Our Cottage Retreat (Part 2)

Yesterday you saw the first half of the cottage.  Today, welcome to the rest.  As in the last post, all my "before" photos are photos of photos (so not great quality, but give you the idea of what changes took place).

This is the before and after series of our tiny master bedroom.  Pretty much just big enough for a queen bed and dresser.  But, what it lacks in size, we made up for in cottage style charm.

Vintage hats form a border along the ceiling all around the room and vintage linens (including hankies and tablecloths) decorate the walls.

The two black and white photographs are of my two sets of grandparents on their wedding days.

The second bedroom is not only tiny, it is teeny tiny!  This was the only thing I could capture on film of the original set up.  The bunk beds took up 60% or more of the room.

There was a large closet in the right front corner of the room.  Since we don't live there year round, closet space is not as important as it is in a year round home, so we took off the doors and incorporated it into the footprint of usable space in the bedroom.  This made SO much difference!  We were able to put the bunk beds in in a different direction which opened up the main part of this little space.  We were able to bring in a dresser and a chair and the girls still have some floor space to spread out on.

The following room was originally a three season porch.  Unfortunately, the condition of the space was so nasty, I set to work on it right away and never thought to take photographs.  Trust me, it was nothing picture worthy!  I had the worst allergy attack of my life while ripping out a carpet from the floor.  Goodness knows what I encountered!  We ripped out a second door, eight large storm windows, hideous walls that looked like the inside of a barrel, pulled down moldy, mousy sheet rock and I don't even want to remember what else.

New sheet rock went up, wide pine floors laid, fresh green paint and vintage style wallpaper lighten and brighten the space.  The door on the right leads to a little utility closet that also got quite the overhaul but is too tiny to photograph.  The room now offers year round comfort and warmth and adds a huge amount of usable space to our little retreat.

And finally, while our cottage is not along the lake shores, it is only a hop and a skip away.  The views are breathtaking, the waters welcoming to boaters and swimmers (and many a family of loon).  There are many islands to explore and plenty of undisturbed shoreline.  This picture was obviously not taken any time recently, but this is how I always think about it and what I look forward to seeing again soon as springs warm up is just around the corner.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoyed your tour.