Hello friends! Today we’re celebrating one year in our new house, and what a grand adventure it has been! A little over a year ago, way out in the country, we traded our little 1960s brick cottage for a simple brick home on five peaceful acres. From our very first walk, we could already see it: big old trees, open land, a house with good bones, and a patio just waiting for an evening outside.
Grab a cup of tea and watch the whole story above, then read on for a few favorite moments.
Uncovering the Land
Over the years, things had collected here from different owners: concrete blocks, sheet tin, cattle panel, T-posts, even telephone poles. Removing the junk was simply part of the adventure ahead. We lost count of the trailer loads/bulk trash pick-ups that were cleared, but it was somewhere between twelve & fourteen! Here’s a before & after of the house.
Our first goal was simple: to mow. We cleared in sections, starting closest to the house and working outward. Fence lines that had been hidden for years slowly came into view; a true yard started to appear. By about month three, we could (safely) mow from the road to the house. A friend who visited the week we moved in came back six or eight weeks later and drove right past the driveway because she didn’t recognize it! Now we get to dream of things to add: chickens, a small orchard, a cottage flower garden… As Matt’s grandpa always said, “Keep dreaming, dreams are free.” We’d add: ” Hold them loosely, and don’t hang your heart on them.”
The Study
The study was the first room we put our hand to, and it started very dark, with a riotously busy wallpaper, but we could already picture a cozy, book-filled spot with a good place to work & read a good book.
Here’s the after! Those two changes were all we did (for now), and what a difference it has made! We painted it Cottage Hill by Sherwin-Williams and swapped a beaded 1970s light fixture (it still had the tag on it from World Market!) for a vintage brass & crystal chandelier from our old house. You can see the whole room in our post on creating an English cottage study.
The Kitchen Starts to Feel Like Home
Next was the kitchen. Again, paint was the main player here. We painted the cabinets before we moved in: Ivory Lace (SW 7013) by Sherwin-Williams on the uppers and Pesto Paste by Behr on the lowers. (Bonus: the deeper green hides fingerprints beautifully.) We spray-painted the black hardware a soft brass and hung a vintage milk glass pendant over the sink, and another brass & crystal chandelier from our old home now hangs in the dining room. Here is the before…
Here is the after! And then, my favorite part. Late one night, while we were putting the kitchen back together, Matt said, “We should hang some plates. That would feel like home.” That was all I needed! Within five minutes, the antique transferware platters were out, and we were measuring.
These platters were gathered slowly over time, from eBay, Etsy, and good old-fashioned antique hunts. My favorite is the one with the little holes: a mazarine, or meat drainer, which once sat inside a large platter so the juices from a roast could drain away. Take a closer look in our English country cottage kitchen makeover.
The Patio Opens Up
But the biggest change of the year wasn’t inside. First, a cramped five-foot dog yard fence came off the back of the house. Then, we took down the old screened-in porch sitting smack in the middle of the patio. This one demo project opened up the patio, making it so much bigger than we’d pictured! Matt said it best: “It feels like the house can actually breathe.” Here is a before photo of the patio in January 2026.
And here is the after photo of the patio in early summer 2026. We painted the posts white, filled large pots with flowers, and gathered a secondhand wicker set from Marketplace. Here’s more on our country cottage patio makeover.
A Little Shop News!
Our Stone Cottage Home shop on Etsy has reopened, with watercolor art inspired by the rooms of our two homes! There are two 2027 wall calendars, one inspired by our own homes and one filled with dreamy English cottage kitchens, plus four notecard sets: autumn, two for Christmas, and blue transferware. Each set has five folded cards with envelopes. They make such a sweet gift for someone on your Christmas list.
You’ll find them all in our Stone Cottage Home shop on Etsy.
What’s Next
After the kitchen, we started on a third room, but then came the sweetest surprise of the year: the arrival of our second child! That room took a back seat, so you’ll see a peek of demo day in the video, and the rest is coming in its own video with a special announcement. And in the spring/summer of 2027, we’ll be finishing the little chicken coop and bringing home chickens.
Cultivating the Art of Home
This first year has shown us that a home may already hold more beauty than you can see today. Sometimes it’s just waiting to be uncovered, one little corner at a time. That’s what cultivating the art of home looks like out here. Thank you for spending this first year with us!
Warmly,
Rachel
