More changes to the Cottage! Such fun!

It’s been a long time since I posted…last September…but I have been busy reorganizing and continuing my decorating to make the cottage more like home to me!   🙂

When I moved in, I was in a hurry so just kept the paint colours that the previous owner had done to get ready to sell the place.   Although they were not exactly the colours I preferred, they were OK for the time being!   But now that some of the electrical work is done, I can repaint those rooms with my chosen colours in “Phase 1” of the redecorating!!!   More will be done when the little kitchen is remodeled, but I can live with the fresher colours until that is done.

The trim and baseboards in this house are not attractive (!!!) and eventually the baseboards will be changed.   The door and window trim is very narrow so I am going to paint it the same colour as the walls…I can’t really change it because any wider trim would interfere with the spaces around the windows and doors, etc.

Because I use my home for my rug gallery, the hallway, office and the hooking room have rugs displayed on the walls.   In addition, even the bathrooms have walls filled with rugs!!!   🙂   There is so much colour going on that I wanted the living room the dining room and the kitchen to be peaceful and light…!   Since these rooms are all  quite small, light colours and lots of white and cream plus neutrals help the rooms look larger.  

I have also chosen furniture smaller in scale…and I am actually going to get 2 “ghost side chairs” to substitute for the two dining chairs shown at the table in the picture.   The ones that came with the table are quite large and heavy so I think that the ghost chairs will be less obtrusive.   I can pass two chairs along to family and still have two left to use if they are needed for a gathering.   🙂

The room was a light green before…at the right in the photo below.   It looked a little “tired” and is a bit darker than the photo shows because of the flash…!    I like the new colour better…it is really like a very light teal. 

It will take another several days for me to complete the living and dining room painting.   Today, I am painting the fireplace brick which was painted with a “dirty cream” colour.   Then on to three more walls and I’ll be finished.

I pace myself because climbing up and down the ladder plus painting with a brush and a roller and giving the walls a good 2 coats is hard on my arthritic back…!  And then there is the moving of the furniture around and back again too.   So I will do in about 6 days what a young adult would do in 1 or 2 days…lol…but I enjoy it and don’t mind taking the extra time.

This is a Glidden paint called “Bluegrass white” and I’m using a satin finish.   The fireplace is a lighter colour called “Soft Green” and it blends with the wall colour beautifully.      For the fireplace, I chose the “paint plus primer” in a satin finish also.   (If I wanted to use a darker accent, the suggestion on the paint sample is “Neo-Mediterranean Mist” which is a pretty colour.)

I love “cottage-style” decorating and am enjoying this transformation!   The previous owners used a lot of black in their decor and some dark wall colours so this brightens the place considerably!!!!   🙂

Hope your redecorating is going well too!!!!   Sunnie   🙂

 

Autumn Decorating-cottage living/Sunnie/rug hooking/creative life

I do love Autumn!!!!!   My favourite time of year!

Here are the new arrangements…reds and oranges and bright yellows take over for awhile in my pink, yellow and cream (with green) house!   I should tuck a few pink flowers in with the rest…!    I have allergies and hay fever so I can’t have a lot of real flowers in my home.    I make do with silk inside.   I scent the silk flowers and the cottage rooms with cinnamon oils and sprays… and sometimes I spray “buttered maple syrup” scents that don’t make me sneeze! 

I also change my rugs around seasonally (or just when I feel like it…!)…so this one below can be seen from the cottage front door as guests arrive.   My own design.

In a past life, I was a Santa-maker and a creator of little witches too…and they are out all year but I do change their locations from time to time.   Happy Friday!   Sunnie   🙂 

My Cottage Roses-Sunnie/cottage garden/rug hooking/Creative Life

When I moved into this cottage home in Vancouver, I was the happy recipient of many nice flowers and plants!    This rose in the front yard has grown so tall that I would have to stand on a ladder to do it justice in a photo!!!   However, I will cut it back this time…last year I had just moved in and left everything just as it was!!!

It is a beautiful rose with a cream/yellow center and pink tipped petals.   I am not a gardener (Joe was the gardener and knew a lot about plants) so I don’t know the name of this rose, but it has a wonderful fragrance!

I have decorated my cottage using yellow, pink, greens and creams so the decor is like this rose!!!   Except in the Autumn when I add some bold colours in the house to celebrate!

I enjoy decorating for the Seasons…so my next post will have some of my decorating with rugs, etc. for Fall.   Happy Autumn!   Sunnie   🙂

Came across a photo of the rose bush in bud…here it is!

A Light-Filled Cottage-Sunnie/living room decor

I am still having a great time decorating my cottage and appreciating the amount of light that comes in the windows during the day!   I decided to put white ruffled curtains on the front windows and eventually I will replace the brown blinds with white ones.   

Blinds or light-blocking drapes, etc are needed in the summer as the sunlight from the West in the afternoons is pretty intense!   But for most of the year, the light is wonderful as Vancouver tends to get a lot of gray skies and rain in the wintertime and that sunshine is greatly appreciated…!!!

Here is the really bright photo…

I purchased my small sofa online and used 3 pillow shams and part of a small quilt (purchased, not handmade!) for slipcovers.   I will probably get a set of professional slipcovers at some time but these work for now.

I hope you are enjoying the transition from summertime to early autumn…I am appreciating the cooler temps here in Vancouver as I don’t do well in the heat.   Autumn into Winter is my favourite time of the year.   In Vermont, I used to sit by the woodstove and hook while the snow fell softly on our little farmhouse down a country road.

Here is one of the rugs I designed and hooked as a memory rug.   Joe loved bluebirds and this is in memory of him.   🙂

Have a wonderful day!   Sunnie   🙂

 

Welcome, Friends!

Since I started this site 6 years ago in 2010 I have had many life changes!    The passing of my dear husband, Joe, in 2013 resulted in  my moving from Vermont (where we had been happily living for 21 years) to the West Coast where I was born and raised.

All three of my children and many of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren live here in the West.   I first moved to an apartment in King City, Oregon where I spent about 2 years…and then decided to move closer to my youngest daughter in Vancouver, WA.   She will be the one to help me across the street when I need help (!!!!) as my son lives in California and my older daughter lives up in northern Washington.   🙂

My rug hooking is still one of my greatest joys and it certainly helped me through a difficult period of grief.   Joe really enjoyed my work and I did several pieces during my time in Oregon that were dedicated to him.   Our cat. Cassie, came with me when I moved and even though she was getting on in years, I had her to comfort me until she was almost 18 years old.

Now I do really live in a little cottage home in Vancouver!   I enjoy decorating it, doing a bit of gardening and being close to family.   I feel greatly blessed and now have some rug hooking friends here to share the fun of this art/craft with me.

I moved into the cottage in the Autumn of 2015 and simply left the paint colours as they were.   As I have a bit of work done on the place, I’ll change the paint to suit me as we go along.   Since I am using pinks, greens, yellows and creams to decorate…and my own rug hooking here and there, I decided to hook the little piece below to put above the back kitchen door.   Just a bit of fun!

On this Blog, I’ll talk about my home, rug hooking and anything else I am up to these days!   Thanks for visiting!   Sunnie   🙂

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Vermont!

Because we are planning to move from our wonderful rural “farm” into the village in the next year or so, I will have a “cottage” instead of a farm!!!  🙂  So I am moving to my cottage early here in the Blog world to be ready when the time comes!!!

May you all have a lovely Christmas, Winter Holidays and a very Happy New Year!