You’re in for a treat today friends! The Reader Showcase is where I feature the homes and home projects that my readers have tackled. I am constantly amazed at the talent and varied styles that each person has to offer!

Today’s talent is no exception. I first met Minna on Instagram. She posted photos of her absolutely stunning home, The Little Plaid Cottage, which is plump full of character. She is super creative and her husband Scot is super handy. They make quite the duo. I think you will agree!

Minna, please tell me a little bit about your home:

I would describe our home as a cottage. It is a single story 1,430 square foot house that has lots of charm, including a large front porch, built in bookcases, a floor to ceiling rock fireplace, cedar beams on 12 foot ceilings, and a brick surrounded cook-top in the kitchen.

It was built in 1991 on the outskirts of town, and sits on half an acre.

That front porch speaks to me. Looks like a great place to relax!

What is your personal design style?

If I had to define it, I would say cottage/farmhouse. I prefer to find interesting antiques to decorate with rather than just going to Target and buying the latest Magnolia pieces that are on the shelves. I love Joanna Gaines as much as the next person, but I don’t want my house to look exactly like everyone else’s house.

Antiques have history and tell a story. They have stood the test of time and have a beauty all their own. I love displaying vintage finds in my home and plan to enjoy them for years to come. I also love decorating with plaids & buffalo check, and tend to gravitate towards wreaths and white pitchers.

Explain your favorite remodel projects. What was done to each space?

We have done quite a bit of work to our current house during the 7 years we have lived here!

KITCHEN

Our kitchen has by far been my favorite remodel project to date. We started off with popcorn ceilings, a pantry cabinet that was limited to opening the full way because it would hit the oven handle, chipped tile counter-tops, original builder grade appliances, and a shallow kitchen sink with a rotted cabinet below.

Kitchen before. Charming, but very ‘vanilla’

 

The first thing we did was add a walk in pantry. We were able to carve a bit of space from the attached garage and include it in the kitchen. My husband did all of the framing, finishing, painting and even built custom shelving. I found some fabric from Hobby Lobby to use on the back wall in lieu of wallpaper. We installed matching tile and added a screen door, which may seem an odd choice for a kitchen – but it works for us for two reasons: 1. It adds charm + character, and 2. It forces me to keep the things inside clean and organized!

My goodness what a great idea! The pantry looks so organized.

 

I found a farm sink on Craigslist for $50. The price was low because it had a chip on one corner, but I knew that we would be under-mounting it and that the counter material would hide the chip. The sink literally sat in my garage covered in a blanket for two years while we saved up for the remodel.

I can’t see the chip, can you?

 

To save money during the remodel, we decided to keep the upper cabinets and update them with crown molding and new doors. I knew that I wanted glass for the upper cabinets, but also wanted to do an interesting design. My husband built a triple X design on the doors and we used wavy glass, which I love because it reminds me of something you might find in an old home.

Custom cabinet design. I love the look!

 

We also removed the middle cabinet door above the fridge so that I could add some warmth and contrast with baskets. I lined the backs of the glass front cabinets with contact paper from Dollar tree.

My husband converted all of the bottom cabinets from shelves to drawers. It is so nice not having to get on my hands and knees to find a missing Tupperware lid in the back of a dark cabinet anymore!

Let’s all just take a moment and appreciate how lovely their cook-top is. Such a happy place to create meals!

 

We got an amazing deal on our quartz counter-tops and my husband cut and installed them without ever having done it before. I have to say, I am married to a perfectionist – and they turned out fabulous! Since the cabinets and counters are both white, I decided to make the back splash a contrasting color and found bluish gray Arabesque tile from Home Depot.

The tile is gorgeous, and I really love all of the neutral accessories!

 

The final part of the remodel was installing wood planks on the ceiling, which added so much character. We have a large skylight in the kitchen that is a wonderful feature. The ceiling height in the room is only 8 feet but the skylight opening extends to 12 feet! To draw the eye up I found bird decals online, which we affixed within the skylight. They add a special unexpected touch.

How’s that for whimsy? And a chandelier in the kitchen? Yes please!

 

My husband Scot DIY’d so much of our kitchen and it saved us a ton of money! We would  not have been able to afford to do a full kitchen renovation had it not been for all of his hard work!

 

DAUGHTER’S BEDROOM

Another area in our house that I had so much fun designing and decorating is our daughter’s bedroom. For Christmas this year we gave her a whole new room. We painted the walls with Sherwin-Williams ‘agreeable gray’, and my husband installed board and batten on an accent wall for contrast.

Her armoire and nightstands were painted with Sherwin Williams ‘cityscape’. The headboard was an incredible Black Friday deal from Walmart. We got it for a steal at $59! I shopped various other stores – including Target, H&M, and Hobby Lobby – to pull the decor of the room together.

Such a soft and comfortable looking space!

I am most pleased with the A-frame bookcase that my husband built for the room. It adds so much visual interest to the space and is so fun to style!

This bookcase is a stunner! Fun looking + functional = major win!

What would you like readers to know about designing and styling a home? Do you have any tips to share?

Think about what you personally like and are drawn to, and not necessarily what’s popular in the moment that everyone else can go to the store and buy. You are a unique individual created by God to shine and share your own creative talents with others.

Scot made this cute bench for Minna as a gift years ago

Don’t get stuck in a mold with everyone else. Be your own person and display what’s important to you and that which speaks to you. I believe Edith Schaeffer says it best: “This place should be expressing something of yourself. It should be communicating something of you to your visitors, but it should also satisfy something within you. You should feel ‘at home’ here, because you have made it home with something of yourself.”

 

Do you have any remodeling / decorating plans for the future?

My immediate plans are to style the small guest bedroom, which used to be our son’s bedroom before he moved out. We also want to scrape the popcorn texture off of the ceiling in other rooms in the house. It’s a messy job, but it isn’t difficult and it really does make a dramatic difference!

Outside, we have plans to paint the front porch once the weather warms up and remodel our back patio – including the addition of an outdoor kitchen and fireplace.

This space is already pretty amazing. I can’t wait to see the new additions!

A few months down the road, I would love to tackle a master bathroom remodel. We tend to focus on one project at a time and at our own pace.

We are enjoying the fruits of our labor in this house and though we don’t have plans to move any time soon, I can envision us living in a smaller one or two bedroom home on a larger piece of property sometime in the future.

 

Thank you so much Minna and Scot for sharing your wonderful home with all of us! I encourage all of my readers to go check out Minna’s Instagram account HERE to watch the progress while she and Scot continue to remodel and make their house into a home that reflects their personality and style.

 

Now it’s your turn! Have you been putting your personal touches on your home? Maybe the entire house isn’t finished, but you are particularly proud of one room – I would love to see, and share with my readers!

If you are a blog subscriber, you are eligible! Simply email photos and a brief description to angela@arrowhillcottage.com for your chance to be featured!