THE COZY COTTAGES: AN UPDATE (+ OUR FLOORING TIPS!)
Paige Hull
Today’s post is a little different than those we usually share in the interest of letting you 'behind the curtain' of running a business. Although we often share about fun collaborations, vintage shopping trips, and the homes we’ve lovingly curated, I can assure you that everything is not fabulous all the time and the tough life stuff does affect our business. The past few months have been a whirlwind since we announced the addition of the Cozy Cottages back in February. We had already gathered decor, picked out tile, and the ball was rolling. As construction (and life) goes, we came up against several unexpected delays that pushed our original May deadline way back. They say when dealing with construction you should expect double the time and double the money you were expecting — and it’s true! That said, we are working through some of life's issues and are aiming to have the cottages completed as soon as possible. We can’t wait to continue sharing sneak peeks with you.
We’re moving into the flooring stage right now, so thought it might be fun to share some of the lessons we learned during Boho’s construction phase.
Because of the large area of Boho’s great room, we had a hard time finding enough authentic wood to fill the space. Smoot did some research and decided to reach out to Lumber Liquidators to order some raw pine samples. He spent several days trying different 'aging' techniques (which meant swinging a hammer and chains at the wood planks, as well as grinding some of the edges) to get it to look just right. We employed our children to stain the wood after Smoot aged it (they were happy to oblige!). Once the stained wood was installed, I painted over the pieces with our signature "Pip" white and kept some of the stained edges show through.
We love the uniqueness of each piece and know that any additional scuff marks will only add to the character of the room! It just goes to show that you can choose to pinch pennies in some areas, and splurge in others.
Top Left: Natalie Lacy Lange, Top Right: Haylei Smith, Bottom: Natalie Lacy Lange
The additional bathroom in Boho is a high traffic area, so we knew we needed something durable. Again, without breaking the bank, we searched for tile that would have the right tones but still provide an organic wood feel. We found tile at Lowe’s that fit the bill perfectly. My favorite part was being able to mix the ‘low-end’ tile with the handmade tile by Forrest Middleton and the cabinet by Jon Dahl in the same room. We adore Forrest and Jon’s craftsmanship and didn’t want to detract from the vanity area as a focal point.
As we get closer to the date of the Cozy Cottages being complete, we’ll announce when booking will be available. Sign up for our email list to be the first to know! In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for more sneak peeks coming soon.