Having fun at the Cozy Cottage

I have been in my "new" condo (aka, The Cozy Cottage) for almost 2 years. I was ready to downsize, so I sold the 4-bedroom, 3 bathroom house and found a darling 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo, much closer to work--with a 2-car garage! what a find! I've always preferred small and cozy to big and rambling (especially when it comes time to pay the electric bill). So I packed my bags, carted some things off to the Goodwill, and relocated. 

This was the living room, before, with a "Colonial Williamsburg" feel: 

darker stained pine furniture, rich warm colors, pewter and pottery. The quilt on the wall rack is called "Road to St. Louis." (We lived there for 19 years and loved it!)

This was the beginning of my coffee bar (above and below) shortly after I moved in. Note the black shelving unit hanging on the wall. (Love my Keurig for when I'm feeling lazy, love my French Press when I can take the time to do it properly).

Two photos of my "Williamsburg look" living room,below.

In the lower photo you can see the dining room in the background, with the

dark pine stained china cupboard and dark table and chairs.

I decided to lighten up the Cottage and go more "Shabby Chic at Grandma's Cottage." My son was in need of some furniture, so I gave him the loveseat

and wing back chairs. I bought a new moss green couch and love seat, and

 painted the shelf in the kitchen which houses my coffee station, white. Then I painted the dark blue shelf on the dining room wall white and switched my scrappy quilt with a pastel colored quilt. I went from a black hanging shelf for my coffee bar to a white one, and a dark blue quilt rack to a white one. Little by little things are going lighter and brighter. The paint I used is Sherwin Williams "Snowbound" #7004 in satin. It's just the whitest white, I just love it!

To see a sample, click here:  SNOWBOUND (my dream kitchen)

Here's my coffee station after I painted with Snowbound:

One of these days, the lower cabinet is going to get some "Snowbound" slapped on it! Do you like the little high chair next to the coffee bar? It was my husband's when he was a little boy. His mother kept it near the dining room and put her shoes on it! So I gave it an upgrade and put it in the kitchen with some of my favorite cookbooks. I've also succumbed to QVC's charming David Venable and have been watching In the Kitchen with David on Sundays. Yes, I've bought some blue and yellow Temptations. Blue and yellow are my favorite colors, after all. The other blue and white dishes on the wall shelf are "Liberty Blue" which was produced in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. 

I'll leave you with this project make-over. The quilt holder was originally a dark stained pine. I redid it in a dark blue satin (see first photo) and loved it for many years! Then I decided to put some Snowbound on it, too. Those are my Jim Shore angels on top, with my Dear Jane flimsy in 30's fabrics. I don't think it's going to grow anymore. I just can't face doing more of those triangles (I've done 3/4 of the triangles for my Civil War Jane.)

Till next time, Keep Stitchin! or Painting!

Mary in Virginia