A Tiny Cottage Kitchen

I know I've shared a few peaks of our kitchen before.

Today I thought I would share why I love our tiny cottage kitchen.

our kitchen and dining room

Our kitchen is the smallest space in our home.

But it works.

Luckily we have 10 foot ceilings, or I'm not sure I could deal.

I wish I had a few before shots I could share. 

Unfortunately it was BB (Before Blogging.)

Our kitchen cabinets were a lovely pale shade of seafoam green.

The trim was lavendar.  (Yep, I did say lavendar.....in a kitchen.)

There was pretty floral wallpaper that brought it all together quit (uggghhh) nicely.

So we updated it.  On a budget of course.

We painted the kitchen cabinets.  Lowes Valspar Brilliant White high gloss finish.

We painted the trim in the same.

Ditched the wallpaper.

We painted the walls.

And as always, added a few simple touches of good old cottage charm.

a peak into the dining room from the kitchen

Thank goodness our dining room is directly off the tiny kitchen.

It makes the space functional when having guests over.

I think my favorite part of the entire kitchen are the little nooks above the cabinets.

They add some of that character and charm I love about living in an old home.

I filled them with the seagrass baskets $9.99 each from Michael's to add some texture.

I love layering some natural elements of texture to each and every space.

So that's it folks. 

No fancy carerra marble.

No custom cabinetry.

No stainless steel appliances.

Just our little tiny cottage kitchen that we have grown to love because it's ours.

Carrie

Linking up to

Between Naps on the PorchCottage and Vine

Fall Door Decor

I spent a little time adding some subtle Fall touches this week around here.

Better a little late than never!

Here's my take on

Fall Door Decor

for this season!

I tried to keep it simple because our house is currently on the market.

And it was a little easier on the budget too if you know what I mean :)

But I couldn't resist adding a little hints of fall in a few places.

I just love the greige pumpkins! 

 I thought they would work perfect for this door in our home.

I'm not one to go crazy with the oranges and deep reds of the Fall Season.

I love love love to see them in landscapes and embrace their warmth when the season hits.

But I just don't see them over powering my subtle simple style and color pallette.

Also for me...fresh is the only way to go!

No thank you on the plastic fake stuff.

(Okay so maybe I do have a few pumpkins in my dining room.)

But I prefer the real deal!

Just goes to show you. 

You do not have to spend a fortune to add some simple seasonal touches to your home.

I only spent $25 updating this room for fall.

2 Greige Pumpkins

1 package of moss

 The Shabby Nest
French Country Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors

Carrie

Living Room Before & After

Today I thought I would share our living room before & after pics with you all.

This project was just slightly outside the scope of my handy man's talents.

So, we called in reinforecements!

Enter my Uncle Jeff.

Luckily for us Jeff had his own carpet laying business for years.

Now he just helps out with the occassional family favor.

Thanks Ucle Jeff!!!

before

during

This photo reminds me of my Dad.
He would of loved to be there right in the middle of this project.
Jeff and my Dad were always the handy man pair in our family.
Now it's Jeff (right) and Travis (left).

during

after

We actually chose carpet for the living room because our
 hardwoods underneath were just in too bad of shape to refinish. 
So, saving time and money we opted for carpeting.
Not necessarily our first choice, but considering we are selling it would work.

before

The living room paint is Haybail from Ralph Lauren.  While I like the color. 
Had we been staying.......I would have went with something a little lighter.
This room was the first room we painted 3 years ago right after we moved in.
Again....since we are selling.  It stays!

We also updated our sofa temporarily. 

We had an old worn out PB  basic knock of from Penney's.

It had seen better days to say the least.

My little brother was storing this sofa at my Mom's.

So, thanks to Matt we are borrowing this for the time being.

It looks tons better than our old sofa!

And we did not have to invest in a new sofa that would work in this house

and may not end up working in the new house.

Let us know what you think of our transformation.

We love your comments!

Carrie

Linking up to

Between Naps on the Porch

Thrifty Decor Chick

Life Made Lovely
The Shabby Creek Cottage

Home Staging Tips

I thought I would share my top ten home staging tips with you today.



our kitchen and dining room

So far we have received some very positive feedback from potential buyers and realtors both.

I'll let you know just as soon as we get that special someone who makes it happen for us!

Here are a few of the things we did and some other ideas to help prepare our home for the resale market.

&

Here is an example of how we decluttered our dining room to prep for resell.







before

after

after

1. Curb Appeal 

 Add a welcoming touch from the street. 

One easy inexpensive way to do this is by adding exterior shutters to your home.  If you already have them maybe give them a fresh coat of paint.  Add a pop of color to an old worn out door. 

Add some landscaping.

2. Declutter!

3. Declutter!

4. Declutter! 

Are you getting the hint???

5. Remove Furniture Without Purpose

Remove any unnessary or unused furniture and rearrange existing furniture into spaces that make a room usable to potential buyers.  Don't be afraid to use a chair you purchased for your living room in an open space in another part of your home.  If you aren't using it perhaps you can put it in storage temporarily.

(My Mom was so gracious as to let us store some items in her basement.)

6. Depersonalize

Remove any and all overloaded decor.  Keep it simple.

Do not use gender specific decor (loose the doilies and really flowery items.)

If you do not plan on using something for 6 months, Pack it Up!

You will be one step closer to moving day:)

Remove personal photos of family and friends.

Leave wall hangings to a minimum (choose your focal spots to accentuate.)

7. Fresh Paint

Add a fresh coat of paint to a dark room. 

Add fresh paint to chipped trim and door jams.

Stick to neutral colors where possible.

8. Don't forget the closets!

Closet space is important to potential buyers.

Don't forget to clean your closets of clutter and unnessary items.

Box items up neatly.  Keep closets easy to access.  If it's a walk in - you need to be able to walk in it!

Try using storage baskets in closets to hide all personal items you need to keep around but don't really want open house goers to see.

9. Lighting

Make sure each room had adequate lighting.

Open up the blinds and let the sunshine in on open house day!

Turn on lights for showings.

10. Don't forget flooring.

Clean any and all flooring stains.  Have carpets professionally cleaned.

Where possible replace flooring where budget allows.

Refinish hardwoods with a little sweat equity.

I hope these handy tips help!

Let us know if you need any help coming up with ways to prepare your home for resale.

I'm all ears!  I'd love to give you a few hints! 

Carrie

Linking up to Home Stories A to Z and The Shabby Creek Cottage.

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front porch before and after

Our porches

Well, you've seen the before and after to the back porch (my fav)

now it's time to show you the before and after pics from our front porch.







before



After

Ahh...nothing says cottage to me more than an old painted wood floor.

I love when you can see peaks of the wood seperating

and just barely catch a glimpse of the original wood.



Leave me a comment.  I'd love to hear what you think.

(Linking up to Feature Yourself Friday at Finger Prints on the Fridge, Addicts (not so) anonymous at Addicted to Decorating and

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Carrie

Home Stories A to Z

Our Porches

Finally it's time to reveal! 

I don't know about you, but it has certainly been long awaited on my part!

Here are some of the photos from our front porch and back porch

(which happen to be my fav rooms of all!)

We have been super busy here at The Corson Cottage!

I have much more to share with you.  So here is a sneak peak to get you interested!

But for today it is our first full day with nothing on our to do lists!

Yah!  Here is to a weekend of goofing off!

Enjoy!  Let me know what you think of our changes!

Carrie