Upcycling 101

 

I am having renovation withdrawal after spending so much of my time this past year thinking about and renovating my cottage.  Now that the summer has past and my traveling is done for awhile, I wanted to just review all the items I have used in my cottage that I got from the "dump" or the various swap shops. 
When I tell people what I do three or four days a week, visit the swap shops and store my "stuff" in a garage and a storage unit, they think I am a bit off.  I tell them that I must go to the dumps every day they are open or I must be the founding member of  "DA" otherwise known as Dumps Anonymous!
For those of you who are reading my blog and do not know the origin of my passion, I will give you a bit of the history.  I bought my cottage in 2005 and furnished it with yard sale and thrift shop finds.  One day when I was getting my hair cut, I mentioned to my hairdresser that I was needing an iron.  She asked me if I had been to the "Treasure Chest".  I asked her what that was.  She explained the swap shop philosophy here on the Cape.  Our transfer stations, or land fills, are full and every community on the Cape has to haul their trash to western Massachusetts and pay by the pound for it to be dumped.  In order to save money, each dump has a section of their grounds dedicated to a swap area or swap building for people to drop off what they no longer need or want but that is still working for others to take.  This saves the communities hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. 
I found my iron and my new path after retirement.  In the years since then we have renovated and furnished five houses and worked with local Realtors to stage listings of theirs to better show the homes  and hopefully appeal to a broader audience. Along the way we have discovered that when we work with  a realtor and have a realtor's open house at the same time we have our estate sale, to sell the furnishings we have saved and rehabbed, we get more foot traffic and more exposure for the listed house.  In many cases our sale brought in the ultimate buyer. 

Just one days finds.

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A Before and After

 

Our first rehab using finds from the swap shops.  The drapes are new and the couch is the same, everything else in this living room came from the dump: lamps, art work, furniture, material for slip covers, the Pottery Barn slip cover for the couch, everything...amazing.

My "new" dining room set was found at the dump, it just needs some TLC.

 

 

 

Here is the final result...

 

A good upholstery tip to remember: look for stain resistant tablecloths on sale.  The seat covers are Ralph Lauren tablecloths gotten for about $2 a yard.

 

Another tip:  prime and spray paint old knobs. when the paint cures they are good as new and can save you tons of money.  I used my old knobs from my PA kitchen for the cottage.

 

 

Perhaps my favorite up cycling done in the cottage was this chandelier.  I had it rewired just to be safe.  Primed and spray painted it white and glazed the leaves a light green to give it some depth but not too much color.

 

Hung and ready to shed light on a dinner party!

 

Here are just a few examples of the final products now living a new life in my cottage.

 

These barrel chairs just needed to be reupholstered.



 All my dishes, glasses, and most of my serving pieces have come from the dump.  I look for good design, color and vintage items. 

 

 

I have started to collect colored bottles whenever I find them at the dumps.

This little guy, "an educational souvenir" from Memphis, Tenn. was one of my first finds.

Vintage pieces such as this towel bar and Victorian purse just make me happy.  All I had to do to the towel bar was sand, tape and spray the metal parts white.  Saw a similar one on Etsy for $135.  Now that is ridiculous!

 

 

This Hadley covered dish was a dump find.  It tells you that the dish is empty with the words The End printed on the bottom.  That will be my cue to end this blog entry, don't want to bore you with too many of my "finds". Let me just say that it give me great joy to save these "finds" and to use them each and every day.  I have not included most of what I have saved, you will just have to come visit to see it all. 

 

 

Housewarming!

Moving Day: May 18th
Housewarming: May 25

On the first morning I was in the cottage, with at least 50 boxes to be unpacked, it dawned on me that in six days, there would be at least 25 people here for dinner.  This lead to the continuation of the 12 to 14 hour days.

So, as I unpacked, I also prepared of the party. 

Pies baked and dinner cooked, all ready for the first guests.

Bar ready for the first customers. 

Deck is ready for guests, unfortunately it was too cold and rainy for anyone to go outside!

David Knauer, a friend from high school, circled the house and bless it. 

Seems that Jane, Barbara and I all got the black and white memo. 

When I first bought the cottage, I was amazed how many friends from my life are here.  In the picture are Howard, a friend of my mother's, Mary Ellen and Billy, friends from PA, Jane a new friend and Barbara, who I have know since the first day of college.  How blessed am I to have all these people still in my life.

Jonathan, Lisa, Leah, and Anne.  I have known Jonathan since I was a kid, his parents and mine were best friends.  Lisa and Leah are new friends we met at a wine tasting dinner at Norbella's a few months ago.  Anne is my cousin's wife and my business partner.  I could not have packed up my cottage or have moved back in without her help. 

Rosella, Liz, Lisa, Leah, Jonathan and David at the pie bar.  The blueberry tart was the hit of the dessert table.

Howard was 91 earlier in the week so I thought it was only fitting to celebrate his birthday too.  I was fortunate to accompany Howard to Washington D.C. two years ago on an Honor Flight, a program that allows WWII veterans to visit the WWII Memorial.  It was one of the most moving and memorable events of my life. 

Howard about to tell one of his stories, got to love him!

 Mermaid and starfish hooks for the outdoor shower, really great.

Early the next morning the swan pair with their four babies were on the pond, a great way to wake up and the reason for all the renovations. 

 

 



 

Lessons Learned:

1.  Renovation a house doesn't make it a home, friends and family do.  I am so lucky to have a wonderful new home where friends and family will eat, drink and be merry for years to come.  What more could one ask for.  Thank you all!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost Done!

These past two weeks have involved 12 to 14 hour days, moving, unpacking, cooking and getting ready for the housewarming party which was scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. 
The movers came the 18th and made several trips from the storage unit and the garage across the street, moving in what furniture and boxes I thought I would want to use in the cottage.  Pictures of this move you ask?  Nope, didn't even think to take a single picture.  What kind of blogger am I???

I did take time out of the busy schedule to cook the very first meal at the cottage and to test the gas stove.  Menu: linguine with clam sauce, arugula salad with feta, garlic toast (for dipping into the sauce) and several scotches!  Yummy.

I was able to stay at the cottage the first night and here is the view from the deck in the early morning.  After this quite moment, it was unpacking and washing everything before putting it away. 

 

At the same time, my friend and neighbor, Deb, whose son and daughter-in-law were so badly wounded at the Marathon bombing was able to get away for a couple of nights.  Needed to feed her and take good care of her, so...meal 2.

 

 

 

Haddock poached in tomatoes, capers, olives and wine, with feta topping, wilted spinach and multi-grain baguette for dipping.  A hearty red too!

The next few pictures are from the same point in the great room, turning around.  Here you can see the view, the fireplace, TV, and living room space.  I have used my parents Heywood-Wakefield furniture from the Blue Anchor and even found room for my mother's antique corn cutter.  I used to set my hair in rollers each night by it, watching TV and trying to stay up past my bedtime.  Good memories.

Turning right, you can see the dining area with my swap shop table, chairs and chandelier.  Chair seats are covered with Ralph Lauren tablecloths, stain resistant, gotten at Home Goods when they were on sale.  Tablecloths and shower curtains make good choices for inexpensive fabric to use for seat cushions, drapes, bed skirts, etc.  I have to give my friend Rosella the credit for this idea as she used table cloths for drapes years ago.  The drift wood "heron" was brought back from Florida years ago by my mother.  My dad thought she was crazy but it lived at the Blue Anchor, my mother's condo at the Belmont and now here.  I love it.

 

Continuing to turn right the kitchen comes into view.  I would recommend to anyone the Jet Mist granite with the antique finish.  It looks like soapstone with none of the maintenance issues.  I also think it looks like the black sand on some beaches.  Has a fabulous texture to it as well. 

This is the Mimi McCallum corner.  Mimi is the cousin of Kurt Spence and a good friend of mine as well.  Mimi and her husband, John, came to stay at the cottage a few years ago and she painted the marsh picture, with lime green and coral kayaks, for me.  Her sea grapes picture is in this corner as well.  The Heywood-Wakefield desk is also a dump find. 

Another shot of the kitchen.  The floor cloth I painted for the old kitchen works perfectly in the new space, making me very happy.

Moving on to the guest room.  The morning light in here is amazing, no sleeping late when you visit. 

Guest room from another angle.  Am not sure this will stay this way, but love that the first paint by numbers picture I got in Florida works in this room.  The mirror was a dump find that I had in my bedroom in the old cottage but it works best here now. 

The mermaid bath is better than I had hoped.  It makes me smile every time I go into the space.  Shelf and mirror frame are dump finds and add to the whimsy of the room. 

My bedroom is the least finished room in the cottage.  Pictures are not hung and I haven't figured out what to put at the end of the bed.  Guess there will have to be at least one more blog entry when this room is finished.  Bloomie, the cat, is very happy here even if it is not finished!

Master bedroom as well.  Better pics to come.

But who really cares if the room is finished with this view from the bed, not me!  I get to wake up to this each and every morning, worth its weight in gold!

I have decided that I love to redo bathrooms.  My bathroom is tranquil and timeless.  the light fixture makes me happy with its art deco feel. 

Since there has been a great deal of rain on the Cape since I moved in, I even christened the indoor shower. 

 Shower door is great.  Really like the fact that it was centered in the middle of the space with stationary panels on either side.  How about that polka dotted towel I found to round out the design, gotta love it!

Although the landscaping is not finished, thought I would share what has been done so far.  I bought the grasses and the hardy hibiscuses at Rice's Market late last fall.  They wintered over in my garage and seem to be thriving.  Next came the great buys at Job Lot's truck sale early this spring.  Azaleas, Spireas, Rhodies, and a different grass were gotten in one trip.  Then I heard about the Arbor Day sale at Agway where I got three roses and several Hydrangeas.  Great variety of colors and blooming throughout the year. 

 

 

 

View of the cottage as you arrive.  Driveway and walkways will be bordered by cobblestone with small gravel filled in.  Cannot wait for that to start.  might now have to sweep the floors in the cottage twice a day once the sand issue is resolved.

This might be my favorite view of the new exterior of the cottage.  Love, love, love the wall, low seats that run the length of the deck, the roof line, outdoor shower, and the different windows.  With all the work done and the new look, the cottage still fits into the neighborhood, something of which I am very proud.

 

 

Lessons Learned:

 

1.  As you would imagine, designs for electrical work favors those who are right handed.  As a lefty, I should have reversed the bathrooms so the electric outlet were on the left, not the right.  Not such a big deal as I have been living in a right handed world my whole life, but something to think about in the future. 

2.  When we were planning the cottage I realized that the "extras" were adding up.  After some online research, I found that most projects go over budget from 10 to 18%.  That being said, when Russ handed me the "extras" bill, I asked if I should wait to sit down before I opened it.  Good news, we did go over but only by about 8 % and I did get just about everything I wanted. 

3.  I had the time of my life during this project.  There was few if any issues, all the providers gave that extra bit to make the cottage the best it could be, the space is perfect for what I need or want...ahhhh!