Before: The kitchen

I unearthed some "before" pictures of the kitchen. As you can see, faux ivy and wooden fruit lined the top of the cabinets. That shtuff was the first to go. On our last night in the cabin, Hubby opened a second owner's closet and found that it was full of extra ivy and another brass lamp. After our weekend long battle with fake plants and brass accents, this discovery made us laugh like crazy people.

So much better now, but still a long way to go. We picked out tile today at Home Depot so the contractors can install the floor before we arrive for Thanksgiving. The next thing to pick up is the butcher block countertops, farmer's sink and faucet (all from IKEA). That will be installed in late November since we have to drive it down. I am learning much patience with this project.

Before: Bedroom #2

I know that brass is supposedly in style at the moment, but I am honestly not feeling it. Really, though, it is nothing that a few spray paint cans cannot fix...

Interesting decor details include: red valance that does not seem to match anything in the room, grey fuse box  which abuts a closet door (hmm how to hide that??), random huge mirror which is screwed into the wall directly. Oh and toddler death trap TV (see below).

Can this dresser be saved with some paint and new knobs? Possibly. On the other hand, the director's chair is destined for donation, along with the sailboat lamp. 

Before: Bedroom #1

This is the upstairs bedroom, the loft bedroom. The bedframe is salvageable, I think, but certainly not the bedding, chair and "decor." Perhaps the nightstands can be repainted. You cannot see the window well in this picture, but there are Levlor-style blinds and a floral valance. When we bought this place, I thought there were two Queen beds, but our owner's access portal actually says one King and one Queen. Perhaps this is the King? I need to ask someone to pop by and find out.....

On the agenda: new carpet, new bedding, new drapes. And probably a new mattress.

The "Before" - Great Room

I mentioned before that we got a great deal on this place because it was a little... well... dated. Let's make that REALLY dated. Like 1985 threw up everywhere. Because the summer is prime rental season, we are waiting a bit to change things. Come this fall, however, we will be ripping out carpet and painting some walls.

Let's start with a tour of the great room. This is a two bedroom, two bath cottage. The second bedroom is in a loft area (which makes it a 1 1/2 story house). As a result, the great room is two stories high, very open and airy. Great windows, great view of the lake.

Here we can see the glorious carpet more closely, along with the fake ivy plant, the brass accents on the fireplace, and the Haverty-esqe furnishings. Gotta go. All of it.

There is not much room for a dining area. Currently the table is against the wall and between two windows. That's going to be quite a bit of a design challenge.

What's the inspiration for the new room, you ask? How about this? White walls with white curtains, hardwoood floors with a natural rug cover, neutral furniture with snaps of color on the pillows. Big art. Clean, white, beachy. Modern.