Welcome to My Country Home

Fiona and I thought we would take you on a little tour of our country house, which was built in 1890.  These are the current photos.  For the before and afters, check out this post.      

Please, come inside.

The house was designed without an entryway, so this is the view when you come in the front door.  Fiona says, "Oh, hello there!"

To the left of the stairs is the living room, with a wood stove, slip-covered furniture, and Ikat print accents, like the pillows, which I made, and the small bench and wicker chair, both of which I reupholstered.  

 

 

   

In this photo, you can see the trunk that my mom gave me as a house-warming gift.  She refinishes them and sells them for $$$.  I have one in my city house as well.

To the right of the staircase is the dining room. This is the view looking towards the front of the house.  I recently changed out the curtains (Target) and sea grass rug (The Company Store) and think the overall look fits well with the house and my general style.  Please ignore the cheapo dog gate that I forgot to move out of the way before I took the picture. 

 

In the above photo, you can see a recently-completed DIY project that I'm very proud of - reclaimed wood artwork.  Here is the post about how I made it.  

The kitchen is in the back of the house.  The layout works really well.  Both the dining room and living room connect to the kitchen. 

As you might expect in a house that's circa 1890 and was updated on the cheap in the 1990's, the kitchen required quite a bit of work.  It's now in pretty good shape both functionally and aesthetically. 

 

DIY projects in the above photos include stripping the paint off of the old closet door, refinishing the counter tops, installation of open shelving, a new sink, and a tin tile back splash.  While I have - and love - stainless appliances in my city condo, I think white appliances fit better here.  The stainless handle and knobs on the Jenn Air stove add a nice, modern touch.  

There are three rooms off of the kitchen - a half bath/laundry, a sun room, and a small pantry.  First, the half bath.

My favorite thing in this room is the oil painting, which was painted by my grandmother.

There are French doors on the right side of the sun room that lead out to the back yard.

I'm showing you this view of the pantry because of the Orla Kiely wrapping paper-covered canvas, which I wrote about here.

Now, let's go upstairs.  This is the view from the top of the stairs, looking towards the front of the house.  There are three bedrooms and a full bath upstairs, all of which connect from this hallway. 

The master bedroom is at the back of the house.  The walls are a warm tan, which tends to look a little washed out in pictures. 

 

  

It doesn't take long before Fiona makes herself comfortable on the bed!  The bed is antique, which I bought years ago, before I had the country house.  It spent a short time my city condo, until I realized that it really didn't fit there.  Then it spent a few years in my parents' garage until I bought this house, where it fits perfectly.  


The smaller of the other two bedrooms (both of which are in the front of the house) is very green right now.

 

This is the room with the fabric-covered shelves.  I hope to incorporate some pink into this room soon. 

The second guest bedroom needs the most work.  Well, not really work, but rather accessorizing and editing to de-countrify a bit. 

The headboard (an antique garden gate that was my grandmother's), curtains (Pottery Barn), and dresser are staying.  Everything else is up for grabs.  

Finally, the bathroom.  I know I said no before photos, but I can't resist just this one:

Vinyl tile.  Ancient toilet.  Generic vanity (rotted by water from the shower) and fixtures.  The bathtub tile surround was on just one wall.  The other two walls were plastic, with peeling wallpaper up top, all the way around.  The ceiling was low low low, with a light/fan combo hanging down.

The bathroom is small, but it's so pretty, and it really works.  Raised ceiling height, hexagonal floor tile, pedestal sink from Waterworks, ceramic tile all the way around the bathtub, great mirrored storage cabinet from Pottery Barn.  Subtle beachy theme.  I sometimes think of the ceramic mermaid from Eldreth Pottery in Pennsylvania as the house's fairy godmother, watching over and protecting it.

I (we) hope you enjoyed the tour.  Check back again soon for updated photos.