The Little House

March 19, 2022

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Dad Knows Best

In December 2021, we moved my Dad into his new home. During the move, Dad noticed the house two doors down with a “for sale by owner” sign and told me I should look into it. I drove past that little house for about two weeks before finally deciding to call and inquire what they were asking for it. Turned out, it was a great asking price. So, we set up a time to go take a look.

Thorn Cove Abode Little House
The Little House

Let’s Take a Look Inside

From the minute we walked in, I knew it had potential. It had been well taken care of and had no major issues. It needed no major renovations. The little house just needed a little TLC.

We closed on the house in January 2022 and got straight to work pulling out the 40+ year old brown shag carpet. One of the best tips we received about pulling carpet was to cut it into small strips first. That way you can roll it up and dispose of it much easier. We bagged ours up in trash bags and hauled it off. I’ll never forget the smell… yummy {gross}. After the carpet, came tack strips and no less than one billion staples.

The Little House
Mark and I working on the Little House

Know When to Hire Out!

We hired out having the popcorn ceiling scraped {best idea ever}. Honestly, because I wasn’t sure what I was about to get into or if my arms could handle all that overhead scraping. Phew.

Next, came the paint. This is the fun part. The little house really started to take shape with her fresh coat of paint. I decided to stick with my favorite white paint for the walls and add in a beautiful blue/green paint color for the trim and cabinetry. I went with Pigeon from Farrow & Ball, but had it color matched by Sherwin Williams. For the trim and cabinets, we used Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel which is supposed to be the best of the best and hold up really well. The white wall color is Snowbound by Sherwin Williams.

I love a good deal!

For flooring, I ended up finding a great deal at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. I was able to add vinyl plank flooring to the entire house (except the bathroom) for about $700 (!)

The Little House Flooring
Flooring
The Little House
Paint makes a huge difference!

Sheet Vinyl – It’s THAT Good!

For the bathroom, I went with sheet vinyl from Home Outlet. It’s very convincing in person. You wouldn’t know it was sheet vinyl if I didn’t tell you. At only $0.98 a sq ft, we covered the entire bathroom for just a little over $50. Pretty incredible, right?!

The Bathroom

I chose a beautiful vanity with a white carrera marble top from Vintage Tub. We have used them in our own home and absolutely love the products and customer service.

The Kitchen, My Favorite!

The kitchen was my favorite transformation. The only “demo” we did in here was remove the connecting trim between the cabinetry above the sink. This really brightened up the room and let a lot more natural light in through that kitchen window. The paint, bright white countertop and sink really transformed the space.

We went with a faux marble formica countertop that was very affordable. It was $400 total including installation. The sink is a deep, beautiful white fireclay sink. It’s great because it can be undermount or dropped in. And I absolutely love the way the brass faucet pops agains that pretty blue green cabinetry and bright white.

Pretty Little Kitchen

Ready for New Owners

This wasn’t our first renovation, but it did give me the itch to do it again soon. I so enjoy bringing things back to life. It’s amazing what a little TLC can do. Hopefully, we will have our beach house plan picked out soon and we can dive back into some more design details! For more of our projects, be sure to check out the DIY section of my blog!

Thorn Cove Abode The Little House

Additional Sources

Kitchen faucet

Bathroom faucet

Vanity light

Schoolhouse light

Bedroom ceiling fans

Living room ceiling fan

Unfinished wood knobs

Black privacy knobs

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  1. Sabiene says:

    Love this little house and wish I could have just picked it up and moved it on my property as a guest house.

  2. Sabiene says:

    Did you sell it yet?

  3. Kristin says:

    Stunning! You rock 💚

  4. Lisa Gomes says:

    Did you guys sell it or keep and rent it out? I seem to remember (🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️) thought I did anyway🤦🏻‍♀️😂-ya all were renting it? It’s such a cute house!!! Now I saw today on my quick checking and my in between of errands, did you guys buy a new fixer????? Oh and HBD to Mr Mark🎉🎉🎉🥳

    • Brittany Smith says:

      We have the home from last year rented. Initially, we were going to flip but decided to try our hand at renting. Ironically, at the same time this year I happened upon another fixer upper that we’ve just began to renovate.

  5. Emily Benton says:

    Fabulous! Love seeing your creativity at work. You are such an inspiration! Keep spreading the joy, girl 🤩

  6. Thanh Hung says:

    It’s so beautiful. I have some new ideas for my little house. Thank u so much for sharing! Keep up the good work!.