Old Doors

I love old doors. I could spend an entire day just looking through them and admiring their beauty. One of the beautiful features of old doors is they greet you and welcome you in. I can't help but wonder about an old door as I admire it. I wonder about the family and friends they have welcomed; I wonder about the storms they have seen and the storms they have kept out; about the celebrations they have opened their arms to. I envision their squeaky hinges and a family member running to the door to greet a welcomed visitor. I wonder about the hands that have knocked on the door or the family dog that has sat in front of one hoping someone will remember to let him/her in.

Have you noticed how a door adds appeal to a house, like lipstick that brightens and enlivens a face so a beautiful door brightens and enlivens the front of a house. A beautiful door is always noticed, it's part of the curb appeal of the home. We decorate them for the seasons of the year and spruce them up with a coat of paint when they are looking a little droopy. It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul; maybe a door is the heart; it opens to friends but closes to foes; it's either locked or unlocked.

I remember when I was a wee little one, it was a thrill when there was a knock at the door, it meant someone was paying us a visit. Our door always seem to be opened to our neighbors and people in our community. I can say, I don't remember anyone coming to our door who was not welcomed in. I remember the front door being opened to catch any hint of a breeze in the heat of summer. It would be opened first thing in the morning and shut before retiring to bed. I remember the thrill of coming through that door when I had moved away from home and had come back for a visit. Seeing that door meant I was home again.

There's another door I am reminded of. Jesus said “I am the Door, if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture”. John 10:9. I entered that Door when I was very young and can honestly say I have indeed found good pasture. My soul's hunger has been satisfied. It is the best door I have ever opened.

Next time you see a door I hope you will take notice of it. It's more than just a piece of wood on hinges. Maybe that door will have a story to tell.

Brrrr.....It's Cold Outside!

I hope the photo of this lovely hydrangea caught your attention in your blog roll. I started to use a photo of a snowman but I'm assuming many of the great people out there in blogland are sick of snow and would roll right past anything snow related. This seems the time of year when the heart and mind starts to long for the warm breeze of Spring. I must admit, I feel a little itch in my fingers to dig but the ground is quite cold at the moment and digging would be pointless and a fruitless endeavor.



My flower gardens are still sound asleep. They look pretty pathetic at the moment but when I look at the pictures I took the last couple of years while the gardens were in full bloom, well...in my mind I can almost feel the warmth of the summer heat on my back as I lean over to tend to the garden.

Aren't these Annabelle hydrangeas lovely? Every year they are heavy with white blooms. I am never disappointed in them. They are very happy blooming where they have been planted. They become so heavy my husband put a white fence in front of them to hold them up. He's so handy!




These are oak leaf hydrangeas. They are every bit as stunning as the rest of the hydrangeas in my cottage garden. They were given to me by a friend. Have you ever noticed that the flowers that do best in the garden are those that came second hand by a friend? They just seem so happy to travel to a new place and seem to bloom just to check the place out....I know that's weird but if flowers could talk...well, it could be their story.



Another plant given to me; this one came from a neighbor. One day while I was out walking, I stopped at a neighbor’s house; she was out tending her garden so I stopped for a short visit. While we were talking I admired this plant shown in the photo. Come to find out it is called Bee Balm. I had never heard of it before. She offered to give me a sprig of it to start in my own garden; told me it would attract bees and hummingbirds. She put the startling in a cup and I proudly brought it home. I hate to admit this but I hastily put it in an old can or pot and left it out all summer this way. I watered it occasionally and thought to myself "you better plant that before it dies", but I rushed off to do other things. Finally, toward the end of Autumn I planted the Bee Balm, not really expecting it to survive over the winter. The next Spring I noticed something I didn't recognize coming up in my garden; I decided to let it grow and find out if it was friend or foe. As you probably expect, it was the Bee Balm. Not only did it survive, it's been thriving. Each Spring since I planted it, I have to pull out the overflow of this plant, otherwise, it would take over the garden. I've heard, since I planted it, that it’s a weed but I don't think so, it looks too pretty in my garden.




My lavendar; it's planted with the roses and they compliment one another dramatically. I love its fragrance and use it in little sachet pillows and other things. It's a fabulous grower!



Coropis; I love the color! They seem so cheery. The yellow against the blue green leaves is simply a summer delight. This is one of those plants you could stick a sign in that says SIMPLIFY because they are easy to grow and they thrive in the worst of conditions.




The Shasta daisies are such smilers! They raise their heads to the sky and seem to smile. Maybe they are saying thank you to the Creator for making them so beautiful. Cheery little flowers! Some yarrow is mixed in there too. I'm not to fond of this variety of yarrow but they have a home here in the garden and this is where they are staying.




And the rose. Maywood Cottage is the home of 5 variety of roses so far...that's so far, as in there will certainly be more. I took the photo of this rose after a tremendous storm last year. I was so amazed that any of the roses survived such a beating. I blogged about it at on my "The Old Cupboard Door" blog. You can read it here: http://www.theoldcupboarddoorblog.com/2010/06/story-of-rose.html

I hope you have enjoyed a stroll through my gardens. I've got big plans and new ideas for the garden this year. I can almost smell the sweet musty smell of the soil and feel the spade in my hand....it gives me something to dream about while we are waiting out this long cold winter.

Thanks for visiting Maywood Cottage.

~willa~

My Love:

34 years ago I made the best choice of my life; I married my Sweetie. We had big hopes and dreams for our life together on that day, but funny thing is, I can't remember what those hopes and dreams were and frankly I don't think they could have turned out any better than the life we've lived. We seen our share of sorrow and trouble; we've been tested and walked through valleys of despair; but, there have been more good times than bad times. We've lived an incredibly blessed life together. Being together has made us stronger like the 3 fold cord Solomon spoke of in Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

I can't imagine my life without this wonderful man. He has been my harbor in life's storms, an anchor for my wayward ship; he's also been my voice of reason when I've had hair brained ideas. He's my companion in life and sometimes my partner in crime (before you get any ideas, not any law breaking offenses; mischievous ones, you know we all commit those crimes!). He's held my hand when I was sick and prayed a prayer over me; he's defended me, even when I was guilty. He tells me he loves me and that I'm beautiful although I look a wreck. He's my super hero defending me against spiders, scary dark places, mean spirited people, and all things that give me a fright. He even watches chick flicks with me. I could go on and on; there is so much I have left unsaid here but I've painted a pretty good picture of the wonderful man he is and how fortunate I am that God put us together.

I'm thankful for each day we have together and hope and pray we will spend another 34 years loving one another. Thanks Sweetie for being my one and only!

My First Maywood Cottage Giveaway

Thank you for visiting Maywood Cottage. Maywood Cottage has a story behind it. It's not an old house that is filled with memories of yesteryear families, but a new house circa 2005. We are the first family to live in this house and already it is collecting memories. Wonderful memories and sounds of family are being stored in its walls. Its cottage gardens have been planted by me and my husband. I often think of the next family that will someday live in this house, if they will appreciate the hard work that has gone into the gardens; if they will enjoy the beauty of the rose bushes, butterfly bushes, lavender, hydrangeas and the other plants we have lovingly placed into the earth around Maywood Cottage. Yet, this is not the story I want to tell of Maywood Cottage. I will be telling that story in another post. But for now.....

I have a giveaway to tell you about. If you have visited my blog "The Old Cupboard Door" you have seen the raw product of this giveaway. It came to me as a hickory cabinet door. My sister-in-law picked several of these wooden doors up at a garage sale and sent them to me. Isn't it funny how people think of you? A young man sitting next to me at work asked me if I garden; he said you look like someone who loves to garden: How did he know? My sister-in-law saw these doors and knew I would love them: How did she know? Is there a ticker tape running over my head that tells people who I am and what I love? That's a scary thought! Anyway, I love that these doors provide a frame for art. Frames are expensive and hey if you can paint on something that frames your work without an additional cost, well, I'm all for that.

This piece is a Terry French Design. It is a whimsical piece that will fit in a cottage style home or a prim home (must be that thing with me being stuck between these 2 worlds of design). I sat it in my kitchen behind my coffee station (you can see that area in the photos of my kitchen in a prior post) and it looked so adorable. As a matter of fact, I wanted to keep it to add to my cottage kitchen redo but since I had already mentioned the giveaway in a previous post at "The Old Cupboard Door" I couldn't very well be greedy, could I. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian friends. For those who signed on to follow Maywood Cottage and posted a comment before I posted the giveaway, you will be given an extra chance to win, as promised. This is going to be a longer than usual giveaway. The drawing will be March 1st. Please follow the rules listed below to be eligible for this drawing.

Would you please mention this giveaway on your blog, FB or Tweet it. I would so appreciate it. I am going to be sharing a lot of ideas, before and afters and tutorials here at Maywood Cottage and would love to build up my following. Thanks bunches!

Rules for the Giveaway:

You must be a follower

You must post on this thread; I will only be using names listed in this thread.
If you do not have a blog, please leave your email address. If you do have a blog but it’s difficult to get in touch with you on that blog, please leave your email address as well.

You must have a US or Canadian address.

That's it! Good luck to everyone.
~willa~

New Stuff

I went to one of my favorite antique stores a few days ago and started my collection of cottage items I want for my home. I spent a while looking around, deciding on the type of items I want to put in my kitchen. I had seen this bread box a few months ago and wanted to buy it but didn't think it would fit in with my decorating scheme. Maybe that's because I was stuck between two decorating worlds. I didn't expect it to still be in the shop and when I saw it, I knew it was meant to be. I wanted something unique to hold my pot holders and kitchen towels; I knew I had found what I was looking for when I picked up this biscuit tin. The teapot was only 3.95 how could I resist that? Can’t wait for my next jaunt through the magical land of antiques and vintage wares.

Oh, one thing about shopping in my favorite antique/vintage shops of late is, that once upon a time I looked at these beautiful items in the light of what I would paint on them; now, I look at them with the critical eye of how they will fit into my home. Don't worry, I still plan to paint on vintage wares, after all, painting is in my blood. I knew I had paint fever when I saw a large propane tank in someone’s yard and wondered what I could paint on it…..sick!

I will be finishing the give away item by Monday; be watching for the giveaway announcement.

~willa~

Shutters: a must have.

Cottage style shutters: One of the items I will be doing this Spring or early Summer. For me, shutters are like eyes brows to eyes; a cottage window without them is like a eyes without eyebrows, frameless.

Currently, I have vinyl shutters on the cottage, I would like to replace them with some made of wood. I have searched the internet for the style I want and they are expensive…I mean EXPENSIVE. So what’s a girl to do? I know what this girl is going to do; I’m going to enlist my Sweetie to make me some. This is similar to the shutter I would like him to make; They are almost on the shaker side so I'm not real firm in this decision; spring is a couple of more months off so I have time to change my mind.

I will also be adding some window planters, I've always loved them; they certainly speak cottage style to me. It will be an opportunity to garden, which I love to do. I've already researched the type of window planters I want. I can't wait to get started!



These are the shutters I have on the house, aren't they awful! I don't mind the color, it's that they are vinyl and I don't care for the style. I thought about painting them until I could order the shutters I want but everything I have read on painting vinyl sounds like it won't work; eventually they will fade and peel. What a mess that would be not to mention the extra work.

My Kitchen.....

I snapped a few photos of my kitchen so I could study them and decide what I am going to do in this cottage transformation. I was going to wait and share them with you in the before and after segment of that transformation but I decided to share them now and get your imput. Should I paint them or not? Can you have a cottage kitchen with light colored oak cabinets? What do you think? I know for sure I want to change out my countertops to quartz but I'm still undecided about the cabinets. As I stated before, it's my biggest fear in all of this.



I do like the color of the paint on the wall. It is a soft sage green with a grey undertone. But....isn't there always a but? I like the warm neutral greys that are on the market today. One thing I have learned from past mistakes, painting mistakes that is, is to wait until I have picked out more of the big decorative items first. If I choose a countertop that has pink in it, a paint with green tones will not work, at least not for me. Another mistake I have learned from is how light affects the color of the paint. Last summer we went to Nashville to help some friends paint the house they had recently moved into. My friend, Cathy, made her paint choices and had them mixed. We took them back to the house and began painting. We each took a wall to paint. It was a grey rainy day and the paint she had chosen had a grey undertone. The wall I was working on recieved the least amount of light in the room. As I worked, I noticed the paint looked quite grey on that wall. When Cathy walked in she exclaimed in a rather loud voice "that paint is grey!". I knew the color looked more grey because of the light and tried to explain this to her but she would not be convinced so she mixed all the paints together, mind you, it was all the same color. I began painting the wall AGAIN, it still looked the same but when the sun came out and more light poured into the room, it looked like the color on the color swatch. Speaking of swatches; when the color swatch was held up to the wall, before she mixed the paint together, it matched perfectly; but it was her house and not mine so what's a little more paint rolling between friends.

Backsplash; I've never really liked this backsplash on the wall. I like the subway tile backsplash and will be using it, it certainly says cottage style to me. I also like the glass tiles that are out there but I think they are fad-ish and will look dated in 5-10 years. While I don't mind repainting in 5 years, I don't want to have to redo any big things to update. For me, subway tiles are classic. I like to have color in the kitchen so I won't be taking the backsplash up the entire wall. That always looks to heavy to me.

As you can see, I already have stainless steel appliances, I won't have to change those. Whew! wiping my brow with relief! That is a big expense. Also, the floors are already hardwood and I won't be changing those....another whew and swipe of the brow.


Here's another shot of the stainless steel appliances. If I could redo this stove I would not get a black topped stove. It's a real dust collector. I can wipe it and 2 minutes later it seem like it is dusty again. Yes, I do use it everyday, it's not just a dust collector but that black shows everything.

The microwave over the stove is wonderful; it has freed up my counter tops for other uses. There won't be any changes there even though I love those fancy cottage style hood vents, that microwave stays!

The knobs on the cabinets are brushed nickle. I won't ever get those again. They did not wear very well. There are so many choices on the market today just at Lowes or Home Depot, and there are also choices you can find on the internet. Gotta decide about painting those cabinets before I get as far as choosing cabient jewelry.



I love this bar. It's roomy enough for 6 barstools although we only have 4. I'm not sure if I will put quartz countertops on it or use butcher block. I love the idea of butcher block to break up the reflective surface that comes from a quartz or granite countertop but my Sweetie doesn't like the idea of butcher block. Who do you think will win? As is, this piece is not cottage style at all but with a little tweaking I hope it will at least blend in with my cottage goal. I will be adding some beadboard to the back part of the bar and change out the corbels to something more cottagey. If I don't end up painting the cabinets I will at least paint this. Maybe painting it will give me the courage to do the rest of the cabinetry. I can see this painted a cream color with the butcher block countertops and the beadboard. I'm getting excited about all of this.






Here's the front view of the bar. Plain Jane, isn't it? Those are a few of my plans. I know it is going to be a time consuming effort. I really want to do this on a shoe string budget. I hope I can pull it off. I will be doing a little at a time; with working a full time job, time is precious and I don't have a lot of it once I get home from work. Another reason for taking it slow is to pay everything as I go. Don't want any debt from this adventure.

Well, that's a look at my kitchen. If you have any ideas to share feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

~willa~

Before & After Kitchen Renovations: Country Kitchens: Creative Kitchen Renovation

For a while I have been collecting photos of cottage style living. I buy the different cottage style magazines and drool over them. I love seeing the before and after photos where a room has been transformed from dark and dreary to a light filled cottage room. I'm always attracted to the kitchen photos, like this one. I love the light colors and the touch of vintage with the school style lamps. This is one of those photos that I look at then look at my own kitchen. My kitchen has light colored oak cabinets. The counter tops are light colored Formica and the floors are a medium oak. Everything in it looks like it is the same colored oak....or almost; there are a couple degrees in the shades. My kitchen is definitely on my list for a transformation. This photo is my inspiration. I want to paint my cabinets and change my counter tops. Well, I don't want to paint the cabinets yellow as in this photo but a nice cream color with some antiquing (I still love that touch of the primitive style). The main thing that is stopping me is the fear of painting those cabinets. Seriously, I'm having a hard time getting past that fear. I worry that they will chip or peel, and believe me it would be costly to buy new cabinetry. So, I am going to get some quotes to have them painted by a professional. This would also set my next fear to rest and that is getting into the project and losing steam, you know, not finishing them for 2 or 3 years because I don't have the time to work on them. I'll keep you posted on the process and the progress. Oh, I'll post a photo of my kitchen once I've cleaned it up, don't want to scare you away!

~willa~

Welcome to My Country Cottage.

I have been so excited about starting this new blog. I am country cottage at heart. Honestly, I don't know why I waited so long to do this. We moved into Maywood cottage in 2006 and I must say I have been stuck between styles. I love the primitive style; the worn, often tattered look of yesteryears goods but my heart really belongs to the cottage style. Its mix and match of old and new has always appealed to me. I love the floral, stripes, checks, paisleys....well, just all of it. Throw in a few farmhouse items and I'm happy.

While the style of this house is cottage there is still a whole lotta cottage that needs to happen. Now that I have made up my mind what direction I want to go there’s going to be a lot happening here at Maywood Cottage. Now to make up my mind where to start. I have the bones of a cottage style garden with all the roses, hydrangea, lavender, lilies, and wisteria, to name a few; perhaps I will start in the garden. But then again, I love to paint and create so maybe I will start inside the house with a new coat of cottage style color. And, I have been scouring the local antique and vintage shops, making my list of things I want to add here and there to make that comfy cottage home. Well, you will just have to visit often to see what is happening at Maywood Cottage.
~willa~