recently {as in this spring} i purchased a small cottage in the neighborhood around our metairie road shop. to say it needed a little tlc is putting it mildly...if you don't believe me here is the photographic proof:
the inside was just as rough as the outside. the kitchen consisted of 3 cabinets and a stove. there was a lot of {stained} industrial grade carpet, terrible lighting, acoustic ceilings, and awful paneling. i saw past all the negatives and thankfully my very trusting husband believed in my vision!
i could barely wait to start demo...in fact we began about 2 hours after closing...the scope of work included:
i could barely wait to start demo...in fact we began about 2 hours after closing...the scope of work included:
- removing wall between living room and bedroom to create a large, open living room/kitchen
- turn old kitchen into 3rd bedroom/study
- expand master bathroom
- hvac
- new windows, doors, and insulation
- create "laundry room" in main house {it was previously in the garage}
- paint {interior and exterior}, tile, refinish hardwoods
- new roof
in this post, i'm going to focus on some of the design decisions i made for the exterior. there was lots of work going on inside...taking out walls, rebuilding walls, re-wiring and re-plumbing the entire house, but none of that stuff is very interesting or photogenic!
as i do when making major design decisions {such as exterior paint choices} i went to pinterest to search cottage exteriors for inspiration. i found that i was drawn to houses in bold colors...think mints, pinks, and soft turquoises. i looked around the street and noticed that everyone's 1950 cottage was painted white or grey. i wanted this cottage to stand out from the crowd...going bold with an exterior color is an easier feat with a small facade. here were my initial color options:
as i do when making major design decisions {such as exterior paint choices} i went to pinterest to search cottage exteriors for inspiration. i found that i was drawn to houses in bold colors...think mints, pinks, and soft turquoises. i looked around the street and noticed that everyone's 1950 cottage was painted white or grey. i wanted this cottage to stand out from the crowd...going bold with an exterior color is an easier feat with a small facade. here were my initial color options:
i was drawn to the coral, but felt like it wouldn't be the best choice for resale. the bluish-grey was beautiful, but in some light it just looked grey and blended in to the rest of the grey cottages on the block. I went back to the drawing board and chose some mints from the sherwin williams deck. in the end i ended up choosing "mint condition" here is the "after"
a few other things we did:
- wrapped the existing iron columns with wide exterior grade lumber, added a little inexpensive trim to the top and bottom, and painted them a crisp white!
- installed two larger, energy efficient windows that i scored from the habitat restore
- installed simple, shutters and painted them a deep, almost black navy.
- added a new craftsmen style door {another habitat re-store score!}
the roof was in terrible shape so we also took this opportunity to replace the reddish-brown roof with a 30 year architectural, grey shingle roof. we also trimmed the overbearing oak tree in the front to allow a bit of light in the house...stay tuned for landscaping, pavers, and all the finishing touches!!