Ten Cottage Style Renovation Project Ideas

The end of the year is traditionally a time of reflection.

It's a great opportunity to look back and take stock. To check in to see how the plans made in January turned out.

And what popped up that hadn't been planned at all.

The amount of renovations we accomplished during the last twelve months certainly fell into the latter category.

At the start of the year, I was sure that I would finally, finally find a new sofa to replace my beloved, but well worn, floral couch.

And I did.

However, the amount of renovations that one, supposedly simple, swap triggered was insane.

As December fades into the horizon, our home has been almost completely madeover.

Inside and out.

Did you catch them all?

Well, in case you missed them, I thought this would be a fun time to revisit all those before and afters and count down the ways my tiny has changed in order of popularity.

According to you.

Let's take a peek, shall we?

Number 10

Let's start out with my unexpected basement makeover. 


This one was not on the list, but after everything else was looking fresh and new, we figured why not.

We really didn't replace more than the sofa and a few accessories, but what a difference it made.

Number 9

Wallpaper is all the rage now and I hopped on the bandwagon this fall.


We added it to our family room to level up our cottage style decor. It looks absolutely fabulous, if I do say so myself. 

And it wasn't that difficult to do.

Here's exactly how to hang floral wallpaper to perfectly match up all those dainty petals.

Number 8

Those flowers were only part of a very dramatic family room makeover. 


It's the one room we truly planned on renovating. Well, we really just planned on replacing the sofa with a checked version.

But when the dust finally settled, and there was a lot of dust, we'd repainted, ripped up the carpet and put down a new floor, added fresh moulding, a new window seat, curtains, a custom bay window rod.

The aforementioned wallpaper...and a new ottoman, which Santa delivered himself just days before Christmas.

Ho Ho Ho.

Number 7

When we ripped up that carpet in the family room, we had to remove it from the stairs that led to the basement, too.


The rooms are attached and it would've looked silly to leave it there.

Besides, the carpet was 20 years old and ready for a replacement.

I wanted to leave the stairs, uncarpeted, but after a tiny tumble, we decided that installing a runner rug on those old, uneven steps was the safer option.

It also turned out to be the more attractive one.

Number 6

The next two renovations were actually tied in our countdown.

I guess once our full hallway makeover was revealed, everyone wanted to know exactly how we did it.


I'll be honest, this room was probably the most work, even though it was the tiniest space to get an overhaul.

However, it's so light and bright now, and feels like we have a new room in the house, not just a passthrough, I hardly remember all the construction.  

Well.

Maybe I remember a little. 

Number 5

Clearly, the most dramatic part of that new space was the painted floor.

It was such a huge change from the dark, wall to wall patterned carpet.

But there were a lot of questions about it and in how to paint an old wood floor, we answered them all.

As for a follow up, I'll check in this summer, but right now, it still looks as good as new.

Number 4

While it would be overwhelming enough to renovate so many room inside, you might remember that we also did a lot of updating outside.

Everything from the roof, the pool liner, the fence and driveway were replaced. A busy year indeed.

However the spot that really grabbed your attention, was the patio.


We tore up the old concrete slab and put down gorgeous, sand colored pavers in its place.

While that wasn't a DIY job, the new wooden deck my husband built absolutely was...and it became my favorite evening perch to oversee my lovely {much improved} exterior view.

Number 3

Number three bridges the gap between indoors and out. It's my very sweet, lightly madeover covered porch.


Like the basement, this room just needed a tiny kiss of upgrading.

Fresh cushions, a few thrift store accessories, flowers and candlelight, turned my dated screened in room into a cottage style beach retreat.

It wasn't on the list at the beginning of the year, but I'm so happy we decided to tackle it.

Is it summer yet?

Number 2

I have to say, you guys love flooring.

No joke, in addition to our painted floor and our stair remodel, you visited how to install laminate vinyl flooring more than almost any other DIY.


I was a little nervous about his one, I loved the carpeting in that room. It was warm and soft and made the room look so cozy.

Of course, now I can't imagine it any other way.

It's even more snuggly than it was before, if possible, but at the same time that new floor makes the room feel fresh and modern.

Clearly, you all have very good taste.

Ok so now we're ready to reveal the most visited, most shared, most popular renovation project of the year.

As shocked as I was with what ranked number one out of all the year's crafty projects, I'm equally as shocked here.

Once again, a solution outranked a before and after reveal.

What is this helpful hint, you ask?

Number 1

Coming in at number one is what to do when you pick the wrong color paint.

Ok, so truly, not that shocking.

It's a very common occurrence. I mean let's face it, choosing a paint is hard.


The swatches never look the same on the wall.

Lighting and wall texture can cause large variations in tone and sometimes what you thought you wanted, just doesn't work in real life.

Fear not, you're not alone, there's always an out and we listed several to help you find the way.

Whoa - that was a whole lot of DIY for one year.

And while that list was quite exhaustive and covered much of this tiny house, believe it or not, we're not done yet.

The kitchen is more than twenty years old and needs to be painted.

The bathroom vanities each have their own little issues.

And one of these days, I really would like to have an actual apron front farmhouse sink.

So keep your eyes peeled for those upcoming DIYs.

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful New Year's celebration, whether you're partying with friends or cuddling up at home. 

I'd also like to take this opportunity thank you for spending another creative year with me. I truly appreciate each visit, comment and email. Nothing thrills me more when you fill up the comment section with your own stories and tales of DIY.

After all, it's no fun talking to yourself.

I look forward to many more creative pursuits in 2023 and hope you'll be there to join me as we craft our way through it! 🥂

Cheers!