Home DecorBuffalo Stone Cottage Design Plan June 2, 2017Thank y’all so much for all of the sweet comments about our next step in this adventure, The Buffalo Stone Cottage. We’re so excited about this reno and the simple living that will go along with it and it’s so awesome to hear you guys are as well! It’s going to be a fun one, y’all. Just like I did with The Buffalo Bungalow, I came up with an overall design plan for the house. For me, it’s really important for a house to feel cohesive and having an overall inspiration and vision for the space as a whole works to create that. While each space won’t look exactly alike, there will be a consistent feel and elements that appear in each room in some way. When we first saw this house, we immediately felt like it fit not just the budget/paying off debt vision, but also what we envisioned for this next season. The kind of life we envision for this next season is simple. We want to streamline our stuff and how we spend our time to create space for what matters. We want to plant a charming garden out back and teach the kids how to grow their own food, harvest it, and make meals with it. {via} We want to create a haven outside that encourages us to get outdoors, enjoy nature, play, and linger with friends and family. We want to create a beautiful, but most importantly, functional and meaning-filled space for our family that encourages us to prioritize each other and have a slower pace of life where we enjoy it more fully. We’re craving the kind of simple, slow life that you find when you get away from it all and retreat to the country. But moving out of our city to acres and acres doesn’t fit our family vision right now and may never. While there is so much that is appealing about that, there’s so much about city-living we’d miss and we feel called to be in a neighborhood like this right now. So, we decided the best option was to bring that same country vibe to our little city plot. So, when we pulled up to look at our stone cottage, it immediately felt perfect because it reminded me so much of an old country house. As I’ve designed several houses, I’ve realized more and more that designing a space should be about so much more than just what you like or what you think is pretty. Having a pretty, welcoming home you love matters. But I think the best way to create a home you’ll love is by letting the life you want to have there inspire it. And that’s exactly what we did. We’re channeling all of the character of an old family, country house and adding some fresh twists throughout. Here’s some images that are inspiring our direction: I’m thinking age, rustic and old textures, layered vintage-feeling patterns, sprawling vines and plants… And here’s the basic design plan for carrying that out inside the house: Where dark green was our main “theme” color at The Buffalo Bungalow, we’re going blue gray as our main theme color that you’ll see repeated throughout. I’m still nailing down the exact paint color, but I’m looking for a pretty colorful blue that’s also neutral, something that definitely feels blue, but goes with everything. A big accent color will be a tan/gray. While I’ll of course use and layer other colors, those will be basic colors you’ll see popping up a lot as a base. Like every house we’ve done, there’ll be wood beams in the main areas and then we’ll use wood accents in each room. Every country house needs some wood. And of course, there will be lots and lots of white. I don’t know that my love affair with white will ever end, though it won’t be the wall color in every room for sure. While shiplap has gotten soooo popular in these last few years, we’ve always loved it and wanted to use it. And few things say old country house like shiplap. We’ll be using shiplap and board and batten as architectural details in a lot of the spaces. When I think of an old country house, after rustic wood and architectural details, I immediately think of layered pattern. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved most about country style that’s really influenced my design sense throughout the years. I’ll be doing a lot of antique, colorful, pattern-filled Persian rugs. We’ll be re-using most of the rugs from our current house, where they fit. I’ll be bringing in patterned tile, but opting for some that look aged. Patterned tile is a very old design element that’s recently come back to life. But instead of the graphic, newer looking options, I’m going for some that look aged like they could’ve been original to an old country house. And last of all, is my very favorite: vintage floral. I’ve been drawn to vintage-feeling florals forever. I’ll be bringing floral fabrics and patterns in nearly every room. Baby Dax’s nursery may be the only exception to that one…floral doesn’t necessarily fit a baby boy’s room. But he’ll have his own fair share of layered pattern. Instead of bright, modern florals, I’m looking for those that have age or look like they do. And of course, they’ll be tempered with a lot of rustic, manly if you will, elements to make it a home for all of us and not too feminine. And that’s a glimpse at where we’re headed! All of those old, country elements will create our base. The “twist” portion of my design plan will come through all of the details I’ll layer on top in each space. Quirky finds with meaning, a teensy bit of clean modern, a little boho, all of it will create the fresh twist I’m hoping to add on top of my country foundation. And more than anything, I’m going for meaning. The house is too small for items to not be special or have a functional purpose. I’m going to put a ton of thought into each and every item that gets to take up space in our little home so that it’s not just a pretty house that is our style, but that truly is personal and speaks to us. OH, I’m dying to see this family home start taking shape! *** That’s been The White Buffalo motto for the last three years and is still what I’m striving to do each day in our home and with our family. Yes, that often means tablescapes, inspiring interiors, and fun before and after renos. But it also means family. Faith. Joy. Struggles. Laughter. Health. You’ll find a little bit of all of that here as I share how we’re choosing to live with both style and purpose. A huge part of that is our journey toward a more natural life that’s focused on enjoying each and every moment together. A huge thanks to my main blog sponsor that makes this dream of mine possible:
Sharon says June 2, 2017 at 1:03 pm It’s gonna be awesome. Can’t wait to watch the plan come to life. Reply
AmandaKB says June 2, 2017 at 2:00 pm This is going to be so great! Your house is going to be filled with so much personality and so many sweet memories 🙂 I’m so excited to follow along. I love the direction you’re headed. Reply
Diana says June 2, 2017 at 6:42 pm I cannot wait to see your new home as you enter this season of life. We raised 4 boys in an 1100 square foot house. We bought it because it was the only house for sale in the school district we wanted our boys to attend. Turns out it was a great home for that season of our life…..I was able to only work part time at their school when I decided to go to work when our youngest started school, we were able to pay completely for all 4 boys’ braces on their teeth, pay for college for 3 of the boys (one joined the Air Force right out of high school and went to college later with his military benefits), and do so much more because we chose to live simply during that season of our lives when it was not a common thing to do. Many people thought we were crazy to live in such a small house with 4 boys and did not understand our chosen lifestyle. Our boys look back on those days with much fondness and all continue to live simply and value family more than things. I pray you find the joy in simple living that we found. Thanks for sharing your journey. Reply
Lauren says June 3, 2017 at 2:51 pm It sounds simply perfect and will definitely be inspiring as it sounds like exactly the direction and meaning I am going with our home as well. I can’t wait to see you pull it all together, your style is my favorite! Reply
Austin says June 5, 2017 at 11:22 am So excited about this! I especially can’t wait to see how you incorporate white and tan/beige together. I have the HARDEST time making those work side-by-side, and I’m sure I’ll be inspired by your home. Yay for fresh starts and new projects! Reply
Ashley Wilson says June 6, 2017 at 2:38 pm Oh my goodness, your inspiration photos are gorgeous! I love the strong wood elements with the floral- swoon! This is going to be such a special space! Reply
Lindsay says June 15, 2017 at 5:10 pm Thank you so much, Ashley! I’m so excited about it 🙂 I think I’m more excited for this house than any we’ve done, if you can believe it! Reply