Let’s go snoop upstairs, You know you want to! :)

When Erick & I moved into Corner Cottage it was barely livable, cobwebs, spiders, dirty and old everything. The stairs were covered with pink and blue floral carpet. We would love to open the stairwell with spindles, but need to see if it’s a load bearing wall first! ;) We sanded the steps and added a 1/8” board to the faces that had severe damage to cover them up. We also put a thin trim of moulding along under each step to give it a finished look. (that’s how I learned to use a nail gun, oh yeah baby!) Josie loves the steps but is terrified to give it a go and try them. Luckily for us, she won’t go up! :D

Since we have 13 steps, I put a fairy door with a #14 at the top of the steps. For peace of mind ya know.. lol No more tumbles and we have a fairy god mother looking out for us! ;) Btw, she’s an Urban fairy. Look in, don’t you love her home?! Great style!  If you look close enough, you might see her shadow flying out the back door The railings were a nightmare to clean up and paint. It had layers upon layers of paint. Also, the floors under the carpet were stained a dark orange rust colour. YUCK! We had to refinish everything!

After my husband and I both took a tumble down the stairs, we needed a railing asap. We found a pair of old boat oars at an antique mall and after cleaning them up they certainly did the trick and made the stairs up to code!  *Note: I used all my wallpaper samples in frames to fill in the wall space on a budget!

I ordered a beautiful honeycomb floor register for the hallway and I love the look of it. I can’t believe we were able to get that orange out of the wood fir floors!

On the landing we had a rotten window that must’ve leaked for years, we had to knock out the wall to clean out the mold and treat it, as well as replace the window. Because the side walls and ceiling had a weird plaster finish from the 30’s or 40’s, we had to do something… that something was wallpaper!

The wallpaper really did the trick! I didn’t have to worry about the paint on the wall having a smooth finish that didn’t match up or.. us not replicating the plaster correctly.

We Just put in a new window and have yet to finish the trim around it. I call this the Airedale room aka a room for the nieces and nephews to visit aunt Nila! * The little wooden pull toy was the first time I tried to make a wooden toy. I used the leftover wood from projects to make it. :D
 

This is my coastal Airedale picture by the wonderful artist Todd Young

The second guest room I wanted to feel a little more adult-like and welcoming.

I am always terrified a guest will hit their head.. but isn’t it charming? Below you’ll find the built in drawers. I put a little bead board in there for texture, but I’d LOVE to have a mini flat screen for guests to enjoy in place of the mirror. Thank you all for being my guest! So… which room would you choose to stay the night?

This is an closer view of a photo transfer on wood that I made to set on the chair in our guest room.  Josie and I go to the lavender fields every July to buy lavender, eat icecream and enjoy the glorious smell around us. *Yes, we share a peach lavender icecream cone, lick for lick… until she makes a long stringer… then it’s all hers! lol

Share This Story

Home Love Stories

You May Also Like

26 Comments

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

    So charming and warm Nila. I love that you used wallpaper. I don’t think people use it as much these days, myself included, but when I see it I love it! Your built in chest of drawers is just perfect and I’m always drawn to anything with numbers so I really like what you did with your steps. I’m especially charmed by your fairy door. I’ve never heard anything like that but it’s my newest idea to steal! How did you come up with that and where do I get one??

  4. 6
  5. 7
  6. 9

    Nila, you’ve done it again! I love your attic space – the built-ins, the colors, and all the special little touches are so charming and inviting. I can tell Corner Cottage is a special, special place being brought back to life with lots of love. Beautiful!

  7. 11
  8. 12
  9. 13

    CHARMING! You are so creative! Your hard work is really paying off Nila! The Fairy door! Amazing! Every home should have one!
    The airdales both real and hand-crafted are so appealing. I’d be happy in either room. Your warmth and hospitality radiate from every corner. Well done! 🙂

  10. 14

    Thank you all for your very kind comments. It means to world to me to have some feedback & real opinions from fabulous interior homemakers and designers such as yourselves. 😀
    To answer your questions about the Fairy door. I got the idea after reading about the urban fairy doors all over Ann Arbor, Michigan. I researched and there are several makers online. I purchased mine on Etsy

  11. 15

    Come on, your home is insanely beautiful and full of clever and interesting details. If I had a chance to spend the night, I would start in one room and wake up in the middle of the night to change rooms so I could stay in them both. And I would include a session of sleeping on those beautiful stairs.

  12. 16
  13. 17

    Nila, I was up past midnight shopping for my fairy door lol!! I love the story behind them and now I’d love to put one inside my house and out in the yard! Thanks for my new obsession ?

  14. 18
  15. 19

    Nila you have created a stunning home. I couldn’t find a part of it that I didn’t like. I know what you mean about hard work sanding the staircase though as I did that in a previous house. The previous owner had varnished every door and the spindles on the staircase with a dark treacle colour varnish and it took weeks of sanding to get it all off. Funny how we all like different things though as maybe the people that live there now coloured it dark treacle instead of the pale honey colour that I love

  16. 20

    Hi Nila! I love the #’s on the steps and your stair landing turned out so nice! The wall paper is perfect for that wall where it’s not too overwhelming. And your guest rooms are adorable! Your fairy door plaque is so cute! If I had 13 steps, I would put that there too!! I see, you and your husband have really worked hard in renovating your house, that has now made it your HOME! It’s so Charming! 🙂

  17. 21

    This story of yours is a hite with my 9-year-old daughter, Jade. She just loves the Airedale room. She wants to invite herself into that room. I love the gingham pillow and the bunting garland. I so admired your stairway reno and all your other reno projects. They all turned out just so much more functional and beautified. I would love a flat screen tv on the wall in the second guest room with Bose sound system. What do you think?

  18. 23
  19. 24
    • 25

      Thanks so much Judy! I just ordered a new Dash & Albert throw rug for one of the rooms,
      and I will post a pic when it arrives 🙂

  20. 26

    It’s the best time to make a few plans for the future and
    it is time to be happy. I have learn this submit and if I may just I desire to counsel you
    some fascinating things or suggestions. Perhaps you could write subsequent articles relating to this article.
    I desire to learn even more things approximately it!

Leave a Reply to Cherie (north yorkshires craft guru) Kemp Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>