A few years ago, my parents inherited land that my dad frequented as a child. Our girls call my dad Buddy, which is in honor of his grandfather who lived on this land. They are beginning work on their dream house now but when they first started coming to “The Oaks” they built a metal building and converted half of it into a little one room cottage to give them a place to weekend/ work/ play. Mom asked for my help to decorate it and last time we were there, I decided to take some pictures to share with you.
When I say one room cottage, I mean one big space and a bathroom.. The room is 600 square feet which includes a sleeping area- 2 queen beds, twin bunk beds, the kitchen, eating area, living room and bathroom.
Let me show you what I’ve got. The wall in the foreground is the wall to the bathroom. That’s a painting I did in college. I love it but there wasn’t ever really a spot for its bright colors and whimsy in either of our houses.. In this cottage, though, its perfect. The upper cabinet is an old piece that was used for onion storage (or something like that..?) I painted the background pink and added big orange polka dots. There’s a lamp in there but mostly it acts as a pantry and storage for the kitchen.
(I tried to find a better link but couldn’t. If you know where this
image is from, please share.) I love this picture and I’m so glad we
figured out a way to make it happen.
The fabric I chose is by Michael Miller.
I love that it has the pops of color but also the grey and taupe to
bring in neutrals. Its been such a long time since my mom and I made
this feat of awesomeness happen ALL BY OURSELVES but we just bought some kind of metal rod (super helpful, I know) at
Home Depot, threaded the fabric through and slipped the rod through
some eye hooks that we screwed into the bottom of the counter tops
on every corner and every 2 feet in between to keep the rod from
sagging.
We furnished this cottage on a budget. The appliances were found on Craigslist, the curtains made by me with fabric I already had and the light fixture is an egg basket found at an antique store with an old spray painted light from the Restore also.
Some furniture like the kitchen table (which will become a desk) and the beautiful corner hutch below, will be moved to the big house once it’s built.
My dad finished out the entire inside. Planked walls, trim, metal ceiling, bathroom—EVERYTHING.
Here’s the other side, the “bedroom”. I know the grandparents in Charlie in the Chocolate Factory shared a bed, but I think of that movie every time we’re all going to bed in the same room…
Tip- Instead of a bed skirt, you can put a colorful or not colorful fitted sheet on the box spring.
My mom is going to redo this dresser and move it to the big house also. It’s beautiful.
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