Our California Cottage


WARNING--this page consists mostly of pictures. If your connection is slow to download images, you might want to grab a snack and come back in a minute...

Front of House View1
Complete with white picket fence, our 1948 California cottage is pretty cute, huh? When we moved in, juniper bushes were taking over the front in four spots and the area in front of the fence was barren with scattered road debris.
Front of House View2
Larry trimmed one juniper bush to resemble a bonsai so we'd keep an attractive privacy screen in front of the bedroom. The other three we ripped out to make flowerbeds and a fern and hosta bed.
Front of House,Street Flower Bed
Then we amended the soil and used a rototiller we bought at a plant sale (best $75 ever!) to make the area in front of the fence into a workable flower bed. We've got some drainage issues from the road to contend with, so that bed is still very much a work-in-progress.
Living Room game area
The living room is long and large,
so we've divided it into this "gaming" area...
Living Room
The wood-burning stove with stone surround was a big selling point for us. The brown panelling and crumbly acoustic tile ceiling not so much, but we can live with them for a while. The plan: vault the ceiling, remove the panelling, add some cubby holes with display lights for collectibles, and paint the living room a warm color somewhere between stark white and dark brown.
Kitchen
This is how the kitchen looked through mid-summer 2004. Definite updating needed! We replaced the stove in 2003 and the dishwasher in spring 2004.
Kitchen under renovation
With both of us working at home, and in anticipation of a steady stream of visitors, we did a minor renovation in mid-July 2004.
Second shot of kitchen under renovation
We took down cabinets on the wall facing the garden to open up the space and, with some patchwork and sanding, ended up with this:
Renovated ktchen, wide view

Kitchen tiles
We added some festive tiles we picked up at a local arts and craft show

Renovated kitchen, left view
And were able to bring some decorative items out of the closet to sit on our newly installed shelves

Renovated kitchen, right view
And now we can prepare food with more space, all while enjoying the light from the window, the new lighting fixture, the painted wallpaper and paneling, and the broad splash of color in the ceiling above the sink.

Less exciting but no less vital: around the corner to the right is the laundry room.

When we do further updates to the kitchen, we want to add an island and open the kitchen space. We'd enclose the current patio space and turn it into an informal dining room and library area, complete with a loft office area for Larry.

 

Larry's office
Larry's office has a spare bed, but you'll see our primary guest space further down.

Larry's office also underwent a minor renovation in mid-July 2004. We ripped up the carpet to find the hardwood floor we expected underneath. What we did not expect to find were the damaged boards in the middle of the floor that were split and screwed down. For now the imperfections are covered by an area rug, but this room is definitely a work-in-progress.

BEFORE
Old Bathroom
Only one word came to mind with the bathroom space--Yuck! Everything was brown; walls, door, ceiling.

Old Bath tub
Even the inside of the tub was panelled in dark brown! We love earth tones, but come on! So check out our remodel..

NOW
New pedestal sink
We did the drywall, painting, and sink installation ourselves. The sink is a nice pedestal model that saves on space but was a bitch to install!

 


Remodeled Bathroom View 1
We love our new, light, elegant bathroom!

Remodeled Bathroom View 2
We contracted out for the floor tile and stone walls so they'd look just right..and we're glad we did.

Remodeled Bathroom View 3
Next task in here is to convert the old shower stall into a linen closet.

Bedroom View1
Like the living room, the bedroom is also oversized. This house was built by the contractor who built the other houses in our neighborhood.

Bedroom View2
He built this house for himself, so it's cozy, but works well for us. overall, that is.

Extension of master bedroom closet
One of our other projects was to expand the closet so that it's a walk-in. The only things left to do are to sand down the walls and paint the walls and the new trim.

Patio View
Both the kitchen and the living room have sliding glass doors that open onto our covered patio.

View of Spa
The patio used to be home to our hot tub, but we have since built a concrete slab and moved the hot tub out back as part of our new deck (more on that in our garden area).

Updated Patio with Gym Equipment
So now the patio houses our home gym. Earlier we mentioned (eventual) plans to enclose the patio and create a dining/library/loft area. At that point the gym will probably be moved into the garage.

Michelle's office
Straight across the patio and attached to the garage is our guest cottage, which serves as Michelle's office...

Guest Cottage
...but doubles as a guest retreat!

Guest Cottage Kitchen
It comes complete with its own kitchen...

Guest Cottage Bathroom
...and full bath!

The cottage has been a great way to entice family and friends to visit. And for a couple of summers it was even a moneymaker as we housed interns from Larry's job. But whenever Larry's loft office is built, Michelle plans to move into his old space in the house, so that she doesn't have to work on the kitchen counters or a corner of the living room when guests come to stay!

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