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!