Small things make me happy... |
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Fall colors
It's starting the leaves are changing colors.... Fall will be here before we know it. I found this leaf in the park a few days ago while on a walk with the Hubby. I couldn't get over it's tricolor rasta representation. I wonder if this Autumn will be bright and showy or over too quickly. I always hope for a beautiful display of colorful leaves. Time for cozy jumpers, and scarves, brisk cool air and spicy drinks. I can't wait to make some pumpkin pies!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Changes at Aloha Cottage
Well it's been 3 months since we bought our first house together, aka "Aloha Cottage". The hubby and I decided to spend two years traveling and taking away jobs (he works in Film and TV) so we could save up a deposit for a house. Our plan worked and after about 6 months of looking for a house online we found this adorable little cottage a stones throw from the Thames. It still feels a bit like a holiday cottage every time we come home, but that's a good feeling right?!
My hubby and I have big dreams for our little place. We decided to call it "Aloha Cottage" in honor of both of our heritages, English/Hawaiian. It's a definite upgrade from it's former name of Warren Lodge, sounds so depressing, we are doing our best to change the feel of the house.
Recently I have spent loads of time online looking for furniture on ebay, so far we have had some fantastic purchases. Two leather sofas, a dining table and chairs, a beautiful star lamp, photos to come! It's coming together slowly but surely. We have plans to try to change the entry and extend the back, take out a wall dividing the kitchen and dinning room, also add on a bedroom downstairs, turning it into a 3 bed house. We have started tackling some basic redecoration ourselves, one of the upstairs bedrooms is mostly done amazing what a little elbow grease and some paint can do.
It went from this.... BEFORE (check out that hideous light fixture, and the insane amount of wallpaper/paint scraping we had ahead of us!)
and this........
To this......... AFTER
My hubby and I have big dreams for our little place. We decided to call it "Aloha Cottage" in honor of both of our heritages, English/Hawaiian. It's a definite upgrade from it's former name of Warren Lodge, sounds so depressing, we are doing our best to change the feel of the house.
Recently I have spent loads of time online looking for furniture on ebay, so far we have had some fantastic purchases. Two leather sofas, a dining table and chairs, a beautiful star lamp, photos to come! It's coming together slowly but surely. We have plans to try to change the entry and extend the back, take out a wall dividing the kitchen and dinning room, also add on a bedroom downstairs, turning it into a 3 bed house. We have started tackling some basic redecoration ourselves, one of the upstairs bedrooms is mostly done amazing what a little elbow grease and some paint can do.
It went from this.... BEFORE (check out that hideous light fixture, and the insane amount of wallpaper/paint scraping we had ahead of us!)
and this........
Uggghhh the carpet is just SO bad! So glad we could get it replaced!!!! |
To this......... AFTER
We did get the eaves professionally skimmed by a plasterer, but the rest was all us, oh and the carpet was put in by our lovely neighbor, who is a flooring guy (Yay for good neighbors)! The wardrobe was an ebay purchase, as well as the lights. It still needs a few finishing touches but for now it's a great little room, and when I say little I mean little. With the double bed in it you can see how small it actually is. I can not wait to get the second bedroom done, although my husband wants to rip out the door way of the bedroom across the hall and install a sliding door just so that we can gain a few more feet of unused hall space, I think it's a brilliant idea but hopefully not too expensive. These pictures were all iphone photos so they don't totally do the space justice! I will get some better ones next time we are down there, but they give you an idea of what it looks like.
I always love a good before and after don't you! Can't wait to share a few more with you. I think there will be a lot of changes happening at our little cottage, watch this space!
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