Before & After: Let the Sunshine In

Before & After: Kitchen Do-over

This is the first of my "before and after" series of posts - seeing the progress is a great motivator for those future projects!

Painter of Light

I've always had a fascination for cottages, going back to the fairy tales that my mother would read to me at bedtime. The moment that fascination turned into a full blown obsession would be my first time seeing a Thomas Kinkade painting -

                                       "Moonlight Cottage" by Thomas Kinkade

From that day forward, I've been hopelessly in love with cottages, as well as this artist's work. Every Christmas we watch "The Christmas Cottage", a biographical film about the early life of Thomas Kinkade. 

If you've ever seen one of his paintings, the thing that jumps off the canvas is the use of light. There's a warm, welcoming glow in the windows which earned Mr. Kinkade the title of "Painter of Light". It draws you in and makes you want to see inside. 

Long before we found our little house, in fact, long before I lived in Ireland I dreamed of living in a home bathed in that same warm glow. So that's my long term goal for our home - to pay homage to the Painter of Light himself by using his paintings as the inspiration for our own cottage. 

And now you know the inspiration for the name of our home - Moonlight Cottage. 

Out of the Blue

There's something very tranquil about shades of aqua. The master bedroom was another wallpapered room with dark drapes and carpets. I decided on Rich Teal for the headboard wall, with a duck egg hue on the remaining walls. We added a grey tufted headboard, and the result is a spa-like quality that really changes the feel of this room -

Here's a look at the room before we moved in - 

It's amazing how a few coats of paint can drastically transform a room! 

Let it Slide

WThe next item on my wish list is now a reality! One thing this house was lacking was proper cottage doors. I wrote some weeks ago about finding an ad for old doors for sale that came out of another old cottage that was being renovated. I was lucky enough to buy all 5 of the remaining doors for a steal! Our favourite carpenter, Evan, hung four of the doors several weeks ago. Tonight he put up the last one in the living room, and it's a sliding door. I've admired this look on Pinterest for many months now, and I was delighted when Evan agreed to do one for me here. 

                                        

The old door opened into the room instead of against the wall, so it was always awkward. I think this door is my new favourite thing in a cottage full of my favourite things! I may never leave. Ever. 

 

Here's the other doors -

                              

                              

                             

                              

                                  Cozy. Very cozy. 

On the Roof

Like everything else, it took a bit longer to get the roof on than expected, but it's done!

While far from finished, here's the "after" pic:

Ignore the construction zone surroundings and peeling paint - those issues will be addressed soon. The good news is that we can finally use this space for storage. Hooray!!

It's a Gas!

There's something very elemental about cooking on a gas stove. I haven't had one since the 80's, so I'm getting reacquainted with gas cooking!

                                   

I love the old look of this new cooker. You can see where I've added my mother's Wedgwood plate as decoration. This kitchen has the advantage of triple aspect windows, so it's a very cheerful space to cook in. We aren't finished by any means, but it's getting there!

The Ugly Truth

Up until now I've posted mostly the lovely "after" pics at the end of each project. But today I'm sharing the view out my kitchen window and the back "garden". This is the ugly, construction side of the cottage! 

It actually looked better BEFORE all the work -

"What happened???" you ask.  Part of the lawn had to be taken up to lay the gas pipes. And there was some earth moving needed to set that beast of a gas tank (still thinking about how we will hide that thing).  The rest of the grass fell victim to our former plumber who ran amuck on the digger!

 

This is yet another future project on our list. Stay tuned and I'll update you when we start beautifying this eyesore!

Raising the Roof

The "to-do" list for our cottage seems to be endless! This week we are putting a roof on the garage. Here's what it looked like before-

There were holes in the roof, birds nesting everywhere, and the vines!

Our ever present carpenter, Evan, is building the new roof with the help of his friend, Colin.  Here's a look at the progress -

More pics to follow as the project nears completion!

A Booth with a View

On my list of things I've always wanted in my "dream house" was a breakfast bar or booth with a nice view.  Don't ask me why, just something that has always been on my mind.

                                     

     

When I got the first look at this particular window in our kitchen area, I knew I'd have to do something with it.

So after my quest to find matching monks benches that I could paint, then for a pub table of the right size that I could add a graphic to, this is what I came up with.

I wanted to raise the "booth" up to improve the view, so we had our carpenter, Evan, construct one out of rough cut wood - 

Using a nifty vinegar and steel wool technique for quickly ageing the wood, here is what the finished result looks like -

This raises everything up by 6 inches, just enough to put you in the window.

So here's a few different angles of our breakfast/afternoon tea/drinks booth -

 

I had my tea here this morning, and all I can say is, the Moonlight Cottage Cafe is now open for business!

"Trees are your best antiques." - Alexander Smith

We had a fine fellow come down and clear the underbrush in our little patch of woods. It's amazing what lies under all that stuff -

I'm thinking campground!!! I can just see a campfire with a nice jam session going on around it. All my favourite musician friends together for our own little music festival - how fun would that be???

No wait -- GLAMPING!! We could build yurts, and a bathhouse...

...the mind boggles at the possibilities!

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens...

This is my new official "find" of the century.  I've been trying to buy ( or have constructed) ledge and brace cottage doors to replace the uninteresting ones we currently have in the cottage.  New doors are very expensive, and I haven't been looking forward to the wait to have them built.  Then today I find an ad on donedeal.ie for these beauties!!!  I was on it like a flash, and although it took nearly 3 hours to collect them, it was well worth it.

They also came with all the old fashioned black handles and hinges that we removed for transporting them.  Can you believe that I got FIVE of these in my little Toyota Verso?

It was a tight squeeze and a snug ride back from beautiful Clonakilty, but I am so happy with my doors!  And the best part, I got all 5 for €120!  The hardware alone costs more than that if you buy it new.  I usually leave the bargaining to my hubby Seamus, but with him out of town, I had to go this one on my own.  Not too bad for my first try. 

So the next question is, do I paint them white or leave them natural?  Let me know your thoughts.

I'll post pics once the doors are up in the cottage, so stay tuned!

Where's Tom Sawyer when you need him?

It may not be Tom's "thirty yards of board fence nine feet high", but this is my whitewashing task for the day - 

I love how GaGa managed to photo bomb my fence pic!

"Good fences make good neighbours"

Like many others I know, I always dreamed about a house with a white picket fence. Thanks to Evan, our amazing carpenter, we have this beautiful little fence just waiting to be painted. Here's the "before" pics - will add the "afters" when the painting is done. 

And here is the "after" -