This spring my husband and I did quite a bit in the way of renovations on our back cottage. We rent it out by the month in the fall, winter, and spring; and by the week in the summer. The cottage itself has pretty much had a complete overhaul.
To start....
The kitchen..... this spring I removed the cabinet doors(with a tire iron) painted it all white with a semi gloss finish....the best part of course was hunting down all the aqua, and cobalt blue vintage pieces that adorn the shelves. I went to the Habitat repurpose store and scored a fabulous new sink and fixture for a mere $100.00. It looks so much better than the 20 year old stainless sink...it was a bit icky. Bob installed the sink within a few hours....and presto, a fabulous new kitchen.
A few summers back our friend Mike installed a beautiful tile floor in the kitchen.
It was sad to see the original linoleum go...not. I bought the tile at home depot for a $1.00 a square foot, we need about 100 pieces....Mike had extra grout and adhesive, and installed in for free in exchange for a parking spot (he is an avid fisherman).
We had a GE stack-able washer and dryer put in, about 5 years ago, it's held up ok(even with all the beach sand and salt), however, the dryer sounds like a freight train(need to call the repair man).
The kitchen was painted a papaya color 3 years ago.
I made the cute little valances this spring.
new valances, and food storage
People love the beach, and are quite manic if they can't find a rental cottage. Generally, ours is fully rented, with lots of returning guests.
This is the main living area...either the picture is blurry, or I am...
This spring we painted the walls and the floors. Ok...actaully a former student of mine painted the walls (in trade for a parking spot...he is an avid beach bum). My husband busted his butt on the floor...It came out great...until you moved anything that was on it.....There are tons of scratches, and marks... it is quite upsetting. I don't think the paint ever fully cured, we painted during the rainy spell in June. We will re-paint next spring.
before
after
The furniture is from Bob's bachelor pad days.....
it's leather so it actually still looks pretty good 7 years later.
there is a fireplace in the living room...needs a new damper.
living room decor
the dining room aka...the sun porch...fresh paint on all planes. also, a new dining room table.
check out the cool modern chair....from my bachelorette pad.
the back cottage does have a little view of the ocean......see....look...it's there.
this is the other end of the sunporch, a.k.a TV viewing area, a.k.a 3rd sleeping space.
This is the biggest bedroom, which is probably 9'X9' - it has the original 1950's beadboard, we decided not to paint this...I think it's nice to have some of the original character. I did scrub it all down this spring, due to the chain smoker that lived in it this winter. blahhh
before
after
blue bedroom details
this is the little green bedroom, which has views to the sunporch, and backyard.
Andrew Wyeth adorns the walls of the green room.
the bathroom....total makeover. We added a window a few years back. I tiled the floor and wall....Mike had to come back and retile the floor......hmm. I tried:0
new toilet, new pedestal sink, fesh paint......presto....a much improved bathroom.
the side yard..... new hammock...new table and chairs (arlene)....the patio was put in 4 years back.
the backyard renovation.....
beach roses, and a new platform.
.
fabulous 1960's lounge chair.
a view from the end of the driveway.
loads of fabulous yard sale treasure.
