The time has come for our tiny cottage reveal! For those of you who may not know, several years ago while we still lived in Dallas, we bought a cottage in the Washington-Willow Historic District of Fayetteville. At first we used it on weekends. Later, our son lived there. Still later, we rented it out for a couple of years. Now, with my mother planning to move to the cottage, we knew the time had come to renovate the single, seriously outdated bathroom.
At 896 sf, it may not be “tiny” according to HGTV standards. But I’m calling it tiny.
You know the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? That theme applies here. What began as a bathroom remodel morphed into a much bigger project. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to those of you who’ve updated an old house. We quickly discovered electrical and plumbing needed upgrading. We upgraded the air conditioning. A new hot water heater led to a complete redo of the laundry area.
And so on.
If You Give a House a New Bathroom...
Anyway, much like writing a book, once the construction is over and you’ve repositioned furniture against freshly painted walls, the struggle to get there almost becomes a fond memory.
Bathroom
You may have already seen lots of the bathroom pictures I posted on Facebook. I don’t want to bore you with duplicates. Here’s a quick bathroom before and after.
Before: Note the random mirrored tiles, huge window in the shower, overall cramped space…
After:
Ahhh.
We pushed the wall back two feet and reclaimed the never-used, narrow closet in the front bedroom. Our new bathroom features heated flooring, vaulted ceiling, wall-mounted toilet with dual flush, custom sink cabinet, curb-less shower. I could go on.
One of my favorite new things—this extra-large, lighted medicine cabinet. The interior is mirrored, has an interior electrical outlet, and pop-out magnifying mirror. Lots of storage for a small bath.
Laundry
In the laundry area, we vaulted the ceiling and installed a tankless water heater (that’s the odd thing on the wall). The tankless water heater freed up extra space allowing us to rearrange the washer and dryer side by side rather than stacked as before. The space is small and situated off the kitchen. I had to stand outside to get the shot.
Bedrooms
We updated the lighting and freshened the paint in both bedrooms.
The front bedroom received a new set of French doors.
Kitchen
I love love love this fun kitchen.
The home was updated years ago by Fayetteville artist Kathy Thompson. Her touches remain throughout the house in the whimsical kitchen tile backsplash and fireplace hearth.
We redid the chimney a few years ago and will be replacing the appliances in the next few weeks.
One of the best things we did is replace louvered bedroom doors with solid wood doors and beautiful fixtures.
Storage
When storage space is at a premium, every inch needs to count. We added drawers and a better cabinet configuration behind the master bedroom door.
We redesigned the closet space in our very tiny hallway and relocated the door. Now it’s much more usable as a linen / coat / broom closet.
One of my favorite things about this cottage is its natural lighting and serene feel. We still have lots to do in the yard but the inside is coming together nicely, if I do say so.
Our tiny cottage will soon be living large, especially when Momma moves in! I can’t wait to have her nearby.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
[tweetthis]Check out our tiny cottage reveal! [/tweetthis]
P.S. Big thank you to our architect Valeria Gibertonia and general contractor John Firmin of Build-a-Home. Fixtures and lighting from the friendly folks at Lighting Emporium who were ever so helpful.
Musical Pairing:
Madeleine Peyroux, Getting Some Fun Out of Life
It is a magical place; I’ll be there soon. ❤️ WPS
So excited!
All I can say is WOWZA !
Glad you like it!
Barbara is going to live in style. Amazing transformation.
Thanks Colene!
Now, Stacy will have to move back to Arkansas!
I sure hope so!!!
You did a wonderful job on that update! I can’t wait to see it in person and visit with your mother and you.
Thanks Dorothy! We’ll have a tea party:)
Wow!! Love it!
Thanks Jan!
I love it Talya. It’s got a comfy and warm feel to it.
Thank you Kim! It really does have a wonderful feel.
This is beautiful. I love what you’ve done in the bathroom especially.
The bathroom is a huge transformation. Thank you!
It looks great!
Thanks neighbor!
The cottage is beautiful, I know your mom will enjoy it, I hope I can visit her someday, ❤️
She’s already scheduling visitors LOL. Thanks!
I love everything about this cottage, makes me want to downsize.
Barbara is gonna love it.?♥️?
Thanks lady! You’ll have to come visit!
What a perfect place for your Mom! I would love a space like that!!
Thanks Beth!
Tell my cousin Barbara that I am jealous.
Will do!
Beautiful cottage and just right for cousin Barbara and with the extra bedroom . A cousin from Texas can visit. She will be so happy there . Thanks for doing a great job Talya and John .
Absolutely! Cousins always welcome.
Super! I love the windows and the lighting!
Thank you! It’s great to be wrapping up the interior project.
Fabulous job.
Thank you!
DAMN That’s incredible!
Damn! A rare comment from one of the most talented people I know. I’ll take this as a HUGE compliment. Thank you!
Looks incredible Mom! After 3 States and 10+ Apartments/Houses this will always be my favorite. Even with all the louvered doors!
Thanks Tate! Yes, the louvered doors added a certain charm I must admit. You’ll have to come visit Nana soon!
Lots of comments and very well deserved as you have transformed it into a peaceful, inviting, modern home!
This will be perfect for Barbara. She is blessed to have you and John near her and I plan on spending a little time in “The Small Cottage “ with my Barbaragail!!