Hansel and Gretel !

Cottages and tiny houses have always fascinated me. Back in 2009, when it was necessary for me to find a new home, I automatically gravitated towards any property that fit cottage and tiny home criteria! Which meant cute, tiny and gingerbread house-ish

That’s exactly what I found but…I certainly needed rose-colored glasses to see beyond the downtrodden and on to the revitalized. The first picture is the exterior ‘downtrodden’. What it doesn’t show in the picture is the other outbuildings that occupied the one-third acre of land! Such a mess! Yet, for some reason, I looked at it and saw a home.

Let me be truthful, I revisited it numerous times over a 5 month period before I put a bid on the property. The second picture is the ‘renewed’. By this time two of the outbuildings had been torn down or moved to another location.

The exterior needed termite damage repaired, the cottage needed to be leveled, new windows put in, new floor, gutters repaired, shutters made (thank you John!), lower siding replaced, roof patched, driveway and walkway laid, new doors (side and back), back wall rebuilt, insulation installed, exposed rafters under back overhang closed in, electrical redone, fence built, siding washed / painted, and landscaping.

My bathroom was in separate outbuilding (See picture) but I unfortunately do not have decent pictures showing it.

I had a wonderful electrician, plumber, handyman, brick mason (and boyfriend!) help me with many projects. I provided the money, did clean up, insulation installer, painter, tool go-fer, siding washer, landscaper, gravel mover and spreader!

I spent 2 months in a motel whilst revitalizing my little cottage. When the inside work was finished I chose a pale peach for the walls in the bedroom, with white in the living/kitchen area with a peach wall for accent. After the heavy plywood floor was replaced in the bedroom it was painted a dark olive to help hide imperfections. The same color was used on the living area floor for the same reason.

All the furniture you see in the "revitalized" pictures were things I brought from my previous home. I did invest in sheers (for the windows) since I wanted a continuous theme when people viewed the cottage from outside.

My dear friend (thank you Dick!) named the cottage Hansel & Gretel – we called it H&G for short!

If we’re fortunate, throughout our lives we’ll have many opportunities to stretch our imaginations, test our resources and build on our strengths. H&G (from start to finish) took me from a woman on the edge and brought me to a place of peace, understanding and strength over the course of 4 years. I’m grateful for the learning experience, the creative process that helped me make it a home, and all the people who helped bring it to completion !

All the plants you see in the “revitalized” pictures are plants that I dug up, potted and transported. I kept most in their pots since it provided me the opportunity to move them ‘at will’ into a different location for some variety.