Monday 12 September 2016

Going Grey

The final task has been done in regard to the exterior renovation.  The yellow paint is finally gone!



We considered so many colours since moving into the cottage.  I liked the idea of a lavender facade to go with the purple door, but that was just a bridge too far for my hubby.  I had to rethink my choice in favour of a more gender-neutral shade that wouldn't scream "a little old spinster lives here", so our next thought was a white house with black trim. Like the tudor houses in the English countryside, but after looking at quite a few white houses we decided that it was a bit too plain for us.  The next choice was a bit funny in hindsight - YELLOW.  I know, it was already yellow, but as Hubby found out in our lengthy discussions, I didn't like the "buttery" yellow.  Too orangy, too bright, etc.  I kept telling him I wanted a fresh yellow.  A pale, lemony yellow. Not too bright, mind you.  We passed hundreds of yellow houses and he would ask, "Is that the yellow?"  After getting the same answer a number of times, he changed the question to, "What about that? Too buttery?" Our friend, Dawnette, was visiting from the states and she was witness to the Great Yellow Debate.  So she was naturally surprised to see the stonework on the front. "I thought you were PAINTING it!"  she said.

After the stone cladding went up, it really made the paint look that much worse.  So thanks to our talented friend Deccie, we have a lovely shade of Cloud Grey on the remaining walls, chimney and window sills.  It's fresh, it blends well with the stone, and it really defines the essence of Moonlight Cottage. Next project is some additional landscaping, so I'll be back with pics of that project soon!




Wednesday 10 August 2016

Getting Stoned

With all the time, effort, planning and money that has gone into our renovation, there's been one important area that has been sadly lacking - the outside of the house. Other than painting the door purple, we've done nothing to improve the look of the facade, as was pointed out to us by a passer-by one day. He asked how the renovation was going. My hubby said, "we want everything to be just right, so we've put a lot of money into fixing it up."  To which the man replied, "Really???? WHERE???"
Ouch. After that we got serious about choosing paint colours to freshen up the masonry. That in itself was a challenge. What goes with purple? We considered a lighter,fresher shade of yellow or light green. Then it hit us like a ton of rocks - stone cladding!
We've been blessed with the most talented builder around, and this is what they did for us (thank you Anthony O'Neill and crew!) -


Just a reminder  of the "before" -

During -


And here's a bit of the detail-


Of course, we now need to paint the window surround and sills, and that ugly yellow chimney! I'll post more after we paint, but this is what I consider to be the biggest bang for the buck so far!

Sunday 7 August 2016

It Must be a Sign

My latest project was to make a sign for our cottage. After pondering several options, I came up with an idea to put the cottage name on our gate.  I found a secondhand table and painted my design on the top. 

I started with a base coat of primer
         Sketched my design in pencil 
     Filled in detail with black paint
     I added purple to match our door
The finished sign attached to the gate

Friday 17 June 2016

Summer Blooms

I can't get enough of the garden. It's a wonderful way to spend the warm days. I've added some roses and annuals that are coming into bloom. Oh, the colours!!


The Starry Night petunias are lovely!
The feel of Lamb's Ears is divine. 

I love the suns rays in this pic!

               Cheerful geraniums!

English roses peeking thru the fence

 This variety is called the Alnwick Rose. 

Saturday 28 May 2016

Into the Woods


Today I took a walk in our little patch of woods, and I was quite taken with the lovely combination of light and shadow on the leaves, moss, tree trunks and stone. I was also inspired to create a little "forest graffiti" as well!











Friday 20 May 2016

Improving the View

As promised, I'm posting the finished potting bench. This started out as two panels to conceal the gas tank. This was the view out the kitchen window -


And thanks to my hubby Seamus, here's the new view -


Already loving it, and the bench was made from all recycled bits from the shed!

Sunday 1 May 2016

He's my Handyman

I absolutely love men with DIY skills, and my hubby has them in abundance! He will try anything, and always jumps in and gets projects done FAST! I couldn't ask for a better handyman. Here's what Seamus is up to today -


It may not look like much right now, but I promise that it's going to be amazing!

Sunday 24 April 2016

Now That's a Flower BED!

make no secret about loving the idea of using things in a way that they weren't originally intended. The previous owner of our cottage left some old iron beds in the shed, and I've been wanting to repurpose them for a while now. 

My first thought was to spray paint this headboard white, but after seeing it in the  garden, I like the rusty look!


The green hanging pots are temporary - I will be planting pink peonies that will grow into the railings, so I'll post an updated pic when that happens. I really do love this look!

Sunday 17 April 2016

Rockin' It

When we cleared a big mound from the back garden we were left with large stones that we needed to dispose of. Since a skip was out of our budget, I came up with the idea of lining the top of our new wall with stones. So here's the end result after a few hours worth of work. Lots of effort, but ZERO cost!







Wednesday 13 April 2016

The Great Outdoors Part 2

We've done some sprucing up around the outside of the cottage, and things in the garden are beginning to bud and bloom.  Here's some of the latest pics -
Freshly mown grass and trimmed back shrubs for a new start!
 
Pansies are always show cheerful, don't you think?



This will soon be a popular location for breakfast or a nice cup of tea.
Tea for two - won't you join me?



Here's a bonus - These lovely bluebells were residents of the cottage long before we were!


So graceful are their blooms...


And they are growing everywhere!

Like here...

...and here.

We've even cleaned up that "ugly" area!

And in front of the wall is ready for grass and flowers, another project!


Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more blooming pics.