Welcome to my little urban cottage. I am excited but a little nervous to show you the inside for the first time! I haven’t done much fixing up to the inside of the house since we purchased it in April and I feel it isn’t even near ready to show off to the world.
Most of the actual house does not reflect my design or the esthetic I’m dreaming of. Can you spy the FIVE different styles of window trim in the following pictures? The horror. However, my mission is to encourage you to live a big life in a small house not to live a big life in a perfect house.
Come on in and let me show you around.
I was pretty tickled when I found this little welcome mat. The security screen barely clears the front porch so I had to find a mat that was really thin. Plus, I love the scotch plaid!
Even though not much work has been done on the inside, we worked tirelessly last summer painting the exterior. The security door used to be a rusted white. And, not the cute kind of rusted white.
The sled belonged to John’s grandpa. We’ve had it for over 29 years now. Even though it is cracked at the top, it can still go lightening fast when waxed! The ice skates I brought with me from Michigan as well as the antlers found in the wreath.
The first thing you see when you walk in is, what I like to refer to as, the great room. To the left is the living room and to the right is the kitchen. There is this little half-wall separating the two rooms. This wall was pretty much the only place I could hang our stockings. Here is how I made the stocking holder in case you missed it.
Isn’t the original 1930’s arch adorable?! I already put the leaf in the kitchen table because my three grandkids are coming on Christmas for a week! Most of the time, the table is round.
If you peek closely under the table, you can see a picnic bench. The bench allows me to scoot the table all the way up against the wall when we aren’t eating but then gives us plenty of seating when it is dinner time. This is a perfect solution to feed a lot of people in a small kitchen.
Did you catch it? You aren’t going to find it in many of my pictures of it because to me, it is really ugly–my blue sink!
Inside the nook to the right is our hot cocoa bar. The teenage little loves her hot cocoa! I put everything on this three-tiered stand which is a great solution when you are short on space.
t is not just a hot cocoa bar.
This is sitting in the window box over my kitchen sink.
Each Christmas, the teenage little and I decide on a decor for the season. This year she is obsessed with everything copper. So we agreed on a copper and plaid theme.
We found this nativity set at the local thrift store and spray painted it copper. Personally, I think it is a little creepy and I have already planned to paint it all white next year. But, the little really wanted it copper and so it is.
To get perspective, the front door is to the left, just behind the wall you see.
Part of storage in a small house is the need to store things out in the open. Aside from the red towel, this is pretty much what the stovetop looks like year around.
This is the view from the kitchen stove. Pillow covers are my friend for easily switching themes throughout the seasons. They fold up tiny and are much easier to store than an entire pillow. I made the red and white striped pillow cover out of two Ikea rugs. A successful Pinterest project I must say.
Dressers don’t need to be reserved for the bedroom. This was the very first piece of furniture John and I purchased when we got married. We crackle painted it in the 1980’s and the finish has partly peeled off. For 11 years it was used for craft storage in the basement of the big house. It needs a good overhaul but for now, it is much-needed storage and a place to set my coffee cup.
A pair of these trees were also spray painted copper and you can catch a glimpse of the copper tray under the candles. I simply added ribbon around the wooden box for a pop of red.
The Crosley Cruiser turntable is new this year. The teenage little has been having fun hunting for old Christmas vinyl. It has been so fun to listening as we wrap our gifts!
The armoire houses the television, a collection of DVDs we could not get rid of when we downsized, and (right now) large entertaining dishes.
This vintage Santa was made for me when I was a little girl by my grandma. It is actually stuffed with old pantyhose! Repurpose, reuse, and recycle was a necessity back in those days. I strive to follow in grandma’s footsteps. Santa is such a treasured piece to me.
Do you think my plaid suitcase was a lucky find? Not really, it’s one I have had for years that I covered with wrapping paper and washi tape. It turned out so cute, I think it may stay plaid well after the Christmas decorations come down.
Here is a view of the entire room and the Christmas tree with the afternoon sun beaming through the windows.
I have been completely obsessed with all of the plaid wrapping paper options!
Just past the living room through a cute arch is the hallway. This serves as the central storage area. Opposite the bookshelf is a built-in of three large drawers.
I use the bookshelf to store all kinds of things I need often. It also became a great place to display John’s nutcracker collection that the teenage little has been building for him. Every year she buys him a new nutcracker.
More plaid wrapping paper as book covers. I love how that added just the right amount of Christmas color to the bookshelf. I spy a Mother Earth News. Can you find it? That was my Christmas gift from my son and daughter-in-law last year. I hide my magazines and seed catalogs in the little wooden filing boxes that I made.
When you walk into the house, straight down your site path is the one and only bathroom. I knew I wanted a plaid shower curtain and found this one online from the Nina Campell Home collection at Steinmart. I’m pretty sure I got the last one of only two left in early November. I can’t find anymore–lucky me!
The bathroom is the first room of the house I’ve worked on. It has a fresh coat of paint on the vanity and on the walls. It used to be yellow like the rest of my house.
If you look close enough, you can see we are beefing up the trim around the medicine cabinet and it is still not painted. I’m also going to trim out the little window over the shower. I look forward to giving you a bathroom reveal post soon.
I designed this shelf and John built it for me. You can see in the previous picture, it stores all of our towels on top. I found these hooks at World Market and didn’t even need to paint them. I think they fit the feel of my cottage bathroom perfectly.
I found this antique mirror at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I added the little shelf on the bottom and I love how it looks all adorned for Christmas. It adds the perfect amount of cheer in the bathroom.
In the hallway the door to the right leads to the teenage little’s room. The center door leads to the bathroom and the left door to my room. I found this little ottoman at the thrift store for $2.50! I had barely enough fabric leftover from the living room ottoman to cover it.
It is a perfect catch-all for winter flannels and I bring it out into the living room whenever I need extra seating.
The plaid coverlet on the bed is my latest bargain hunting find. Never leave Ikea without going through the as-is department. This was labeled “display” and I scored it for only $8.00. It adds the perfect amount of cozy to the room.
There is redwood shiplap on this wall. I’m so anxious to start ripping off the drywall to expose it! In the meantime, I’m using this old window frame as a makeshift headboard. I salvaged it out of a client’s burn pile decades ago. It has followed me around to four different states
I hope you enjoyed my Christmas home tour for this2016. I look forward to sharing many projects, room reveals, and my small house living journaling with you in 2017.
If you liked anything in my Christmas tour or have any questions, I would love to hear from you in the comments.
