Absolutely adorable! Your hard work has definitely paid off.

WOW that is so pretty. EVERYTHING!!! Love your Moon gate too.

Chris

it's all beautiful! love the flagstone patio. love the view - could sit and look at that all day.

You have great taste and a good eye.

Scott

Everything you do always turns out so well, buddyrose!

So pretty! I love your winding walkways. I didn't know you lived by the water. What lovely views you have.

My fav touches are the moongate and the lattice beneath the foundation. Then of course the new path stones. I'm all for a lot of green, can do with only a few punches of flower blossoms at random here and there.

Your butterfly bush is TALLER THAN THE PHOTO? My word, I have to see that boy! How old is the plant? I love to plant things which attract butterflies, and the buddleia I planted this year flat died on me. But the passion vines are doing great, and they will host the eggs of the Gulf fritillary butterfly this fall. Even up north, the passion vines will survive the winter and grow back next year. Such a vine would prosper on your moongate archway.

Thanks for giving us a look inside your wonderful property. Can you do a series of photos showing the views out your windows? Toward the water? That was always a favorite aspect to any interior.

oooooohhhhh I hate to break anyone's heart BUT I'm 5 whole houses down the block from that gorgeous water view. I'm sitting on my front porch right now typing and if I look to my left, at the end of the block is this fence and grassy area and then the sea wall which drops down. So from here I see a horizon but not water.

Now I walk for 2 seconds and there she is stretched out in front of me. Takes my breath away every single time. Thank you all for your sweet words.

moccasin, here's the butterfly bush from LAST summer when my back yard was still in overgrown, jungle design. I liked the jungle but it was way too much to manage:

and the garden thru my DR windows:

A very lovely place...it seems so peaceful there.

Buddyrose, if I could live anyplace I wanted to, I would certainly live on the water. Your views are beautiful.

Buddyrose your place is so pretty. Happy to have the before pictures too. In a smaller yard it can get overwhelming to have lots of growth. Both sets of pictures are gorgeous. All my big growth is in the flower bed on one side of the house. so would be about 60 foot long three foot or so wide. Along the other side of the house is really just iris and dames rocket and some sedum well and some columbine. Ok There is a lot there but it is a narrow flower bed about 18 inches wide is all.

I would get a really strong wireless set up and walk myself down to that grassy area with computer. After my nap, worked at the office for the last 4 hours and I am exhausted, I plan on going out on the porch for some cool computer time. Lovely day here.

Chris

Chris, it is later in the evening now, but around 5 our time I also moseyed out to the back deck to sit a spell in the shade. It wasn't as hot, and the "scattered afternoon thunderstorms" were gathering from the south and east.

I love your flower beds of the columbine and iris, your soil must be perfect for them.

I'm hoping my latest venture with a router lets me take the laptop out to the deck. This stucco house has wiggly wire reinforcing inside the cement walls, and the interior walls are frequently 1.5 inches of plaster, so it is a fight for reception.

Also, I'm trying to figure out why my RGB connection on the HDTV set will not receive the wired signal from my laptop any more. The TV is attached to the wall above the fireplace and I cannot slide it out enough to check that end of the cable without some help. Drats!

My DH is the one with the technical/scientific education and background, but I am the one with the electrogadget fascination. I'm always the one who connects the new stuff, not him. I love all this wireless gadgetry. But I have no idea how to keep it all working when it goes kaflooey.

New Haven is part of my old stomping grounds. I grew up in Clinton, and have an old friend in West Haven. CT can be so beautiful!

Jay

Lovely garden buddyrose! I love rock edging on garden beds, it's always seems so cottagey to me. you've done so much with your house, it looks like lots of hard work has gone into it

Chris I have a wireless router for my laptop but it's so sunny that I never take my computer outside. I do, however, sit on my front porch (which faces North) and play.

Jay I grew up in Jersey and New York. Don't ask me how I ended up buying this place in Conn. except I fell in love with the cottage, yard and water views on sight. I don't think I'll retire here though. I suspect I'll move back to New Jersey or further South where I have many more friends and family members.

crystal, it is sooooo peaceful. the second my car turns the corner and I see the water, my muscles relax. And I feel that way about my back yard.

trance: I love walking paths and stones in gardens more than having grass. This yard was a perfect fit for me.

idie2 I always wanted to live near water. So now I do BUT insurance is stupid crazy for flood insurance so when I move I don't think I'll live this close again. And besides once I do something, I like to try having other things that I love like maybe the mountains or on a lake.... so many dreams, so little time!

buddyrose, when it comes to the 'homefront' there are two things that make my heart melt--a vintage kitchen, and a charming cottage. Your cottage is BEAUTIFUL, and such a lovely setting and view (even if it's a whole 2 seconds away, lol.) Now, about that vintage kitchen...?

"West Haven"!!!! I lived there when I was a child. We also lived in the Brooklyn Naval Ship Yard. My adoptive father was born in Nutley NJ.Did you ever hear of that old radio show "The Bob Gambling Show"? I think there might be a younger Bob Gambling now. This was 50+ years ago. Well the old Bob Gambling was a relative. I still have cousins in Conn.LOL Yes another Robert Gambling.

Chris

We all sure do get around, don't we! My BIL worked at the Brooklyn Naval Ship Yard- probably in the 70's. I think I'm going to start another (OT) thread about where we've all lived and how why we lived in those places. Sound like fun?

shades--Nutley, NJ? Did he know Martha?! LOL

mama goose: it was a vintage kitchen from the 1950s but it was falling apart: broken sink faucet, broken dishwasher, holes in the fake wood floor, peeling formica counter tops... etc. So I renovated and made it more modern with slight Arts & Craft touches in the molding, lighting but that's about it. Here's photos of white painted maple cabs, granite counters, porcelain floor:

You have done such a terrific job both inside and out. It's a fabulous remodel and your eye for design and proportion is amazing. You deserve a million kudos!

I KNEW it! Your kitchen is beautiful, classic, perfect! It's very similar to what I want, and layout is similar to what I have already. Thank you for making my day!

Buddyrose, love your new kitchen style. I had a white drop-in GE range installed at our river house just before Katrina destroyed everything. It too had a GE microwave/vent above it, only appliance I did not replace.

We've also decided to put unglazed Italian porcelain tiles in our kitchen here, when we get around to that phase of redo. Lowes has the product, and we've used the Roman Salmon and the Rialto White in our projects so far. Depending on the color of the Silestone counter surrounding the SINK half of our galley style kitchen, it will be either white or salmon/pale terra cotta on the floor. Your tile appears to be the Rialto Beige tone, maybe the white, and the entire color scheme is great.

I'm also considering the white subway tile backsplash. May I ask you what exactly you chose and where you purchased them? There are so many places to shop. Our immediate project will be the tiling of the masterbath up in Massachusetts, and replacing the floor and wall tile in the adjacent bath to match it. THAT will also require subway tiles. In both baths, I want the black quartz (not granite) vanity tops. So your color scheme is right down my alley.

that's a lovely bright kitchen. very close to the LO in my new kitchen. my dw is to the left of the sink, about a foot of cab to the right of sink and then the frig. I have a wall oven type cab where your fridge is. no otr mw either - and I won't have one. I'm too short!

I think it's such a workable LO - easy and needed spaces are close (fridge, sink, stove) so you don't need to go far to get to anything.

jkom thank u for the kind words.

mama goose: I have to take a photo of the opposite wall. Large window looks out to back yard and I have a redwood 2 chair bistro set there. So it's not a large kitchen but it is an eat in when I want to. Which is nice. I'll try to get a photo this weekend.

moccasin, so sorry about Katrina. I can't imagine what that must have been like.
so one appliance made it thru the hurricane? the microwave? I wanted to keep my reno under $20,000 so I didn't do a drop in range but kept what was already there. Same for Fridge. Both are clean and work fine so didn't replace them. I did buy a new dishwasher and put in the otr microwave because there wasn't any vent in the kitchen and the microwave helps with that. I'll look up the name of my floor tile this weekend. I live in Queens, NY during the week for work so only get to my cottage on weekends or vacations. My subway tile and floor tile were both purchased in Conn. I'll have to look up the store name. I know for a fact I could have gotten my subway tile for a better price (I'll look that up too) but I liked the woman who owned the tile store and I just decided that one stop shopping saved me time and that equaled money, for me. I like mixing black and white. It's retro and modern at the same time.

desertsteph, you're right. It is a convenient LO. Mostly I like having that long counter to work on. I use ALL my counter space. And I have a step ladder in my kitchen to reach my over the sink window! HA

This is my LR. It's not done. I need a TV media unit but it's done for right now. My little dog loves being up high on the sofa. Silly thing.

maybe up high he can see the birds? I've had dogs before who liked to be up on the top of the sofa back too! one used to do that behind me while i was sitting there - and she used to chew on my hair!!

I think when I get settled I need to put up a wall of pet photos...

Hi there,
I have not posted on this forum for a LONG time, but had to jump in here and tell you how much I have enjoyed your cottage photos! (and your pup).
I am from (far from) Suffield, CN., so I feel right at home visiting with you folks.
Thank you so much for the pictures of your lovely cottage.
Jaybird

BuddyRose ~ What a lovely cottage, inside and out, surrounded by wonderful gardens, paths and a sweet patio out back. You've done a fantastic job.

FlowerLady

What a lovely yard! Your gate is beautiful, and I love the secret little outdoor seating space. How peaceful!

desertsteph, I love pet photos. never get tired of looking at mine or other people's pets. ;0

thank u jaybird and flowerlady for the kind words

young-gardener: my little outdoor area under the pergola faces a water fountain. Love it. (that spruce tree died and I put in a sweet pine.)

buddyrose, I SO want to see your pictures but they don't load with my internet :( Do you have a link to a gallery?