Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum. It would help a lot if you post a photo of your house and tell a bit about what rooms you want to add and what look you are going for. There is another board called Building and one called Remodeling. Just reading those and the Kitchens and Decorating forums will give you lots of ideas. On the Gallery of the Decorating forum are threads titled Eye Candy and the name of the room, like Bedroom Eye Candy, etc.

Hi, Sarah! Glad you found the forum and I hope we can give you some ideas for your remodel. What rooms are you planning to include, with the addition?

Here's a link to Country Living, showing a cute 1940s cottage. Great before and after photos...hope this helps :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Country Living 1940s cottage makeover

Welcome, Sarah!
I have a 40's cottage, too! I've seen some really pretty "makeovers" of them in our area.

House beautiful featured a 40's cottage redo in Living Large in Small Spaces (July/August 2011). Maybe your library has a copy.

You're going to love this forum. The ladies and gentlemen here have lots of great ideas for living small in beautiful ways.

I can't wait to see your cottage!

Here is a link that might be useful: The cover you're looking for

In the link you gave, youngun, I found the URL to go visit weehouse.com.......and it is amazing.

I think that is a good place for folks with ideas or REAL alternative life styles, who wish to pursue the container shipping crate as living space. Just the square or boxy nature of many of the illustrations, and I'm not casting aspersions on either that style or those who choose to build and live in them. I find them a great option....if you have the right circumstances where such structures are allowed. Out in the wide open spaces for sure, because in many cities such styles would be out of sync with existing homes.

But I like to browse the avante garde designs to keep myself from becoming too set in my ways.

The rest of the articles in this issue really focused on living small. It would be a great issue to keep on hand for reference.

My small cottage started around 850 sq feet, and is now approaching 950 or 1000, and that is large enough. But we are not raising a family in it, just the two of us. Keeping it small and well insulated is important as the cost of utilities rise all the time.