The cottage porch

This is my third entry in Metamorphosis Monday, hosted by the very talented Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.  (Thanks Susan for allowing me the opportunity to organize some of the before and after photos I have stored on my computer!) 


This is the lakeside porch addition as it was when we purchased the cottage.(sorry about the picture quality).  A 6' x 15' room with horrible windows but a marvelous lake view, and wonderful stone steps crafted of Medina Sandstone.

(photo prior to taking possesion)

After removing furniture left behind by previous owners, we applied several coats of white paint.

Lovely floor...hmmmmmm.....

And ordered new windows and doors.

Tore out that ugly floor, and added a small lakeside deck with access from the porch and living room.

And used our freshened up room as our dining area.  Very cozy!  If we seated guests, we would pull the table out, seat them and slide the table back.  It worked for us.....for awhile.

But, after the cottage became our home...(another story)... a small addition started formulating in my mind.  We could only expand the room by 3', in order to maintain the allowed setback from the lake.  Everyone thought I was crazy to go through all of that to gain 3 feet ??!!!

In the dead of winter, with 40mph winds whipping off the lake (just 75' away), another room was built.

And then the original outer wall was removed.  We were able to reuse the windows and only had to order 3 new ones.

The porcelain tile which we had installed was no longer available.

We had no choice, but to tear it out!

Even though we had a proper foundation constructed with the addition, the floor remained cold, so we installed a NuHeat electric floor blanket under our new vinyl plank "Konecto" floor.

Just look how much room we have now.  Our new table is wonderful....both leaves fold to the center when it is just the two of us, and open up to accomodate eight with comfort.

A view of the addition from the outside ( we added a lower deck last spring ).

And a new sign inspired by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch (just a couple of weeks ago)

  Thank you Susan!

I think ITLLDO.....for awhile!

Thanks for stopping by.  Please tell me what you think.

Tablescaping in Paradise

Today, I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch, for Tablescape Thursday.  Be sure to visit her blog to view her beautiful Easter tablescape and the many participants in the party.

My neighbor / friend from Lake Ontario and I are having a great time shopping in sunny Florida.  Take a look at our finds.

We are using the dining room in our rental house as Shopping Central.

Take a look at our great buys....

A head start on summer.............

Don't you just love the color?

placemats, napkins and glass salad plate ~ Home Goods
Shell plate ~ Marshall's
Silverware from the kitchen drawer (rental home)




We're doing lots of this....
(sign from Bealls) (shells from the beach)

A closer view...

Some more possibilities.....

Placemats from Burlington Coat Factory ~ sign from Bealls Outlet

Plate from Ross...

Napkins and bowl from Home Goods....

Aqua plate (Ross) looks great too....  Guess we will use both on our lakefront table.

Now that we are ready for summer, how shall we get all of our goodies back to Lake Ontario?  Psssssssst...please don't tell our husbands what we've been up to.
We still have a few more days to figure that out....and to do some more shopping!


Thanks for stopping by.  See you back at the Lake!  (41 degrees there,  71 here)

The Cottage Kitchen........a little paint should do

I am participating in Metamorphosis Monday, hosted by the very talented Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.  Be sure to visit her blog and the many lovely make-overs from other participants.  You will be so inspired.

Welcome to the cottage kitchen at ITLLDO

 This is the only photo I could find of the "before" kitchen.

(photo taken on our first visit, prior to purchase)

We started unloading stuff as soon as we closed.

The stove that was left in the cottage was coppertone with a matching hood  (I could have sworn I had a picture of the lovely, yet functional, stove)  It left with the rest of the Stuff that remained in the cottage after we took possession.

A new white stove and lots of white paint (right down to the coppertone hood) does wonders!!

A very functional cottage kitchen....one small problem, though.  We could not open the refrigerator door without hitting the bar.

Sweet little windows peek out to the attached lake-side sun porch, but the view of the lake was so limited from the kitchen.  Plus, painting those dark cabinets seemed so daunting.

So, after we painted all of the walls, we proceeded to tear them out...

And those quaint little windows......  gone!

New white cabinets, custom made by a craftsman in our near-by Amish community.  (The same man that built my bathroom cabinets..If you missed my bathroom renovation in last week's post, click here.)






A slight rearrangement.....





Some new recessed lighting





Navy laminate countertops, plus room for a dishwasher.....(I want a little relaxation when I come to the cottage)  And a lake view!!!!

A few red, white and blue accessories, plus porcelain tile floor

And a completely renovated, bright, white kitchen.

I think ITLLDO....for now.

The other side of the table

Welcome to my second entry in  Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

Last week, I tried my hand at a tablescape using items I had purchased recently from Kohl's and Marshall's.  ( If you missed last week's post, click here to view.)  If you will notice, there are still a few items over on the left side of the table that I did not use:  red checked napkins and solid red placemats.  Since I am away from the icy lake that you see through my windows, I have no fresh flowers for that lovely red glass vase, and I must work with the pictures I already have uploaded on my laptop.  So, here goes with another option.

Off to the pantry again for the off-white plate (Lenox~Butler's Pantry), of which I only have one.  It is large enough to serve as a charger for my lunch setting, so I will just set that on the new solid red placemat.  Add the checked napkin, that goes so well with the pillows on my chairs and loveseat.  I bought the placemats and napkins as a set of 4 for $7.99 at Marshall's.  They are all cotton and I'm really pleased with the fabric, so I purchased 2 sets.  How can you go wrong at $1 per piece?

A green glass salad plate purchased years ago from Pottery Barn.

And the beautiful bowl that matches the mug (222 5th ~ Belize)from Marshall's @ $3.99 each.

I wonder if one of my red goblets (Pottery Barn, several years ago) would look better than the green one from The Christmas Tree Shoppe?

I think I prefer the green one ~ How about you?

OK, Back to my rocking chair to wait for spring and plan my menu.

Thanks for visiting.  I love reading your comments.