it is indeed on my list! Keep up the great and inspiring work!

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    1. Thank you so much Stephanie! I have tried to get to your blog, but get to a google page instead where I cannot read your posts! Can you send me a link? Thanks!

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  10. LOVE this list...we have a builder grade home that I adore, but am dying to make more cottage-y and give it more character. Slowly but surely...love these ideas and pictures. Your blog is my favorite new find!! I love checking in!
    And I have to tell you, I mentioned a few posts back loving sweet Sarah's video because I KNOW how rich her beauty is...though we have many unknowns about our angel girl's future, the Lord has done great things for her...and a post you did a few days ago about Sara and your kids made my heart soar. Just seeing a glimpse of the future that didn't feel scary or sad (I think youll know what I mean by that...hopefully) but that seemed so full of JOY and fun. I think God used it to bring some peace to my heart about some fears Ive been wrestling with lately. So...thank you for sharing that piece of your heart and the joy of your girl :)

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    1. I know exactly what you mean :) Having Sara in our family has truly been a gift for her brothers and sister- and of course for us too. She teaches me things every day. Thank you so much for your sweet words!

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  11. Love your home and the little changes that make a huge difference!!! I also am totally smitten with your dark doors throughout. Just perfect!!!

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    1. I love painted interior doors- a huge fan! We did them in our last house too. Makes such a dramatic statement, and it hides dirt, lol!

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  12. Your home is absolutely gorgeous! I love all your cottage and vintage touches. Do you have a tutorial on how you tore out the kitchen cabinets and put up the shelving? I would love to do that in my own kitchen.

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    1. Melanie- Not a tutorial, but if you click on Kitchen under the labels all of our kitchen redo posts are under that :)

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  13. Wanting to get away from the very cold winters
    of Central Illinois I packed my family and moved
    to warm Florida.. I love it here now but it broke
    my heart to give up my 83 yr old farm house..
    there were glass knobs on every door and it
    was like an old Salt Box. Good luck
    with your vintage finds at the salvage store.
    happy April
    sandy

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    1. Sandy- I bet that was hard! Moving is tough, but when you feel a strong attachment to a house it is really difficult. I bet you were glad to get away from the snow!

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  14. I love the changes you have made so far, and the list is impressive in such a short time. Love the doors -both vintage and the graphite painted ones. Your kitchen has a lot of personality too. We are working on adding some character to our builder 1999 home, but at a slower pace I'm afraid lol.

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    1. Thank you so much! I feel like we crawl through projects sometimes. That is why the Mister calls me 'bunny'!

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  15. Wow! I love the changes you have made. I am currently working on our builder grade kitchen and saw some familiar things in your kitchen!:) Newest follower!

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    1. Pamela- Hi and welcome! Can't wait to see what you do to your kitchen!

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  16. I love these ideas - keep them coming please!

    Just realized your blog isn't updating in my Blogger feed. Hmmmm....on my list it looks like a week or two since you updated. Trying to figure out why.

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    1. Stacey- Not sure on that one....I am a tech immigrant, lol!

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  17. You have given your 2010 home some old bones. It is lovely! You have done a wonderful job. I am looking forward to digging in your archives. I am visiting from Coastal Charm and am your newest follower. Please stop by Still Woods Farmhouse for a visit when you get a chance.
    Blessings from Still Woods Farmhouse

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  18. Oh I love all your little vintage touches. I too have a builder grade home and to make it worse low ceilings. :-( Anyhoo, I have added the old door knobs and tin ceiling tiles etc...but you have done some lovely things and I'm so inspired to try some of them in my home. I would love for you to share at Transformed Tuesday a link party on my blog. I know my readers would love this post. http://pjhdesignsoneofakind.blogspot.com/2013/04/transformed-tuesday-32-features.html

    Hope you have time to stop by,
    Hugs,
    Peggy~PJH Designs

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  19. Fabulous! Fabulous! I love the graphite painted doors, love the open shelving, love what you did above the fridge, gosh the island is wonderful! Oh and the screen doors always a wonderful touch! The skirted fabric is perfect along with what you did to the other curtains! It belongs in a magazine! The pig is adorable too!

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  20. You are featured today on Transformed Tuesday.

    Hugs,
    Peggy~PJH Deisgns

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  21. If only I had a Cottage! Love all your wonderful touches! I have the same pig wood plague in my pantry, had it for years! Newest follower, glad to have found you, Hope to see you visit and follow too! Take care

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    1. Marilyn, Any home/apartment can be a cottage! It's all about bringing in the old and embracing the beauty in old things!

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  22. Beautiful! Absolutely stunning - every single thing! Well done!

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  23. I can't recall how I stumbled upon your blog. Probably Pintwrest. I am so glad I did. We just moved in to a builder-grade home and while things are nice, I needed permission to tweak and upgrade. Thank you! Wish you could take a look at my kitchen/great room and give me ideas. Thank you for a beautiful blog!

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    1. So glad you found me! Builder grade homes are just begging for personalization- so glad you are going to add a bit of your personality to your new home. I don't blog very much anymore, but I am on Instagram under The Tiny Tudor.

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Thanks so much for popping in. I appreciate all of your lovely comments...Tricia