I joined the COVID-19 project crew this week. Meaning, I finally got my act together and started to get more done around our home. Refreshing and decluttering My kitchen needed a refresh and a serious de-cluttering. It was feeling “too busy” and cluttered and I needed some visual space especially since we are spending so … Read More
Painted Chest of Drawers
Last summer and fall I started scanning Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for antique dressers to paint and re-sell. I really only expected to find one or two, but they just kept showing up. By winter the garage had a nice collection of antique furniture. I managed to collect 6 dressers, 4 tables, a vanity, a … Read More
Fredricksburg, Texas
If you follow me on Instagram you may have figured out that we are currently spending some time in Austin, Texas. It’s a pretty good gig – Kirk works for IBM in Rochester, but a good number of his teammates work here in Austin, so our stay gets us away from the bitter cold winters … Read More
How to make a centerpiece
I must have flowers, always, and always. ~ Claude Monet Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring – I appreciate having flowers in the house, in the garden, on the porch. When winter arrives and stays too long, I appreciate them even more! Making arrangements in pretty containers or wood boxes is my favorite way to enjoy them. … Read More
Updated side table
When I interrupted my refinishing last week to give the tiered stand a new look, I also decided it was time to update a side table that was no longer giving me joy as a plain white table. I picked this little table up at a garage sale for $3 many years ago. It was … Read More
Antique Coat & Hat Rack
One of my favorite buys at Gold Rush this year was an oak and iron coat/hat rack for the wall. As soon as Marian pointed it out to me, I knew it was coming home with me. It was a bit dirty and the wood was dry, so I wiped it down and put some … Read More
Curtain Hack
The master bedroom in our 1978 multi-level home has been a work in progress for years. Actually, the entire house has been a work in progress since moving here in 2004. A few years ago we slowly started the process of updating the room by ripping out old carpeting and adding wood laminate flooring (kinda wish … Read More
Design
Many moons (and months) have passed since we completed our new kitchen/great room space. Â The major parts of the remodel: Â flooring, kitchen cabinets, painted walls were finished early last summer. Â However, like any major (and sometimes minor) projects here at The Cottage there is usually some leftover details to finish. Sometimes the delay is due … Read More
Phase I Complete
Baby Girl hosted a girls night at TheCottage Friday night. Mr. D and I agreed to leave for a few hours so the girls could have TheCottage to themselves. So…. Friday we woke up with a LOT of work to do! 1. Queen bed had to be dismantled, moved and set back up. 2. Two … Read More
Temporary Digs
With the flooring in bedroom #2 complete, we are moving on to bedroom #3. The master bedroom. Which means we need to move the master bedroom into the room we first finished. Which means moving everything from bedroom #1 and bedroom #2 into bedroom #2. Here’s how the moving has gone down: Move furniture from Room … Read More