The Enchanting Cottage - Part Three

In Part Two of The Enchanting Cottage we left Cottage Lover in the laundry room.  We may feel this to be a terrible abandonment of Cottage Lover, but never fear.  Although she found it a pleasant laundry, she did not stay there. 

We join her now in the bathroom. . .


Cottage Lover was certain she had never seen a more romantic bath in all her life.

She imagined herself soaking in the claw foot tub, surrounded by velvet and candlelight; her nose tickled by lilac bubbles.




Cottage Lover marveled at how Artist Steve could merge elegance with whimsy in just the right measure.



The bath cabinets were outstanding.






Cottage Lover hated to leave the bath, but she did long to see more of The Enchanting Cottage.





Walking into the dining room was like stepping back in time.  In fact, she felt she had been transported to Victorian Europe. 




Oh, it was fantastical.



Beautiful wainscot.



Fabulous ceiling detail.



Pretty chandelier.






Glorious windows.






And a most curious little pachyderm.



There were clocks everywhere.

Small clocks. . .




and tall clocks. . .










and a mantel clock.



Under the mantel stood a wood stove that separated the dining area from the living room.


It possessed ornate wood carving, and metal work.





The cottage was toasty warm, for the wood stove was very efficient.


Each piece of furnitue was perfectly sized for the space.

The upholstery was lovely.

Cottage Lover smiled because Artist Steve had a wonderful eye for mixing fabric patterns.  She knew that he knew that the key is to make sure all the materials are in the same color family.  This makes the room much more interesting.




Another grandfather clock stood guard in the corner, next to an amazing mirror.



Cottage Lover reckoned that Artist Steve was, indeed, very fond of timepieces.





Artist Steve had cleverly remodeled the living room ceiling in the most stupendous way by repurposing a satellite dish. 



 
 
A beautiful stained glass window overlooked the front porch.




A gorgeous coat rack with mirror held Artist Steve's outerwear.




From the living room Cottage Lover walked into the master bedroom.  It was small in size, but extra large in beauty.



Artist Steve's bed was breathtaking.



All hand made and carved by himself.



Cottage Lover heard Captain ask Artist Steve if the portrait of the gentlemen was a relative.




 
"No, just a painting I liked and bought," he said.


The artwork in between the molding was delightful.




But the pièce de résistance was. . .


 the bedroom ceiling.

 
 
Magnifique! 
 
To be continued. . .
 
 
 
(Dear Readers, if you missed Part One of The Enchanting Cottage, you'll find it here.  Part Two is here)
 
Sharing this Cottage Tale with

Random 5 Friday

"If you so choose, each day can be filled with even more joy than the one before.
If you so choose, even the most seemingly random events
can work in your favor." -- Ralph Marston


Greetings Cottage Friends.

We've been traveling this week, so blogging has had to wait.  I missed you, and I'm glad to be back home in time for Nancy's Random 5 Friday.

This week I'm sharing five random photos from our trip to the Oregon Coast.  We're still looking for property, so we decided to combine a real estate search with an early celebration of our fourth wedding anniversary, which is on Valentine's Day.

When we left northeast Oregon on Saturday the temperature was 26 degrees, with a forecast of snow and single digit temps.

#1 - Beach Sunset
Dennis took this photo from our dinner table at Georgie's restaurant in Newport on Sunday night. 




#2 - Beach Morning.
It was in the 40's when we headed south on Monday.


#3 - Heceta Head Lighthouse.
This is one of my favorite spots to photograph. (I last photographed it in July 2013). Located between Yachats and Florence, the lighthouse was built in 1894, is 56' tall and shines a beam visible for 21 miles.  It's said to be the strongest light on the Oregon Coast. 


#4 - Gorse
I believe the bushes with yellow blooms are Gorse, introduced from Ireland to Oregon in the 1800's.  Although pretty, it is invasive.  All I know is that in the middle of winter it was wonderful to see anything green and blooming.

#5 - Crocus
We stopped in Reedsport for lunch.  Dennis stepped outside to take a call, and spotted Crocus in bloom. Of course, he had to snap a photo. 

We're still undecided on where to settle.  However, coming home to snow and -2 degrees does make the coast more tempting.

How's the weather where you live?






 
 

 

 

Every Room In The House Party - #2

Hello Cottage Friends,
 
Welcome to the February edition of

Every Room In The House 

The month-long blog party where we link our posts to the theme room of the month.
 
This month we're partying in

The Living Room (Family Room, too!)

Before we get the party started,
I want to thank all of you who linked up last month
and to those who visited, left nice comments, and became new cottage friends.

Some of you gave me a "shout out" too, and that means a whole lot. Thank you.

I started this party for the purpose of inspiring
all of us who love to feather our nests -- one room at a time.

I'm so inspired by what you shared last month in

The Kitchen.

 I wish I could
feature every single one of you.

I almost did, as you'll soon see.
 
The top three viewed posts
 
 Kitchen Overhaul - My 2014 Challenge from Anne of Design Dreams by Anne. 
Anne shared her plan to remodel her kitchen this year and showed us her inspiration photo.
I love her vision for her new kitchen.
 



 
 Our New Kitchen!  Laurel at The North End Loft is a woman after my own heart. I have a weakness for historic built-ins in a home, and Laurel showed us how the built-in hutch from the dining room wall was incorporated into her new kitchen. 




A Kitchen Tour - Before and After by Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable.
I love a kitchen metamorphosis. 
Kim's is a treat for the eyes.


And now for more kitchen inspiration by category.
 
The Seasonal Kitchen
Jann at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson shared My Winter Kitchen.
I like the way Jann beautifies her kitchen with the seasons.

 
The French Kitchen
  Magali at The Little White House on The Seaside --  who lives in a delightful cottage in Brittany -- is planning a kitchen renovation.    She shared her inspiration in Full Kitchen
It's such a delight to make new friends in other countries.
I look forward to following Magali's kitchen renovation adventure.

 
The Blue and White Kitchen
Do you love blue and white kitchens?  Katie at Let's Add Sprinkles showed us her
blue and white collection in Blue Willow / Winter Décor
So pretty.

 
 
The Keeping Room
The Farmer's Daughter at The Country Farmhouse gives us a lovely tour with
I can't possibly describe this special kitchen (or kitchens). 
You just have to see it to believe it.



The Romantic Kitchen
Penny at Penny's Vintage Home wins my vote for the Most Romantic Kitchen ever with
So dreamy.

 

The Cottage Kitchen
I felt a little sinful ogling Kris's kitchen at Junk Chic Cottage.
Oh, so charming.
 
 
The Farmhouse Kitchen
Teresa at Magazine My Home showed us her wonderful farmhouse kitchen.
I love that ceiling.
 
The French Country Kitchen
Judith at Botanic Bleu gave us a tour of her beautiful kitchen in
So many great design elements in this light, bright kitchen.
Divine.
 
 
Mid Century Redo
 Up With Furniture's Kitchen Reno of her mid-century home's kitchen is smashing.
The use of pale slate for the floors, the ingenious pantry, and so much more.
 
 
 
 
And you know I had to share these great DIY kitchen details
 
Island Love
Who doesn't love a kitchen island?
Melissa at Melissa Ellen's Loft shows off the island her hubby made -
Love the scroll corbels and that rustic top.


Exposing Brick
Sandy at Copper~n~Things exposed a brick chimney in her kitchen.
See it at Number 6
A conversation starter, to be sure.
 
 
What if you want to lighten your kitchen, but don't want to paint
ALL your beautiful wood cabinets?
Here's a beautiful DIY solution by Titia at Crafty Canadian.
Her Final Kitchen Reveal is stunning.


 
 
Budget Kitchen Spruce Up
Kirby at Kirb Appeal managed to spruce up her kitchen with a mere $50.
She shares her experience with a great sense of humor in Kitchen Facelift


Vintage Organization
Karen at Brayton Homestead Interiors
combined function with charm by using vintage jars
 and chalkboard labels
for storage.
Pretty enough to display.


Conquer the challenge of limited storage.
Cindy at DIY Beautify's kitchen has 2 1/2 drawers.
Yes, you read that right. . .2 1/2 drawers.  And she has limited counter and cabinet space, as well.
I love it when ingenuity overcomes challenges while maintaining beauty..
Cindy demonstrates how it's done at Organization In A Small Kitchen.



Add that special  touch.
Deborah at Green Willow Pond
shows us how with
Ooh, I love this.

And finally, because we partied in The Kitchen, the party was open to
Recipes
Kelley @ Kelley Highway shared her tutorial
Don't wait for someone's birthday to make these sweets.
Think Valentine's Day!


 
Thanks so much to all of you for sharing.
 
If you were featured, please grab this button.
 
A Joyful Cottage

And now let's start February's party.
 
Link up your Living Room or Family Room posts.
Room reveals, decorating, DIY, furniture redos, thrift finds --
whatever relates to your living or family room, we want to see it.

(I'm sorry, but if your post doesn't relate to The Living or Family Room, I will delete it.
That's only fair to others who follow the guidelines.)

The party will be open all month.

Let's party!