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. The major parts of the remodel: flooring, kitchen cabinets, painted walls were finished early last summer. 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
Another room
Mr. D knocked out another room this past week. New flooring and a closet update. A fresh (new) coat of paint on the walls. (SW Aura White on walls) Freshly painted trim. (Behr trim paint -off-the-shelf in satin finish) It feels sooooo fresh and nice in here! Brighter and lighter. We’ve been kickin’ around … Read More