HGTV Feature - Christmas Ribbon Tree Wall Art by The Corson Cottage

Click the button above to see our HGTV feature!

 

 

I'm super excited to share this news with you!

We are being featured on HGTV!

 

HGTV.com is sharing a Christmas Craft Countdown in December.

Our Ribbon Christmas Tree Art is the feature for December 17th!

How cool is that???

 

 

Remember this budget friendly holiday wall art I created last year?

Check out the DIY how to create your own post here.

Thanks HGTV for featuring our project!

I can't wait to get into our new house & share all of our new great ideas!

I am kinda sad that I don't have any great Holiday decorating stories to share this season.

It will be worth the wait to get into our newly renovated house just in time for Spring!

 

Carrie

 

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The Shabby Creek Cottage

Our Renovation ~ Choosing Exterior Siding Part 2

Certainteed Mainstreet Siding - Sterling Grey

 

If you guessed that we selected the Certainteed Mainstreet Double 4" Vinyl Siding, you were correct.

This is the exterior siding material choice we have gone with on our home.

  If you haven't checked out Part 1 of Choosing Exterior Siding click here for a Reno catch up.

 

As I stated in Part 1, choosing siding pretty much all came down to budget.

I will admit, I was just a lil bit disappointed.

If you read my first post about choosing siding, you know this wasn't necessarily my top pick.

I knew all along, it may come down to this, but I am an optimist, so I held out hope:)

Don't get me wrong, I most certainly do not want to sound ungrateful,

I truly am absolutely thrilled with how our home is turning out!!!

 

But, when you realize this may be the only time you get to make these decisions, you want to make absolutely sure the choices you make for your home will stand the test of time.

I want our home to have an exterior modern & timeless cottage feel.

I know that aesthetic would have been best captured by

 more natural material or more natural looking materials.

 

A little Renovation Reality...

YOU WILL MAKE COMPRISES

BUDGET IS THE BUDGET

Don't get me wrong, we have gone over on some things & came in under on others.

But, for us sticking to our budget is a must in the end.

It's also part of what we originally set out to do.

Make the home of our dreams on a budget & that is exactly what we are doing!

 

We may still add some character and dimension in the gables on the front of our home.

But, just as I have to wait & see on that one so do you!  Ha:)

 

 

So, now that the big siding decision is out of the way it's on to the fun stuff!

Time to choose a siding color.

Wanna help?

 

We have it narrowed down to three options.

 

1. Granite Gray

2. Flagstone

3. Pacific Blue

 

{Views from the Outside}

 

 

1. Granite Gray

 

 

 

2. Flagstone

 

3. Pacific Blue

 

Our Home Renovation

(The porch is still coming off & the upper windows to be replaced.)

 

 

Well...what do ya think???

 

Whats' your favorite?

Which would you pick?

Which would you pick for us?

 

 

Want to see more of Our Cottage Renovation click here.

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The Shabby Creek Cottage

Funky Junk Interiors

Our Renovation - Accent Window Dilemma

The architectural detail of windows.

 

I love the architectural character added by the detailed design of the accent windows on this home.

I believe that windows can make our break any great home design plan.

 

Love the 3 windows in the peak.

 

Windows are the added character of the home's exterior.

They also add natural visual balance and warmth to a home both inside and out.

Windows are the main source for an abundance of natural light.

Every one of my ideas of the picture perfect dream cottage has an abundance of great windows.

 

The round windows in the peak.

 

I love the nod to a port hole with a round window in a peak.

 

Simple Single Square window in the peak.

 





That being said....

 

We have a window design dilemma!

 

 

 

Okay, so please try to work with me here.

Forget that the bushes are absolutely out of control and that that horrendous porch has got to go!

In due time my friends....in due time.

 

Please concentrate on the windows:)

 

Originally I shared that the reclaimed obsessed restoration admirer inside me

 wanted to save the architectural windows on the front of our home.

Well...um...now I think they look like crap!

(Please excuse me, there really was no easy way of saying that.)

 

So, now I have to decide the best way to handle this dilemma.

I need your help!

 

Here is what I am thinking...

 

1.)  The Gable on the Left could be without a window.

We are thinking of using an accent siding on that gable.

We are also planning some extra details on the trim to add character, more on that later.

 

2.)  The gable on the right could be a single small square window.

The problem with this option is that the peak is slightly off center from the

 windows below and things like that drive Travis absolutely insane.

It really doesn't bother me.  You???

 

3.)  Use another window layout with small squares on the right gable.

 

Oh yeah...& that budget issue.

We have pretty much used up our window allowance.

So, whatever option we go with has to be affordable.

The accent windows do not necessarily need to open.

They are in the attic.

 

What are your thoughts???

 

Please share I really could use some good old

 fashioned blogger to blogger DIY advice!

 

 

 

all images from Houzz.com

the old shabby house that's ours:)

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 French Country Cottage
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Our Renovation ~ Walls are Going Up

The walls are going up on our renovation!

It's amazing what just a day can do in framing.

The addition is going to be our master bedroom, master bath,

a laundry room & a second bath & will give us the ability to make our kitchen much larger.

This is so exciting to see for the first time.

It really is an amazing feeling the first time you walk in & start to see how things will take shape.

I'm so forntunate my husband is a great carpenter & has great friends to help out too.

While he is a great carpenter, he is an even better framer that is his specialty.

Our master bedroom, master bath, & a walk in closet in the back left corner.



Our Renovation ~ Addition Sub Floor Complete

Shortly after we received our first lumber delivery Travis got to work on the addition.

The floor joists & sub floor were complete the very next day.

We could actually walk inside part of our new house... very exciting.

I can't wait to see how fast the walls go up!

If you are wondering why we have left some of the rickety walls in the existing house,

they will eventually be removed. They are providing some structural support (believe it or not).

When our addition is complete Travis will eventually tie the new roof into the old roof and remove that small hip you see on the left.

He will remove the load bering wall, or what's left of it, & tie the two old & new together.



Our Renovation ~ Lumber Delivery

It's Construction Time!

It's Finall...yy time for the fun to begin.

The lumber has arrived.

Now we can begin building our new home.

We have taken our 1880's bungalow home completely down to the studs.
Now it is time to turn this drab & delapitated structure into a home.
Follow our journey here.

Yeah!



Our Renovation - The Foundation

We are adding a large 800 sq. ft. addition to the back of our new house.

The addition will allow this house to become a 3 bedroom 2 bath house.

In order to do that we need to put in a new foundation first.

If you haven't seen the before photos you can see more of our renovation here.

Normally my husband would have subcontracted this part out.

But, since it's a complete DIY project we are doing it ourselves.

And by "we" I mean my husband & some of his friends who are also in the trades.

Thank goodness for all of their help.

The foundation was one of the most difficult parts.

We rented pans that had to be put together as forms for the concrete to be poured.

The pans are extremely heavy. 

But, doing it ourselves saved a ton of money.

Next the concrete truck delivered several tons of concrete and poured the foundation walls.

You actually have to spray the pans before the pour so the concrete doesn't stick to the pans.

I wish I would have been there to see the pour.

Sorry, I missed the photo op. 

I was working.

But, I came home that night to this.

We let the pans set for about two days.

Then they had to remove the pans quickly so that they were not set with the concrete.

Our pans did not have the brick stamp, some pans have.

We didn't really mind because this part of the foundation will never be exposed.

Even though we will not be having a basement in this part of the house.

We had to pour our footings nearly five foot deep for a crawl space under the new addition.

We also finished the floor with a very rough thin layer of concrete for code compliance.

Thank goodness this part is done!

Next comes the fun stuff.

My husband is a builder by trade.

When the framing begins we will begin to see serious progress very quickly.

So exciting!

See the rest of our renovation here.

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Our Renovation ~ Removing Addition Part 3

The story of the removal of the addition would not be complete if I didn't share this next part.

Remember this huge pile that once was part of our home?

If you haven't read Part 1 & Part 2 check them out.

We spent the next couple weeks removing debris.

Filling dumpster...after dumpster....after dumpster.

Until one day when I came home & surprise!

We had new "siding"

I think grey is a nice choice;)

And the debris pile was nearly gone.

And oh yeah!

Another Surprise!

Remember how we had left part of the home on the right side.

That is what will be part of our kitchen.

Well, Surprise!  It's gone!

Travis just decided one day that he didn't like it.

I think maybe somebody just got a little destruction happy:)

Actually, once the main addition was removed he realized that part of the home

would end up being the only part remaining, that did not have 10 foot ceilings.

Since we plan for that space to be our kitchen  he really didn't think

it was a good idea to leave it & decided to remove it.

Our cabinets would have been on a shorter wall.

It would have been very awkward in the open layout space.

I would have hated it!  He knows me well.

Good thinking honey!

What a great surprise!

Some things do actually turn out to be good surprises!

Now the entire existing home & the addition will all be aligned with 10 foot ceilings.

I can't wait!

I love high ceilings in any space.

I think it makes a small space seem so much bigger.

Our cottage home is going to be around 1500 square feet in the end.

Not huge, by any means, but the ceiling heights should help the space feel larger.

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Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Mother's Day Centerpiece

A Mother's Day Centerpiece.

Are you entertaining guests for Mother's Day?

I thought I would share how I took my simple Spring Centerpiece,

to a perfect casual centerpiece for a Mother's Day brunch, lunch or casual dinner.

First I filled my white pitcher overflowing with these fresh green Snowball Viburnum.

 I added a smaller container & filled them with a pop of purple from the clematis from the trellis.

For a casual get together I like to place stacked plates for easy access right in the center of the table.

I think it sets the tone for your guests that it is intended to be a casual occassion.

The silverware I placed in a third small pitcher.

I think this table setting makes for a casual comfortable environment when guests arrive.

It also saves you a little time as the host.

When the meal is ready, you don't have to spend time setting the table or getting out the dinnerware.

White dishes are a must have for me.

I love white serveware, dishes, pitchers, platters...you name it.

You can never have too much white serveware in my opinion.

White is a staple you can use in a casual or formal setting

The best part about this table setting is I did it all without spending a penny.
By using the basic essential dinnerware I had & basic white pitchers
all that was left was taking time to cut some fresh flowers from the garden.
Once that was done a few more minutes arranging the pitchers & done.
Simple. Casual. Beautiful.

What are your Mother's Day plans?

Carrie

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