{"id":21933,"date":"2012-06-11T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T13:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/?p=21933"},"modified":"2014-01-27T15:31:51","modified_gmt":"2014-01-27T20:31:51","slug":"5-ways-to-add-cottage-character-to-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/5-ways-to-add-cottage-character-to-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways To Add Cottage Character to Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a post from contributing writer\u00a0Jami<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Many people dream of living in a cottage. Some don’t. But no matter which camp you fall in, adding cottage character is a great way to increase your home’s value and create a welcoming, cheerful, \u00a0and imperfect (my favorite part) atmosphere. A place to sit on a front porch and watch horses in the pasture across the street or wave to the neighbors.<\/p>\n

When we bought our house eight years ago, the exterior looked like many typical ranch houses built circa 1982. The main impression it left on me was a lot of garage with some house attached. Which was not very welcoming. Why did we buy it? It was during the housing boom a few years ago and that’s what was available in our price range.\u00a0However, what I really wanted was a cottage – not just a certain house style, but a mentality that welcomed people from the outside in.<\/p>\n

Through our subsequent remodeling, we’ve discovered that it takes only a few simple changes – things that are easy to do yourself – to help a plain-Jane house become the “cottage” you’ve always wanted.<\/p>\n

5 Simple Ways To Add Cottage Character To Your Home<\/h3>\n

1. Make The Entry Welcoming<\/h4>\n
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Front Door Before And After<\/p><\/div>\n

When we moved into our house, friends and family couldn’t find the door. Literally. Once they figured out it was behind the tree, they’d often wade through the ground cover and duck under the tree in order to get to the door from the circular drive.<\/p>\n

Wanting people to feel welcomed, this was one of the first outside projects we tackled.\u00a0We cut down the tree, built a wood porch right over the cement stoop, added two steps leading to the door and a path from the circular drive (made out of broken concrete from an unused dog run on the property).<\/p>\n

Other than making sure people can find your front door, other simple ways to create a welcoming entry include<\/strong>:<\/p>\n