A Fresh Start - Renovating a Cottage

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A cute, young friend of mine has just acquired the most charming old house. It was a well-loved family house that needs a little sweat equity and a bit of imagination. My sweet friend is overwhelmed with the enormity of what has to be done and has asked for my help.  Her first project is carving out the space for a new guest bathroom since the house only has one bathroom right now. 

For inspiration, I showed her this charming bath from Phoebe Howard's East Hampton home and here's why:

Since she is working with a very small space, this neat, little bath embodies several clever strategies. Mounting the faucet on the wall saves at least three to five inches, precious space when you are working with the space traditionally reserved for a closet. 

By taking off the back legs of a cottage-style table or console, you can customize the size of the vanity to the space available. I like the openness underneath as it keeps the space from feeling claustrophobic. 

White subway tile is timeless and inexpensive. 

A small bathroom is a great space to splurge on expensive wallpaper especially if you are only papering above a tile wainscot. 

The finishing touch to me is the old french mirror. Something old grounds this space and helps to bridge the gap between the fresh modern bath and the quirky old house.

As far as the furnishings, my friend is starting from scratch. Although a blank canvas is an exciting way to begin, it comes to the question of how do you furnish an entire house when you are first starting out. I pulled the picture above from Lindsey Bond's cute little cottage. 

I love the idea of creating a floating shelf between two parallel walls. Here it is shown in the entry but it could have just as easily been placed in a little hallway.

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