I can’t believe we are coming up on 4 years in our Vermont house. In some ways it feels like we just moved, and in other ways I look around and can’t believe the transformation of this house. All along we envisioned a space that’s modern but also cozy, warm and inviting. From the start, we knew that the house had a lot of potential, and we hit the ground running. Since I first wrote this post we’ve done a lot more work, so I updated it with some more of the projects we’ve done since then, and what other projects you can expect to see soon.
If you’re wondering how we got started, I talk a bit about the design process in this this post,. In this house, Craig gutted or partially gutted a considerable amount: all the bathrooms, the kitchen, the basement, all the trim, and other random built-ins around the house.
Since we bought the house Craig has installed all new flooring, converted our garage to a bedroom/bathroom, renovated the kitchen and main bathroom, built a patio and deck, installed front landscaping, created a mudroom, renovated the basement and created a mudroom/storage space replaced the popcorn ceilings and installed all new windows and siding. Whew, that’s a lot! This summer we also built an outdoor shower and large garden which I’ll share soon.
Whenever we start a project we always begin by looking for inspiration. I like to describe the style of this house as Nordic New England Farmhouse. We certainly are not minimalists, but we definitely find inspiration from Nordic design, and of course we love New England Farmhouse style too. We also live in a ranch, so we have limitations. A lot of the ideas we find are not quite realistic for our tiny ranch homes, but we find ways to use them as a jumping off point for something that will work in our space. We both love Pinterest for design and decor ideas, you can follow me HERE. These are some of the images and ideas that are getting us excited for more projects this fall and winter. Follow along on our IG @thecozyranch too!
I’m always looking for great design and decor blogs or IG accounts too. Let me know any favorites in the comments.
Nordic New England Farmhouse Inspiration
Modern Farmhouse Feel
Initially I used Jacey’s lake house kitchen as a source of inspiration for our design. The cozy nook with windsor dining bench and round table was perfect for the space we had in our Vermont kitchen. Then last year we decided to convert our existing deck into a living space, which gave us a lot more room to work with. As you can see below our original dining space was very small. Once we turned the deck into an interior room, it give us a lot more design control and freedom to create a space from scratch.
an updated new england home
The space below was originally our deck, but it was way too big, and the wood needed to be refinished. Instead of doing that we decided to give ourselves more living space and convert it into living space. The room is now our dining room and living room. With plaster walls, a painted wood ceiling, lots of windows, oak wood floors, and a reclaimed wood dining table, it has a modern farmhouse feel that’s cozy and inviting. The ceramic pendant light is another one of my favorite design touches in the space.
Modern and Nautical Touches
I LOVE every corner of Elise’s home. Every little detail is just so thoughtful and she is also hilarious so highly recommend giving her a follow on IG if you’re not already. The cabinet/locker situation in her mudroom (below) gave me a lot of inspiration for our basement mudroom.
Originally we had no mudroom upstairs (we’ve since added a small one in our entryway). We also added built in closets in our front living space that I will share soon. Since you can access our basement from the outside of the house it’s the perfect spot to create a mudroom, and that’s what we did last year as you can see below. We now have lots of storage for gear, winter coats, boots, and more.
Shaker Cabinets and Wood Bench
This mudroom design by Becki Owens is another one I really like. We did something similar using IKEA cabinets in our upstairs front living space. I haven’t shared it yet but will soon. I love the look of shaker cabinets and we have used IKEA storage in a lot of the renovated rooms we’ve finished including our bedroom and bathroom.
Reclaimed Wood and Warm Neutrals
When I was initially doing research for our living room I had a hard time finding inspiration because it was a small and funky space. It was narrow with a fireplace, a large window on one side and the front door on that same wall.
Since then, we converted our deck to a living room, and that space is now a front sitting room. I haven’t shared it yet but I will soon because it’s so cozy! The below served as nice inspiration for colors, fabrics and artwork ideas. Ultimately our living room turned our bright, airy, and cozy, with lots of natural light. It’s wonderful.
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