Living Large in Small Spaces

Funny story.

Recently, I was honored to be asked to write a blog post 

about our little cottage on the lake 

for the blog A Joyful Cottage.

.

Nancy, the Joyful Cottage blogger, had seen some photos on Houzz 

of our cottage that were taken by Gridley and Graves 

for a feature in Cottage Style Magazine.

Nancy wrote a post about the photos 

for a series on her blog called Living Large in Small Spaces.

My sweet blogger friend Lynne from Irish Garden House 

saw the pictures, recognized our cottage and sent me a link.

And then Nancy contacted me and asked me to tell the rest of the story.
It seemed like a good idea
and it forced me to organize all of my posts
about the cottage into one easy to read place.

So, here's the Joyful Cottage post!

Hello, Joyful Cottage Readers!

My name is Erin and I write a blog called Just*Grand. 

It's a blog about ideas, designs, crafts, renovations, recipes 

and anything else that I think is - Just Grand!

I was thrilled when Nancy at a Joyful Cottage 

asked me to share the story of our Little Cottage by the Lake.

I am always happy to talk about our little cottage.  

It's been a true labor of love!

Let's start at the very beginning.

I have always, always wanted a cottage by a lake.

A little cottage.  By a big lake.  Like Lake Michigan.

I wanted big sky and sunsets and sandy beaches and crystal clear water.

I wanted to be able to see weather fronts approaching.

I am awed by the wind and the clouds and the power of the lake.

We found one such cottage on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, 

only an hour and a half drive from our home.

It was a sad little cottage, shabby and much neglected-

Which was perfect for me.  

I love a good project and this one promised to be huge! 

We took a leap and have never looked back.

Here's a link to a post I wrote about finding the cottage.

Ours is the second one in from the left.

These cottages were built about 80 years ago, as housekeeping cottages 

where families came to enjoy the cool breezes by the lake.

We share the lawn with the other cottages
and we play games and host parties
and at least one family even had a wedding there.
Here's a view from across the lawn.

Our cottage actually looks charming, from a distance!

This picture below shows what truly awful condition it was in.

Horrible.

But the setting was great and the bones were good. 

We had to replace virtually everything, inside and out.

Here's how it looks after our renovations.
This will make your eyes feel better....

New roof, siding, windows, doors, deck, landscaping 

and even a new sidewalk that connects all of the cottages.

We had the power lines that were attached to the front of the cottage buried
and what a difference that made!

Here's how the back of the cottage looked when we bought it.



So shabby!

Here's how it looks after the renovations.

This photo was taken by Gridely and Graves
when our cottage was featured in Cottage Style Magazine!

We added an outdoor shower that is just heavenly.

And last summer, we added this little railing by the back steps...

Those before pictures hurt my eyes.

Look at this instead.

That's better. 

That's why we're here!

The Lake.

Remember this, because there are more ugly Before pictures coming.

On the inside, we replaced everything too.

All new electric, plumbing, hardwood floors, drywall, molding, 

vaulted ceilings, skylights, a loft, 

a new kitchen and a new bathroom.

Here's a picture from the main living room, Before.

And that same view now...

Believe it or not, the burnt orange fireplace was salvaged by a friend of the builder's!

And I do not miss it. 

Here's the front porch room, before.

And here's how it looks now.

And a link to a post I wrote about it.

This is another photo by Gridley and Graves. 

They made it look so dreamy.

Let's look at the kitchen.

Warning- Not pretty.

That's the hot water heater under the little window 

and it was taking up precious space in the kitchen.

We moved it up to the attic. 

And we saved that one cute little window.

My husband spent an entire weekend stripping and refinishing it 

and then decided we needed all new windows.

I was able to find someone who wanted to salvage the old windows.  

They were really cute, but very dilapidated and not insulated.  

I wrote this post about the couple who took the windows 

and what they do with salvaged wood.

Here's how the kitchen looks now.

Another view

and a link to the post I wrote about redoing the kitchen.

On to the bathroom.  

REALLY UGLY.

Keeping the pictures small because they are so ugly.

Here's the bathroom now...

And a link to the post I wrote about remodeling it.

The tub was scooped up by a neighbor who longed for a vintage claw foot tub. 

We were happy to help!

Here's a detail of the tile in the shower.

And the watery blue floor

Ahhhhh.

We made some changes in the master bedroom, too.

Here's a picture of the room before it was redone.

This photo by Gridley and Graves shows how the same bedroom wall looks now.

We tore out the closet in the corner 

and added two small closets on the opposite wall, on either side of the window, below.

We also removed the plywood ceiling and paneling from the walls 

and had the ceiling in the room vaulted. 

We put the little salvaged window from the kitchen 

up into the new gable wall 

and had a skylight installed over the bed.  

It's lovely to lay in bed and see the stars or watch it snow.

And here's a post I wrote about the bedroom changes.

Here's a peek into the tiny second bedroom. 

My son calls it the closet with some shelves you can sleep on!

It's tiny but it works!

The colors I used in the cottage were inspired by the colors at the beach

and by the beach glass that constantly washes up in the sand.

So, I got my wish...

Big sky, sandy beach, clear blue water...

You can see the weather coming when it's hours (or minutes away)!

And the sunsets!

It's all Just*Grand!

Thanks, Nancy!

Linking to: 

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life

The Scoop at Stone Gable

Inspire Me Monday at Sand and Sisal

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style