Our new old stone cottage has some fun features outside, but one unique detail is a blend of outside on the inside ... a custom natural wood stair handrail.
The stairs wrap around the original wood stove brick chimney and separates our dining room from our kitchen.
Truth be told, when I first saw the listing photos, I absolutely positively did NOT like it at all. Was prepared to have it ripped out and replaced with a conventional boring railing and spindles. But, when we stepped foot inside and saw the handrail along with all the other elements that surround it, it just works! Take my word for it - it does. The mix of black granite tile on the risers, warm stained wood on the stair treads and the original brick chimney give the space a unique style that we had not yet discovered.
The fact that we love it surprises even us - our former home was totally safe neutral with no surprise elements. The move to our new old stone cottage has been a fun journey - and quite an exploration! Will let this beauty speak for itself:
It's been a while since we've updated our little blog but now is a great time to revive it! We've had an exciting lifestyle change in the works the past several months as we prepared to sell our country home to relocate to this sweet stone cottage in the "city" about 10 miles away. Well, not exactly a city - more like a small adorable country hamlet - population around 4,000.
We're told our little stone cottage was built in 1900. We've yet to discover the full history of our home and hope to research it soon. We do know that an addition was added and it contains the kitchen. And we've learned that the stone was not original to the home - originally it was typical wood sided farmhouse. The photo above is an older one from a few years ago we found online that shows our home in all its well maintained glory. Isn't it charming?
In a nutshell, a few of the features we immediately fell in love with are .... original wood floors throughout most of the downstairs, 12' ceilings, tons of storage, and an awesome partially covered back deck. Who can resist a large deck with a nice shade tree?
There's also a large front porch, good sized rooms, a huge kitchen island, built-in cabinetry throughout, a nice lawn with space to build a garage, and lots of stone ... have I mentioned the STONE?
The fireplace chimney is an interesting feature and is embellished with an octagonal stained glass window.
Where the front lawn meets the street and where there would typically be plain boring concrete curbing, there's a charming short stone wall.
The gently winding stone path from the street to the front door is also lined by a short stone border. Adorable!
The mailbox at the curb is set in stone as well and the structure is wired for electricity and ready for a pretty light fixture to be installed.
As wonderful as it appears in the above photos, it currently is in need of some TLC ... there are weeds in the lawn, the flower beds are overgrown with weeds, as well as weeds on the stone path between stones. The metal roof needs cleaning and the front porch floor and back deck need stain and sealing. And goodness - the front door needs a pop of color and those front windows are begging for shutters. The front porch also begs for a porch railing.
Fortunately, the interior is updated and move-in ready, although there are about a million things we'd like to add or change to enhance it's charm.
This is how it currently looks - needing love. It has great "bones" and all the wonderful features are still there - just a bit hidden and in need of a little sprucing up.
We know that in time we can revive the curb appeal once again. Fortunately, we love projects and this home provides us with fresh new ones that will be rewarding to accomplish. Our future project list is growing quickly as we see our cottage's potential. We'll try to share before, during and afters of projects as we tackle them and several are already in the works.
You're welcome to follow us on this journey as we polish up our diamond (stone) in the rough!
