As I sit here, exhausted from working late (again), aggressively willing my coffee to bring my body back to life, I want to be angry. Angry that the work isn’t getting done fast enough on the main house, frustrated that certain subs can’t seem to just do their dang job, and generally annoyed that another day is slipping by with what feels like zero progress.
But then I look around this sweet little cottage.
Yes, it’s cramped for full-time living with two dogs and a cat. Yes, most of my “stuff” is somewhere out there in the universe (or a storage unit I refuse to open). But we are still so incredibly blessed. Blessed to have this opportunity to live out our dream, blessed to have this cozy little place to land – even if temporary – and blessed to have each other.
I promised before-and-after photos of the cottage, and they are coming. Pinky promise. But here’s a little peek in the meantime.
When we started this blog, I promised to share the whole experience – the good, the bad, and the very ugly. And wow… has there been a lot of ugly. But I know it will be worth it in the end (whenever that end decides to show up).
Because while we currently have zero fully completed walls, none of our electrical work from the last two months passed code (fun!), and the house looks like the set of a low-budget horror film… here’s what we do have:
WINDOWS AND DOORS (A.K.A. SMALL WINS THAT ARE KEEPING ME SANE)
Every single downstairs window (minus the living room bay stained glass) is functional. Which feels like a minor miracle.
These are 93-year-old steel cased crank-out windows with brass fittings, and when we bought the house, they were the thing that sealed the deal for me. Not a single one opened—painted shut for decades—but they were stunning.
I’ve always leaned toward doing things the hard way. The easy way feels like a cop-out (questionable life philosophy, but here we are). This home deserved to be restored to her original glory. And while these windows may never look brand new, they now actually function—which feels like a big win—and they bring life back into the house in a way that new windows just couldn’t.
The best days are when we open them on both sides of the house and let the breeze roll through, with church bells chiming outside like we’re living in a movie. It’s everything I imagined… minus the construction dust.
Now, this window project? Not for the faint of heart.
As we got deeper into the renovation, it was brought up (many times) that replacing all the rotting fascia around the windows would require removing them completely. Which, for me, felt like emotional damage.
We briefly discussed replacing them (except the stained and leaded glass ones) with something “similar,” but I could not bring myself to erase my favorite feature of this house. Thankfully, the replacement bid came back astronomically high – which, for once, worked in my favor – and suddenly everyone was very open to the idea of restoring them instead. Amazing how that works.
A test run was done, and Billy and the boys came to the rescue once again. It took several days, creative engineering, a very expensive and mostly useless lift, and some good old-fashioned determination, but they managed to replace all the window fascia without removing the windows.
Meanwhile, Kenneth (actual angel on earth) was scraping, grinding, and performing what can only be described as a miracle. After a few weeks, every single downstairs window opened. Every. Single. One.
Once the fascia was replaced and the windows were functional, the painters came in and did their thing on all the exterior trim, windows, and doors (more on doors in a second).
Now – important note – if you’re expecting these windows to look brand new, I highly recommend viewing them through beer goggles. Because the reality is, they are still 93+ year-old metal windows with layers upon layers of old (and new) glazing.
So yes, she’s got some wrinkles. But from a distance? She’s the finest dame in the bar 😉 and I love her an unreasonable amount.
While all of this window magic was happening, Billy was also working his way through both our front and back doors. I LOVE both of them – especially the front – but our entryway is… let’s call it moody. And not in the chic way (yet 😉).
The rest of the house is flooded with natural light, but the center hallway? Not so much.
I briefly considered replacing the door with an all-glass steel version, but I just couldn’t do it. I mean, there’s a tiny brass peep door. A tiny brass peep door. We’re not getting rid of that.
Some might suggest sidelights, but that would require altering the carved limestone surround, which is absolutely not happening. Ever. I will die on this hill. Dramatic? Yes. Wrong? No.
So instead, we decided to cut small windows into the existing door – keeping the original design intact while letting in light. Billy carefully cut the openings and built custom trim, and Longview Glass came in and installed the panes.
And somehow… it is perfect. Four small windows completely transformed both the inside and the exterior. It makes no sense and all the sense at the same time.
I polished the brass, the painters worked their magic, and she is oh so stunning.
Haven’t painted the inside yet but….
That light – was I right or was I right?
Here’s another peek at exterior before and after…
And then… the moment my inner child has been waiting for.
Turning this…
into my very own Dutch door.
Maybe it’s my deep love of Mr. Ed, or maybe it’s just the joy of having the door open to the garden, rosemary in the air, pretending I’m the main character while doing laundry—but this is truly my dream.
It wasn’t an easy job and took some creative engineering but as always Billy makes anything possible.
I have wanted one of these for my entire life. No notes. No regrets.
She’s perfect. (At least on one side for now 😂)
So while we continue to wait… and wait… and pray… and wait some more… for electrical and plumbing to be completed (plumbers = amazing, just in high demand), and for things to finally pass code so we can move on to drywall, paneling, trim, and eventually paint – we’re choosing to celebrate the wins we can actually see.
Even if those wins are just the windows and doors we pass through on our way in and out.
I’ve also received my insanely stunning kitchen range and all of our plumbing fixtures, restored the carved limestone fireplace, and had the second-story patio resurfaced, with a new door and window installed and painted and our plaster is almost finished. So more blessings to count. I’ll share those as we make our way into those spaces.
Next up, before-and-after of our little Cottage in Nuggett Hill.