Friday, February 22, 2013

Renovation: Before and After

The new window shades have arrived! We had to order a special size for our 3 lakeside windows because they were specially ordered windows, too. (Plus, we added a new window to our room, which originally only had 2.) We absolutely LOVE the new shades! They are Bali cordless cellular shades. They cost a bit more than some, but they are so easy to put up/pull down and give the room a warm and cozy feel! My hubby helped me choose one of the hundreds of colors that were available and I'll have to say, he pinned matching the color to our carpet and furniture perfectly!
Below: Finished windows, with shades all the way up. I love how they are practically hidden above the windows!


Before: lakeside wall, new window opening is made.
 Before: Window opening being cut out of the wall
 After: That extra window really opened up the combination living/dining area! The views of the lake are awesome!
Before: The side wall in the living room area had a small window with no view. We decided to take out the window and make more wall space, which was limited in the room.
My hubby, filling in the opening.
After: Our new flat-screen T.V. fit perfectly on our newly paneled wall!


Cellular shades are wonderful! There are lots of options for what you want in your window treatments. We got "light filtering" that lets in sunlight, but still provides privacy, or there are also room darkening blinds. There are different numbers of cells (or honeycombs) which insulate at different levels. You can get them cordless or corded. And there are shades that raise to the top or you can get shades that raise up and/or pull down. (I love how, with just one little push or pull, I can set the shades at any point in the window.)

After: I love the view from our dining room table!

Before: Outside view
After: Outside view


Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you a warm and enjoyable weekend!

Ann
“Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace” Spanish Proverb

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12 comments:

  1. Fabulous renovation!! How lucky! :)

    I'm visiting you today from Thursday's Favorite Things. Thanks for linking up!

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    1. Thanks for stopping in, Rosey! It's so great to meet other bloggers every time I link-up!

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  2. Wow, wow, wow, what a view!! No wonder you wanted windows there. They look fantastic and the shades are just perfect. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your renovations!! Thanks for popping by my blog, spring 'was' here but it is now snowing outside??! English weather hey, no wonder we talk about it all the time! Have a great weekend. Chel over at Sweetbriar Dreams x

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Chel! I really like your blog, too! I will keep posting changes to our little cottage, so please stop in again! I can totally relate to weather changes. I guess we take what we can get, right!?

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  3. Oh wow - love the makeover...you can really tell the difference from the exterior photos.

    I'm stopping by to say 'hi' from Katherine's Favorite Things Thursday - better late than never.

    http://artpark78.com/blog1

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    1. Hi, Yona! So glad you stopped by to say 'hi'. It's always a pleasure to meet new bloggers. I also enjoyed visiting your blog!

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  4. I love what you did! It looks like what you did, should have been done to begin with! Awesome job!

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    1. Actually, our cottage had been remodeled several times before we even purchased it. It was originally built in 1937 and at that time was a small 3 room cabin. There was actually a door where we added the new lakeside window. I have some original pics that one of these days I'll post. Thanks for dropping by.

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  5. Hi Ann, thank you for your nice post at my blog: Sprucelake Cottage. Yes I am also from the midwest, Ohio. We are lucky as we actually own the lake we live next to and 50 acres surrounding it. The lake itself is about 7 acres. I am a fairly new blogger and enjoy reading many of the decorating blogs. Your pictures are lovely and how great to have all those windows with the beautiful view. I don't know about you but I am sooo ready for spring. I hope my orchid does good since I never had one before. I will start following your blog also...have a good day. Debra Sue

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    1. How cool, Sue! Your very own lake, and lots of room to grow! I look forward to staying in touch and reading about your lake cottage life!

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  6. It's a quiet Saturday here in the Davis household, so I thought I'd catch up on your cottage blog! I LOVE the before and after pictures! You guys are doing such a fabulous job! The place looks great! There is such a transformation by adding the window and new siding, etc.! Beautiful!

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  7. What an amazing view! You were so so right to do some moving around with the windows. Such great payoff!

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