Welcome Back to Point Breeze Cottage!

Hello, and welcome back to Point Breeze Cottage, the blog!

Just a little back story on this blog and our home - I started an instagram account as a place to almost pay homage to our historic, little cottage along the Potomac River. And since we've started renovating and there are just so many things I want to remember and document, I figured it was time to bring the old blog back to life.

Before we were married, my {now} husband and I were looking for a place to rent. A few months of being home from college made me realize JUST how nice independence really was :) Anyway, as a 7D girl, my mom and I would drive to Colton's Point to take walks around the neighborhood, my brothers best friend lived there, and it was the closest place to go to see the sunrise. So, when the ad popped up online that the cute waterfront cottage that we always thought would be "so cute if it was fixed up" was for rent, I jumped on it. 

After a phone call to the owner, we realized her family and my family were connected in more ways than one. My Dad and her brother were friends in their younger years, and her nephew and my brother were friends all the way through high school. She asked to meet with us prior to signing any lease agreements to "make sure we were the right fit for her house". The stars aligned, and we were the new tenants of the little cottage by the river that I always admired. 

Fast forward a few years, we're married and wanting to buy our own home or land. We let our landlord know that we were looking to buy something, but that we'd give her as much notice as possible before we broke the lease. It never even crossed my mind to ask her about buying the cottage from her since I knew just how deeply rooted her family history was with this house. But she shocked us both when she called one day to ask if we'd like to buy the cottage. Floored feels more like the right word for my reaction. "If we can swing it or make it work, yes, YES, of course we do!" 

When we went to settlement, she told us that she knew she was making the right decision because she could see just how much we loved and appreciated her family cottage. And if we ever decided to sell it, to call her first. I'm so glad she could see just how much I LOVED this cottage and trusted us with it.

So here we are, about 10 years later, still loving life at Point Breeze Cottage (a name we lovingly bestowed on the old girl). My goal with this home is to preserve her history, keep her story, but give her the facelift, love and attention necessary to fit our growing family.

I hope you follow along with me here and over on instagram {@pointbreezecottage } for a glimpse into what life along the Potomac River has to offer, some historical throwbacks related to our cottage and the family who lived here prior, and the renovations and hard work that have gone into making her our own, all while honoring her past as well. I'll even throw in a few ghost stories and famous faces along the way.

Thanks for being here!
Mindy

Cottage Renovation: Kitchen

In the kitchen we changed the paint color and added a mud room where there used to be a bathroom off the side of the kitchen. It wasn't really in the plans to update the kitchen, but we figured it was the perfect time to update the wall colors and improve on our table and eating area.

I'll share some photos of the entire kitchen soon, but for now take a look at our new kitchen table, custom built-in benches and new-used chairs!

During the renovation there was a little problem with some measurements for our windows in the master bedroom. We were supposed to reuse some of our existing windows, but the openings were a tad too small. So we bought two additional windows and weren't sure what to do with the originals. Just when we were thinking about donating them to Habitat for Humanity my mom came up with a great idea... take out the small, half size windows in the kitchen and replace them with the larger windows from the bedroom. Props to her, because it has opened up the kitchen and allowed SO MUCH beautiful light to shine in! I knew I wanted to turn that area into a booth of sorts, and my awesome grandfather, Pa, helped me out with that. He custom made these beautiful built-in benches that open up for storage! I can't thank him enough, they are perfect!

During one of my softball games at Back Road Inn, Bubba and my friend Kelli made their way over to the Vintage Source who was having their annual summer sale. I couldn't believe my ears when he came back with the news that he saw a table that might work perfectly in our kitchen. Though it's a little big and we had to raise it up about an inch or two, it ended up being exactly what we were looking for! A great mix of country farm style and the streamlined, modern metal.

These sweet little chairs were funky, old and filthy when I found them at the Bargain Barn in Hughesville. And with the help of my grandparents and mom we cleaned them up, primed, painted and waxed them, and then we cut out new seats, new cushioning and new fabric that accents the bench cushions.

I found the bench cushions in a store called At Home in Florida while I was down there visiting my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. I'd searched everywhere in Southern Maryland with no luck, so when I walked into At Home and saw 4 huge aisles chocked full of  cushions I couldn't pass them up. Shoved them into an extra suit case and flew them home with us, and they were a great fit. I underestimated how many I'd need, so my sweet sister-in-law is working on getting me another one. :)

Cottage Renovation: Guest Bathroom

Before the renovation, our only bathroom in the house was tiny and located just off the kitchen. Which made for some very uncomfortable moments during parties and dinners. So one of our main missions during the renovation was to get the bathroom OUT of the kitchen and have more than one. And we were able to do just that! We now have a master bathroom off our bedroom and a guest bathroom for the rest of the house. And for this post, here are a few shots of the guest bathroom:

 

This is probably the most "modernly" decorated room in our house, and I love it!
Grey walls, black and white accents and beautiful grey tiles that were laid by Bubba and his parents. 

I LOVE black and white artwork.

Cottage Renovation: Curb Appeal

Every good renovation includes updating your curb appeal! To show the improvements we've made I want to share a couple of before photos and then what we have today.

The first time we went to visit the cottage while searching for a place to rent.

So small and quaint! The house too...

The backdrop to some of my bridal photos with my bridesmaids.

And now we've removed the screened in porch, added on an addition to the right, and cleaned up the flowerbeds.

Decked out for Memorial Day

Summer Cottage Style!

Unfortunately many people mistake our property for a public beach access point.
So I wanted to let them know it is not, in the prettiest way possible.

Front porch sittin'.

Whipped Strawberry was the color we decided on for the front and back doors.

Hill Family :)

Cottage Renovation: Bedroom

A few pictures of our master bedroom. Our original plan was to turn our old bedroom into our new master, but after several outtakes we decided to readjust our plans. We turned the majority of the new addition into the master bedroom and sitting room.

View of the bedroom from the sitting room.

Built in shelving around the bed.

Built in shelving around the bed.

Bedroom door (open) leading to the new hallway and master bathroom door (closed).