February 2021 - Arrow Hill Cottage

Shared Girls Room | Bedroom Tour

Today I am excited to give you a tour of the shared girls room at the cottage. Though far from fully decorated, we have done quite a bit in the space already and would love to show you around!

Our newly built cottage has a total of three bedrooms (technically four if you count the basement bonus space). The master suite is on the main level, and there are two additional bedroom upstairs. One for the boys and one for the girls. Our entire family appreciates the simplicity of this arrangement. Truthfully, our kids do not mind one bit that they share with their siblings. In fact, they prefer it!

Shared Girls Room | Basics

We covered the entire upper level ceiling of the cottage with pine tongue and groove boards, which were then painted white. My husband recently created a video which documents the long process of installing them.

As a result of our hard work, we are extremely happy with how the ceilings look. Because they are vaulted, the natural daylight that comes in through the single window bounces around and really brightens up the entire room.

Oak flooring creates a beautiful, neutral backdrop for furnishings and decor. In addition, the all white walls and trim have the same effect.

When I designed the girls room, I was careful to create a space that would serve the girls for years to come. For example, although the girls currently enjoy having their beds close together at night, they might not always prefer this set up. The dimensions of the room were worked out so that each girl could eventually claim their own ‘half’. There are two closets in the room as well.

Sleeping Space

One side of the bedroom is designated for sleeping and quiet time. The two antique metal beds found on this side were an absolute labor of love for my husband. He painstakingly restored the beds over the course of several months. Although the beds spent many years in a friend’s barn, you would never know it now!

My husband documented the process of restoring the beds through a series of videos. I am so impressed with how they turned out. Most importantly though, the girls love them.

A small table is positioned between the beds. It is the perfect size for a reading lamp, and a few books.

I chose white comforters for the beds. They are easy to clean and provide a neutral base that can be changed up easily with accent bedding and pillows. For now, the accents of pink, aqua, and yellow are fun and girly, while not being age specific. One thing I am still on the hunt for are matching quilts or duvet covers for the ends of each bed.

Play Space

The opposite side of the room is set up as a kind of pseudo mini house – every little girl’s dream! It is complete with a small play kitchen, table, and two pink chairs. In addition, a sweet doll crib – made by the girls’ great grandpa – holds special sentiment.

The girls have literally spent hours creating make believe scenarios with their stuffed animals and dolls.

Their play kitchen is something I posted about a couple of years ago. It was made using a vintage dresser as the primary structure. More information about the process of building the play kitchen, and links for many of the accessories, can be found in THIS POST.

You may recognize the small red table from this past year’s Christmas decorating. I recently found an enamel top table at a local antique shop. This new table is a bit larger and more useful for our annual winter puzzle endeavors. For this reason, we moved the little red table up to the girl’s space – and kept the enamel topped one on the main level. These two tables will definitely be moved around the house throughout the years, depending on the needs of our family and my seasonal decorating desires.

Other Furniture + Decor

The only other piece of furniture the girls have in their bedroom is a dresser. It is, yet again, another special hand me down item. Purchased by my grandparents, the dresser was mine as a little girl. The perfect size, it has four drawers – two for each daughter. We have it organized so that each girl has one drawer for their shirts, and one for their pants/shorts/skirts.

Atop the dresser are a few special and sentimental items. A beautiful watercolor print, which was purchased on Etsy, provides a bit more color to the room. The small wooden box holds the some of the girls’ cherished special items. Lastly, the pink bunny was hand sewn by the nannies at our older daughter’s orphanage. They gave it to her as a gift on her adoption day.

Though I have more decor ideas for the room, there is no rush on getting everything implemented at once. Kid spaces have a tendency to evolve and change as the occupants grow. The girls bedroom will be no different, I’m sure.

Girls Shared Room Video Walkthrough

Sometimes, it is easier to see a space in video format. I’ve created a video tour of the room for just that reason.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour! Stay tuned for more space reveals, as we continue to decorate at the cottage!

Antique Shopping Finds | Winter 2021

Today I want to share with you my most recently collected antique and thrift store treasures. These antique shopping finds include a variety of items that we have added to our home for both decor and functional purposes.

With our cottage build complete, we have moved onto a new phase. Decorating! I don’t claim to be an expert interior decorator, but I do know what I like when I see it! With Pinterest picture references, I am constantly on the lookout for unique and special items to add to our rooms. Most definitely, I prefer a ‘collected’ look when it comes to home furnishings and decor. To me, spaces just look and feel more personal when the pieces in it have a story.

Although it may take me years and years to finalize the decorating of the cottage, I am up for the challenge!

My Antique Shopping Tips

I live in a town that is known as a bit of a tourist destination. In addition to its many lakes, it boasts a vibrant downtown area, complete with multiple antique stores. With all of these beautiful shops so accessible, it would be easy to spend hours each day shopping. However, I prefer to limit my browsing to every few months.

This spaced out shopping is helpful for a variety of reasons. First, it allows plenty of time for item turnaround. The workers at these antique shops are constantly attending estate sales and picking up items to resell. That means that if I step into the stores less often, I am more likely to see many new items each time. Secondly, in order to make room for new merchandise, items that haven’t sold in a couple of months may be offered at a discount. I have seen pieces drop in price over fifty percent from one outing to the next.

It is my preference to always shop with someone else. I generally do not enjoy shopping, even casually. Having another person with is more fun, because we can visit while walking through the stores. Many times, one of us will see an item that sparks a memory, which adds to even more conversation. In addition, if I am questioning whether to buy something or not, I can talk it over with my shopping buddy.

Shopping As A Minimalist

When designing our home, we purposefully made the decision to not include a lot of storage. We saw it as a way to ensure that the items we have are used on a regular basis. In addition to that, neither my husband nor I like clutter. For these reasons, we are very intentional about the items we bring into our home.

In order for something to ‘make the cut’, so to speak, it needs to be either useful/ needed or something we love to look at.

An item that is offered at a good price but is the wrong color, size, or shape will not be a purchase of mine.

I try to make it a habit of walking through a store first, without picking anything up. If something catches my eye, I will go back to it for further inspection. Many times I have left the store, with photos and measurements of an item in hand, and thought about it for a few days. If it is a piece that I can’t get out of my mind, I will go back to purchase.

Winter 2021 Antique Shopping Finds

Are you ready to see what I decided to bring home? Great! I’m excited to show you!

Enamel Top Table

First up is this white enamel topped table. Based on the construction techniques used, our best guess is that it is from the earlier part of the 20th century. Perhaps somewhere between 1910 and 1930, when having a small baking table in the kitchen was common practice.

There is evidence suggesting that the table used to have two drawers. The drawer fronts are still present, but they have been nailed to the frame and the drawer boxes have been removed. My husband is thinking about re-creating the drawers. He also has plans to remove the paint (we think it is probably lead based) and refinish the wood legs.

For the moment the table is being used as a surface for puzzles. In the future, I envision switching it out with the little red chippy table seen in my Christmas decorating post. Depending on the season and decor needs, both tables will come in quite handy.

Woven Basket

This little basket was found at a local thrift store for a few dollars. I’m not entirely certain that it is old, but it does appear to be hand made. I love all of the little details on this piece, including the ‘x’ shaped ties, and the teeny tiny pins around the top. At approximately 6″ x 12″ , it is the perfect size to hold a few books.

We have been keeping the basket next to the fireplace. It currently holds our family Bible and devotion materials, so that they are within easy access to pick up for a quick read.

Knit Throw

I am drawn to cozy, neutral textures. This cream colored knit throw caught my eye with its beautiful pattern and smaller size. It is not a full blanket, but it has just enough material to wrap up in.

After bringing it home and giving it a good washing, I layered it on the back of our couch. Atop another vintage blanket, the texture of the throw really pops!

Metal Spice Tins

I have recently started one of my very first collections. These little vintage metal tins are so fun, and each so unique. They were found in many different shops, at various price points ranging from one to five dollars. I find the font and color choices on each individual tin so interesting.

I have seen some very unique ways that vintage tins have been used as decor. My absolute favorite, and the thought that is guiding my collection, is to use them as little planters. By taking the tops off of the tins, I can fill them with soil and plant small succulents and spices of my own. Chives, cilantro, maybe a some dill? The large window ledge above our kitchen sink will be the perfect place to display them, during the spring and summer months.

Original Oil Painting

My absolute favorite recent find is this original painting. When I saw it, while shopping with my mom, it stopped me in my tracks. I loved the colors and composition immediately. The winter scene depicting children ice skating on a frozen pond reminded me so much of our own property here at Arrow Hill Cottage. However, the hefty price tag gave me pause, and I walked away. Once home, I did a bit more research on the artist because I was curious why the painting was priced so high.

It turns out that the painting was done by a local artist named Ellen Eilers. She is best known for her ‘Calico Country’ series of artwork, which includes various stylized landscape scenes. However, she mentioned in this video that she particularly enjoyed painting winter scenes. I believe that enjoyment was transferred to the canvas when she made this piece. The details are stunning!

After thinking about it for a few days, and with encouragement (and birthday money) from my parents, I happily went back to the store to purchase it. It fits just perfectly here at the cottage, and I am excited to enjoy it for years to come.

That’s everything for now! I hope you enjoyed these antique shopping finds. I’m hoping to do a post like this every so often, when I have new purchases to share. I always think it is fun to hear the stories behind some of the items that are in a person’s home, and I hope you do too!

Antique Haul Video

More Antique Shopping Tips

If you’ve been thinking of adding some vintage charm to your home, but the thought of sifting through antique stores scares you, check out these resources! The ladies who wrote the posts are seasoned antique finders with beautiful homes filled with collected items. They each have their own personal styles, but are all very inspiring!

Farmhouse On Boone | Farmhouse Antique Shopping Tips

Emily Henderson | Thrifters Guide On What To Buy (And Skip)

Pine + Prospect Home | Antiquing For Beginners

Minimalism Game | Over 500 Items Decluttered

During the month of January, my family played the Minimalism game! Today, I want to share with you how this challenge works, and the results of our month long effort.

January seems to be the month that many people feel the urge to declutter and reset their homes. My family is no different. The calendar turned, and yet we found ourselves very much in the same spot. With quarantine restrictions, and not many entertainment venues open, we are spending a good portion of our time at home.

Don’t get me wrong. We absolutely love our home. But, even the most beautiful four walls can become mundane when they are all you see most of the time. We are ready for some changes!

I mentioned in my last post that we have big plans for this cottage. So many DIY projects are waiting to be completed! There is no better way, in my opinion, to gain a clear perspective on things than a good old fashioned declutter! That’s exactly what we did, in the form of a game.

What Is The Minimalism Game?

Near the end of December, my mom mentioned to me that she was planning to take on a decluttering challenge in January. After talking through it with her, I discovered the challenge is technically called ‘The Minimalism Game’. It was developed by none other than the Minimalists themselves, and is quite a simple concept.

Essentially, it works this way: Each day of the month you find one item per day to donate, sell or throw away. One item on the first day of the month. Eight on the eighth day, and so on. When all is said and done, at the end of the month, there will be 500+ fewer items of clutter in your home!

The idea is that the first few days of the month should be pretty easy to tackle. It seems like basically anyone can find one to five items of clutter in their home on any given day. These ‘easy’ days will give you the confidence to take on more difficult decisions. By the end of the month, you may be considering items that were off limits on day one.

Before + During Our Game

Going into the challenge, I was skeptical. Five hundred seemed like an awfully large number. After all, we have only been living in our home for one year. We did a major amount of decluttering before our move, and even hosted a huge garage sale.

In addition to that, we tend to keep a rather close eye on the items we allow into our cottage. We have been diligent about keeping only the possessions we use and love the most. Would I be able to find enough clutter to finish?

Yet, even with this question, the game seemed like an appealing way to take on the new year. My mom and I began the challenge together on January 1st. We vowed to be cheerleaders and accountability partners for each other throughout the month.

Games are always more fun when they aren’t played in isolation. There are other benefits too.

Having someone take on a challenge at the same time as you really does help keep a person honest! My mom and I sent each other messages and pictures nearly every day, discussing the items we had found.

Bouncing decluttering ideas off of each other was also a great benefit. For example, my mom mentioned she had cleaned out her spice cabinet and consolidated her spices into fewer jars. She was able to toss out quite a few small containers. Though I hadn’t considered checking in my own spice cabinet, you can bet I did just that after my mom told me about her success!

Watch Us Play The Minimalism Game

As an additional measure of accountability, I decided to capture my family’s experience on video. Although I didn’t pick up the camera every single day, I feel like the film compilation portrays our process quite well.

Minimalism Game Results

After an entire month of decluttering, the results are in. Much to my surprise, it was not difficult at all to find the 500 items! Mind you, there were probably only a handful of pieces that were visibly taking up space. Most everything else was packed away in tidy little spots throughout my home. Things looked neat and organized, but there was clutter lurking behind closed doors!

The biggest culprit for us? The garage!

Looking back, it makes perfect sense why so many items were found there. When we were packing to move, we put off the garage until last, thinking we would be able to throw out a bunch of things. In reality though, we ran out of time to sort. The contents of our old garage were thrown into boxes and moved to the new garage. A year passed, and organizing the garage just never seemed to become a priority project.

I’m guessing there may be a similar spot in your home. Perhaps the basement? A child’s playroom? Maybe even a closet. Go take a look! Ridding yourself of the clutter will be so freeing, I promise you!

The variety of items that were found during the game was also a surprise to me. I knew there would be some broken toys, ripped clothes, and paper clutter that could be thrown. However, I didn’t realize how many good, quality items we would decide to donate or sell. The kids were especially eager to go through their things. I’m so proud of them!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this game. It is a great way to rid your home of un-needed items quickly. It’s not a difficult concept, and the pride you feel when those 500 items are out the door is worth all the effort!

More Decluttering Challenges

If the month long Minimalism Game seems like too much of a commitment, consider one of these other challenges. They can help you get into the groove of decluttering, by taking it on one bit at a time.

Create a Capsule Wardrobe

Control Magazine + Paper Clutter

Speed Clean: 60 in 60 Challenge

One Room Challenge: Deep Cleaning