Painting the Cottage Doors

Some days, it feels like the Mountain Cottage will never be fully finished. Slow. The progress has been very slow this summer.

My man’s not to blame. He’s been working hard. Changing trades and starting again from ground level once again is no joke. Particularly for a man who feels he ought to be well established at this point in life.

Plumbing will pay much better than carpentry, and we’re both realizing an income change is necessary for us, makes lots of sense for our situation. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today!

I did a thing. And I’m very proud of myself for doing it!

 

This summer hasn’t been easy for most people. And my man and I have been no exception. His job change this spring was an adjustment and he also took on more work than I like to see. As a result, he hasn’t had much time to give to anything else, including the Mountain Cottage.

I know it sounds silly, but the unfinished state of our home has been slowly eating away at me these past few months. Being a full time homemaker, I’m always here and I  see, I notice all the loose ends.

It really isn’t bad. The walls are painted. Trim is on. Doors are hung. And we’re quite well established here.

But there’s still a big part of me that wants real light fixtures, instead of bare light bulbs. To have doors on my lower kitchen cupboards. I want to hang pictures and shelves on the walls, to have my little hutch refinished now so I can unpack my special dishes.

I wanna nest this winter, knowing that my home is finished.

And in case you’re wondering, no. I’m not pregnant!

My man and I have spent all our married life in transition mode. And if this place really is ours, I just want to nestle in and make it feel like home!

Just the other day I was bemoaning the lack of personal touches in our cottage, when I realized my attitude was somewhat ridiculous.

There I was, a grown, capable woman, acting like all the finishing touches in our home were dependent on my man’s handiwork! Even if I couldn’t tackle the rock work around our wood stove or rush out and buy the exact light fixtures I want, there’s always something a girl can do to make her home feel more “nested.”

But what? Clearing out the clutter is always a good idea. So is adding a few vases of flowers here and there, or spreading a clean tablecloth on the table. However, these things didn’t really further the progress on this home.

The doors. That was it! We didn’t need to keep staring at those unpainted, gray interior doors anymore. I already knew what I wanted, so why not do something about it?

Three days later, I did. And I have to say? I’m delighted with the result, even if it didn’t totally capture the look I was hoping for.

It feels good to spruce up the place where I live each and every day. I dunno why, but having one nice spot in the home gives me an itch to make other spots look nice.

And adding a personal touch to one corner (or in this case, to 4 doors) gave me incentive to keep customizing and making this space my own, as time and money will allow.

Side note: what do you think of this chair? My baby sis handed 2 of them off to me when I was visiting her a few weeks ago. Even used furniture costs an arm and leg where I live, so when I discovered she was going to throw these chairs out if I didn’t take ’em, of course I did! 

What’s the point of this rambling story?

Just this: if you’re spending lots of time at home and find yourself feeling ‘blah’ about your space, maybe you just need to do a few things for your home to revive your love for it and the at- home life you get to live.

I know that was a long sentence, but there’s a lot of truth in it!

If you have any tips for me on sprucing up my living space and adding personal touches to it, send your ideas my way. This fall/winter is my season to customize and make this space my own, with good pictures, beeswax candles and other old fashioned bits of decor.

Leave me your best tips below! And if you like my style of home decor, if you like baskets, enjoy gardens and canning jar? Check out my IG account and follow along!