Saturday, April 2, 2011

My cousin's cottage...part one

When Jennie and I went to Round Top last weekend, we stayed at my cousin's little cottage in a small town outside of Austin.  
This is a real authentic cottage.  
I took a ton of pictures of both the inside and outside because it's just so darn cute.  
It will take a few posts to cover it all so bear with me!

I do need to say that my cousin, Gale, is genuine thrifty person.  Pretty much every single thing in this cottage was purchase at thrift stores, flea markets, found for free or given to her.  She was even thrifty picking out this house about 15 years ago.  She paid about $7000. for the cottage and the two lots around it. She comes by this all naturally since her mother and my mother were some original junkers back in the day.  I hope you enjoy the pictures over the next few posts.

Here's her cottage.  I love the picket fence, little gate, front porch and detail on the windows.
My favorite thing though is the perfectly aged metal roof.

She bought this little number from a friend for a few dollars.  When I told her 
I could sell it for a small fortune in our antique booth, I don't think she quite believed me.

This little cabinet is tiny; probably about 12 x 18 inches.

This is a cool carved piece hanging on her wall in the dining/living room.

This is a tiny child's or doll's chest of drawers with a great globe on top in front of the mirror.

Notice her original beadboard ceiling painted in soft blue.  She has a 
collection of little baskets hung above a closet that's behind those doors.

This is her master bedroom.  I should mention there is no staging here.
This is how it is all the time.  This is how she lives...so pretty.

She has her bed at an angle in the corner with a small table behind it.
She has a cute little lamp on the table and a small wreath above it.
She has used tulle to frame it out creating a soft canopy effect.

Old small houses don't have the best storage.  In front of this chair is a
big storage basket/crate thing that she has put a quilt over so it acts as an ottoman.
If you lift up the quilt, all of her shoes are stored in the basket/crate.

Gale collects quilts, linens and fabrics.  You see the corner piece of furniture?
If you lift up the little linen curtain at the bottom, her cat's bed is hidden in there.
Her cat loves to curl up in the cozy little space.

She has several really pretty chests of drawers. 
 Some she has painted and some are in their original paint.

I like the top of this one with the semi-circular top shelf/drawer.

Here's another cute one.

Love the worn places on the mirror.  Sorry for the quality of pictures
but most of these were taken in the early morning hours around dawn.  
You know we had to leave early to get back to Round Top!

Here is an inexpensive chandelier she painted white.  
She wrapped the cord in tulle and then put little hooks in the ceiling
so she could gather the tulle at the top.  This picture doesn't do it justice.
It is so soft and pretty in person.

Love this cabinet.  It doesn't have any glass.

She didn't do anything to it.  This is actual naturally worn off paint.
I work so hard to try to recreate this look on a piece of furniture and
she just finds them this way.

Aren't these the coolest pieces of hardware?



So there are the first batches of pictures from her house.  I'll post some more tomorrow.
I'll also let you in a very interesting little fact about Gale.  I think you'll be surprised!

10 comments:

  1. Oh My! That is the sweetest little cottage. Can't wait to see more.

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  2. Oh ma gosh I want to scream and cry and squeal all at the same time! I kidd not! She bought that house with two lots for $7000?

    It is like a fairytale. I am just dying.

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  3. What a neat little place! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Oh sweet! Great inspiration here. We have a little cottage too - and this makes me want to get over there and 'fuss it up' a bit.

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  5. You were so lucky to get to have a place to stay. They are hard to come by around Round Top. We stayed in Giddings last time.

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  6. Wow, what a wonderful cottage. Love it all and your pictures are stunning. Hugs, Marty

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  7. Love it, how lucky she is to live in that adorable cottage, can't wait for more pics!

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  8. I just read through both posts and have fallen truly, madly, deeply in love with your Aunt's cottage. I cannot believe she got it for $7000. I don't think you could buy an outhouse for that price around here. Anyway, it is just adorable over every square inch. I love that tiny painting of flowers, the beadboard ceiling, the white dressers, the porch, the roof ... well all of it. I actually have quite a thing for tiny houses and cottages.

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  9. I just LOVE her place,inside and out.......do you think she would take in a strange woman from Georgia if I promised not to drool all over everything???

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