The Apple Street Cottage

It's the end of August and so many wonderful things are happening in the garden...like this: Don't you just LOVE fresh produce?  My little garden has been good to us this season and I've been able to freeze some of it to enjoy this winter. My flower gardens are flourishing.  If you remember, the cottage had absolutely no landscaping, so I had a blank slate.  Here are a few glimpses of the flowers: Then my mum from last fall started to bloom: And this showed up: I've been enjoying Summer so much this year that I'm just not ready for Fall yet.  Like it or not, I'm afraid the two seasons are about to collide.   How about you?  Are you ready for Fall or do you want to squeeze out a few more weeks of Summer? Linking to: Merry Monday Table It Amaze Me Monday Make It Pretty Monday Inspire Me Tuesday Grandma Ideas

With the front door painted a bright, cheery yellow, it was time to paint the shutters and give the cottage a new look, until we took them off and discovered this: Yes, my friends, that is rotten wood.  The shutters were original to the house and the only thing holding them together was the paint - MANY layers of paint.  It was time for a new plan.   We could: repair the original shutters - not a viable option. make new wood shutters like the originals - a lot of work. replace the shutters with a vinyl in a similar style..... ...and then we walked across the street and looked at the house.  My husband said, "You know, I kinda like this 'no shutters' look".  I immediately said, "no way!", but then we started to talk about it.   We both agreed if there would be no shutters, the frame around the windows needed some color.  The shutters were going to be a dark blue, but we both agreed the window frames needed a lighter color. After lo...

Everytime I did, I thought, "Man, this thing needs help!" and help it got: I chose a bright, cheery yellow. Here's the "before" shot: If you've been following, you'll remember the rescreening project - which was just the beginning.  You can read that story HERE .  The rest of the door needed some TLC, which is evidenced here: After scraping and sanding... Did I mention the scraping? The driveway was a mess! After finishing the screen door, the main door also needed some attention.  It didn't need a lot of scraping and sanding, but it did need an update - it was white: Not anymore! The transformation is striking, don't you think? From here, we're moving on to the shutters.  My hubby has been painting the house, so stay tuned for the cottage's new look! Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by! Linking to: That DIY Party Amaze Me Monday Merry Monday Make It Pretty Mon...

UPDATE: We had a visit from the niece and nephew of the original owners of our house. Tim had seen a lot of the work we've done, but this was the first time his sister had been here since we bought it. When she saw the photo of their aunt & uncle in the dining room she blew them a kiss, turned to me, with tears in her eyes, and said, "Thank you for having them here".  It touched my heart...  Keep in mind, this couple built this house in 1931 and were the only people to live in it previous to us.  Fran lived to be 101 and was loved by all who knew her.  We feel honored to live in their house. I thought I'd share a little bit of history along with a recycled frame. Apparently, there is entirely too much light in the dining room, because it was impossible to get a good shot of this frame and photo - glare everywhere! Meet the original owners of The Cottage: This was the only angle that had very little glare. Here's a close-up of the pic: Me...