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Hey, friends! Anyone still out there? I apologize for my silence last week… I meant to have a couple of stories out but we’re in the middle of a new & exciting project at our house and it’s all I can think about these days!!! Since we bought our cottage, some three + years ago, I’ve been looking for ways to make it look, feel & live a little bit larger than its tiny footprint, without ruining its cottage charms. Some of my ideas were sensible, others downright outrageous (we won’t talk about those). But slowly we made progress. We tweaked the floor plan to improve the flow between the rooms, and added windows & French doors wherever possible to bring in natural light and garden views. You can read more about our Cape Cod style cottage HERE, HERE and HERE.
But for the longest time the living room was a head-scratcher. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, what was missing. I thought the fireplace was out of scale (it was) so I used scraps of wood to reconstruct a simpler mantel that would feel more appropriate to a house with American colonial flavor. I studied countless mantels by classical architects I admire and even looked at carpentry books on mantel making ( I now own quite a few, if you’re interested) – anything that could guide me in the right direction. I’m almost there, almost happy with our mantel 🙂 (When it’s perfect, I’ll share the method to my madness with you.)
At 13 feet by 17 feet the room was / is a decent size yet somehow it’s always felt a bit dark and narrow, and closed in, no mater how I rearranged the furniture. Paint didn’t help much either, as you can see below, since I took that picture standing in the doorway… It’s a small room, therefore it looks and feels small. But it didn’t have to. I was sure there was something I could do, a visual trick that could open up the space, without actually increasing the footprint of the room. At first I thought about using mirrors, but ehhh. They would reflect our muddy boots and the scuffed-up staircase, and that’s not something nice to look at. Plus, muddy boots reflected through mirrors is seriously bad juju, bad fengshui 🙂
Next, I thought of windows. Windows have a way of making even the tiniest of rooms feel bright & spacious by bringing in natural light and creating depth of field. A good double-hung window with grilles is not only appropriate for a cottage, but it would bring the outdoors in. We have good views behind the fireplace – a rose-covered trellis on one side and a pretty bird feeder on the other – so why not? It would only cost an arm and a leg…
Well, after a lot of planning and budgeting, we got a good quote from our contractor and found the windows on sale around the same time, so we decided to go for it. We decided to install a pair of windows – one on either side of the fireplace and that’s what we just did, last week – hence my excitement! Here’s a peek inside the whole process, from day one to the finish line:
Here’s Day 1: Carlos feeling pretty confident about the design, while Oscar and Tito are trying to keep things level and centered, measuring the exact location of the new windows. They team started by removing the drywall and the existing insulation. Then they built the framing for the new windows, using 2x4s from a nearby lumber yard.
There was a hot water pipe which ran vertically the extent of the right side wall section, which Oscar accidentally punctured a couple of years ago, and which had to be moved out of the way. It was a lot of work and a ton of mess and dust to live with for a week. Living with a renovation was not ideal, but the guys worked very quickly, did a wonderful job cleaning up and we’re incredibly grateful.
Since the house was a mess anyway, I asked Oscar and his team to install nickel gap shiplap panels around the room at the same time. The vertical lines in the panels add to the illusion of higher ceilings and I love it! (The panels also conveniently hide my handiwork above the mantel, a DIY gone terribly wrong.)
If you’re wondering about the beams – they are new too. We had similar ones installed right before lockdown, but when we recently hired a local carpenter to extend the beams into our family room, he did such a lovely job that we asked him to redo the living room ones as well. A big thank you goes to Chris Fedora, who was great to work with.
Now that the construction phase of our cottage living room is finished, I am thankful and ready to start thinking about paint colors and pretties. We got a massive piece of the puzzle figured out recently (hint: it has beautiful English arms and pulls out). I’ll show it to you soon, and I’ll probably need your advice on some of the other choices I’m contemplating – I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve linked below what we’ve used, in case you’re interested:
Andersen Series 400 Windows ordered through Home Depot;
Nickel gap paneling (comes in 48″ x 96″ sheets and we needed 10 1/2 sheets);
Those windows, beams and shiplap already make a huge difference! Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Author
Thanks, Susan! I’ll make sure to share updates soon.
xo, Eva
Eva, those windows are perfect! What a difference they make. Can’t wait to see it all done.
Author
Thank you so much, Julie! I appreciate your following along with our renovation and I’ll make sure to share more pictures soon 🙂
xo, Eva
Love everything that you had done! Looking forward to seeing the end results!
Author
Thank you, Kim!!!
xo, Eva
It looks amazing!
Author
Thanks so much, Barb!!! xo, Eva
Oh my gosh, Eva, it is perfect!!! I love the charm that new mantel, windows and beams bring to this space. What an amazing improvement!!
Author
Thank you so much, Linda!!! xo, Eva
Eva, it looks wonderful! You have great vision for what is needed. I’m looking forward to seeing it progress.
Author
Thank you so much, Marcy! I appreciate your interest in our renovation!!!
xo, Eva
Oh,this is beautiful! Thanks for keeping us so well up to date. Your cottage is my favorite.xo
Author
Awww! Thanks a lot, Annette! I appreciate it!
xo,
Eva
Wow! This update was one I was not expecting. Can’t wait to see the room cleaned up and decorated again. I always thought this space was lovely.
Also I am so impressed with your willingness to take on all these construction projects. They are not easy to live through and you have definitely tackled some major ones! Thank you for the continued updates on your home.
Author
Thanks, Lauren! I appreciate your interest in seeing these updates!
Living with a renovation has certainly been a challenge but our contractor worked really fast and that made it easier on all of us. Now it’s onto the actual decorating, which I plan on taking my time with 🙂
xo, Eva
It looks so good, Eva! It’s so exciting to see each transformation. I’m actually in a house that is missing a mantel, so I’m interested in learning about the books you have and your mantel as well. 🙂
Author
Hi Sheena, thanks so much! There are two books that have been helpful in reconstructing the fireplace mantel – both for design ideas and building instructions. The first one is called Making Mantels, by David Getts. The other one is Building Fireplace Mantels by Mario Rodriguez. You can find both on Amazon. ( I recommend used copies over brand new ones 🙂 ) Hope this helps!
xo,
Eva
Wow, brilliant idea to add windows! They look great and I can’t wait to see how this room turns out!
Author
Thank you so much, Diana! Glad you like them!
xo, Eva
Even before paint and pretties, the room looks so great. The windows really opened the space, and the shiplap and beamed ceiling completes the charm of a cottage. I love the sconces you chose and can’t wait to see the paint selection. Excellent job to all.
Karen B.
Author
Thank you so much, Karen! I’m glad to hear you love the sconces! I’ll share more updates soon…
xo, Eva
You have a wonderful eye and vision! I love all the changes you’ve made… now, I’m wondering if my husband would go for having ceilig beams installed into our 13’x 21 ‘ living room. I’ve always wanted them, but was worried that the 8’ ceiling could be an impediment.
You’ve shown that it works perfectly.
Author
Thank you so much, Dolores! I hope your husband will go for the beams! Our ceilings are 7’8″, the beams are five-and-a-half inches, and it still works. Somehow the beams make the ceiling feel higher, especially when painted white.
xo, Eva
How fun and rewarding. This looks amazing, and can’t wait to see it finished.