Honey and Grey

Hello there! Do you remember the days when Harvest Gold was the big decorating color? Yes, I am giving away my age here. Well, in August I let you know that we have sold Birdsong Cottage and purchased a new getaway home which we have named The Wren's Nest. Actually it is nothing more than a little old single wide mobile home (again!) in the same lovely old mobile home park that Birdsong was in. Last fall we had no sooner put the last touch on Birdsong, namely replacing the carpet in the porch, when another home came up for sale. This one was coming out of an estate since the previous owner had passed away, and we had actually seen it two years ago when we were first looking to buy. At that time it was very dirty and very ugly, so we passed on it and bought Birdsong. But last fall, the attorney handling the estate had it  cleaned up so that it would be more likely to sell. It was still old and dingy and in desperate need of paint and more cleanup. but long story short, we couldn't resist the challenge. Only fools like Mr. Perch and I would take on another one after we just got Birdsong finished. 

Why? Well, the positives were:

• It has central air conditioning and heat (Birdsong had a gas heater only, and the original to boot, though after a little tweaking by Hubby, it actually was very efficient)
• Half of the long screened porch was converted to a sun room, with windows and shingles (not that the windows work very well, though).
• It is seven years newer than Birdsong, which was built in 1969. Who buys old mobile homes like this anyway??
• Behind the carport, the previous owner closed in a long section, half of which became a golf cart-sized garage with automatic door (he had a Harley) and turned the other portion into a utility room.
• It is directly across from the clubhouse and pool, making it much easier to get mail, do laundry and swim (if we ever have time to use the pool!)
• It has one and a half bathrooms (Birdsong had one), and larger bedrooms. But Birdsong had a larger living room. You can't have everything.
• It has a lot more storage space in the kitchen, including two built-ins with (faux) glass doors.
• We paid less for it than when we bought Birdsong.

O.K. So every good story has a downside. As does this one. No one ever updated the place since 1969, other than that they pulled up the carpeting and put in peel and stick faux wood floors. Actually not bad looking, but it was all peeling up. At some point the toilet in the master bathroom was replaced. And some of the plumbing was updated. But pretty much, stuff was only replaced or updated when absolutely necessary, and certainly not for any kind of aesthetic appeal or because it was loved as we will. And it still has its horrid original aluminum awning windows and ugly trim-work around them.

So, we gave up pretty little clean and neutral 

Birdsong for this charming

 Harvest Gold fiber glass all-in-one 

tub and surround in the master bath...

...not to be outdone by matching Formica 

vanity and sinks.

With lovely yellow and blue floral wallpaper,

which was installed over the original 

lime green and gold striped stuff

(only on half of the walls, though, 

with paneling on the other walls.

Really?).

The best part was the little tin medicine cabinets

over each sink on which you scraped your

fingers every time you flipped the

faucets back to turn on the water...

Onto the kitchen, 

replete with its lovely Harvest Gold counter and sink, 

and too many other decorating touches to mention herewith...

The above photos were taken last fall before we 

began ripping out everything we hated,

which was pretty much everything, 

including the upper cabinets to the right

 in the picture above.

More about that in future posts.

Since this is a second home for us,

we obviously don't have the budget to make it

a showplace, but we did decide to put our bucks into

what we thought was important now, such as

flooring and the master bathroom,

 and at least 

live with the gold counter-tops and sink in the

kitchen.

And I figured that if AntiqueFarmHouse.com

could feature a spread on "Honey and Grey"

a few weeks ago,

it's good enough for the kitchen at The Nest,

for the time being anyway.

These were some of the items they featured:

Source: AntiqueFarmHouse.com

Source: AntiqueFarmHouse.com

Source: AntiqueFarmHouse.com

Source: AntiqueFarmHouse.com

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So, new grey and white paint,

which were going to be our colors anyway,

new laminate flooring which we put in throughout,

(except for the bathrooms),

and a new stove and range hood,

(we moved our fridge from Birdsong)

here is the beginning of the kitchen.

Though we still want to put in a tile back splash

and do some other things, this will 

do for now.

Don't think that I didn't entertain the notion of leaving all

of the Harvest Gold in place, trimming it with black,

and calling this place "Bumble Bee Cottage"!

But if Honey and Grey is good enough for the decorating world,

I guess its good enough for me! 

Besides, doesn't Honey sound so much more exciting

than Harvest Gold?

Until next time!