First I want to thank everyone for all the sweet comments you have left regarding this little place.......I guess after awhile I have taken it for granted, but you all have kind of reminded me how lucky I am even though it is, well, rather cramped! I have to admit as much as I love the smallness and coziness of it all I sometimes go a little nuts with it being SO small inside. Then I just walk out and look around and that pretty much brings me back to my senses! So, without further adieu, let's get started on this grand tour, shall we?
I'm going to do my best to give everyone an idea of just what this
tiny little cottage is like on the inside. Backing up a bit, this place
was originally the guesthouse to the property next door,
which was all built around the 1940's. It was eventually
sold as it's own property to an elderly couple (Mrs. Hydrangea) and once
they passed on it pretty much sat there for years.
I wish I had digital pictures of it when we took possession, it was CREEPY.
The inside had this hideous outdoor carpeting on the floor, there were leaks in the roof, horrible light fixtures hung from the ceiling, and the whole place smelled like mildew.
Thank goodness for Mr.Fix it........the guy has the stomach and
determination to do anything regarding home repair,
even going underneath into the crawl space to work on pipes. He put in hours
on the weekends, making the two hour drive for months getting it
livable. It's amazing that even such a small place
takes a ton of work, but we didn't do any major
renovations, just a lot of painting (and tossing out that horrid carpet).
So let's go inside the Seed Shack.......
Going in that one and only door in the middle, you have
two choices......right or left. Left
takes you into the one bedroom, and right
takes you into the "living" area
where there is a small kitchen area, an enamelware table,
and a very limited seating area.
kitchen area, more on that big old beautiful stove in a minute........
love seat
Chair in corner next to love seat (that's our ancient utility box
with the old timey switch fuses)
window over the love seat, nothing but woods
window over the kitchen table looking out at the street (see the
boathouse, the lake is there too)
another view of the grand seating area......
Fishing and flea market decor
This is a neat old piece I bought at a flea market a long time ago;
It was a multi-functional kitchen cabinet-pie safe combination; The handle on
the green area in the middle pulls down and is an enamelware
surface where women could make things and use it as a sort of
counter. There is a drawer below that, and storage areas above and below
I just love the little detail on the top part
I'm guessing the vents are to let the baked
goods cool....
and now my most favorite thing, the 1950's vintage
electric range
This was not original to the house.......no, we got rid of the awful
harvest gold range that was in there; I had always wanted one of the
big vintage stoves and thought I was not going to ever be
able to find one close enough to consider getting serious about, that
I could afford, that was electric and not gas
The Gods were smiling on me when i went on a local
Craigslist search one day......there was a guy not even
10 miles from me at home who was selling things from
his grandparents estate. And get this, this Westinghouse stove was a
promotional gift from his grandfather's company way back
when it was new. It had sat in their basement with a cover on it....
It had NEVER been used. Nope, never. The burners and the
over racks were cleaner than mine at home.
We plugged it in after we lugged it up there and it
started right up, nearly heating up the entire house!
So anyway, between the kitchen and the bedroom, there is a small but
adequate bathroom, shower/tub, and sink
Now we come to the private (??) suite, complete with multiple beds,
washer, dryer, and more flea market decor....
The Sunbeam Bread sign is rather large......
I took this old chicken feeder and made it into a
crude lamp, I couldn't resist the North Georgia
reference
We keep towels and sheets in this old pie safe.....
(sorry about the shadow)
Many of my favorite quilts stay here, and in the colder weather
we put them on the beds, they are very warm and cozy!
and more lake references.....
So that's the house, all 450 square feet of it. I hope
this gives you something of an idea,
if you can just picture yourself going in the front door, turning right,
passing through the bathroom to
get to the bedroom, and then back to the tiny front
hallway again. One door, 4 big windows, two in
each room, and a smaller window in the bathroom.
Nothing fancy, all you need to get along
I've got one more post to do, just some pictures of
the outside seating areas near the house and scenery down the street;
There are small waterfalls everywhere, the cottage
water is actually supplied by a
spring up behind the house on the property, and
it makes for a heavenly shower!!
Thank you again for stopping by and taking the tour,
until next time!!
devon :)