Three Spaces We Carved Out in the Cottage

I’m a big proponent of doing what you love in your own home. Along with that, I think it’s always in our best interest to create spaces in our home that serve our specific needs. Today, I’m sharing three spaces we carved out of “unused” or “unproductive” spaces in the cottage.

The Studio

Our family room space is very long and narrow. Once upon a time, this space was the actual back porch of the cottage. At some point in our cottage’s history, it was closed in and transformed into an actual room. When we moved in, we knew we wanted our family’s main gathering space to be in this room so that we had a front row seat to the lake.

But because of its dimensions, there just wasn’t ever a way to utilize the entire space as a family room without a really strange layout.

Before we had our boys, I really fell in love with creative pursuits. And the monster azalea out by the lake, of which I had a perfect view in this space. My husband graciously allowed me to carve out this space to serve as my “studio.” This is my go-to creation station.

As we’ve grown our family, I’ve also been particularly thankful for this space because it’s allowed me to continue to pursue things that give me joy while also being a part of our family’s gathering. It’s also allows me a great view for monitoring wild boy activities.

The Library

For many years, our library served as our dining room. I’m fairly sure that was its use for all of the years prior to our arrival as well since it’s connected to the kitchen via swinging door.

But we never shared a meal in the space. It was incredibly small and cumbersome to squeeze into the space, even with a pretty small dining room table. In our kitchen area, we actually have enough space for a table and chairs that fit our family, and that’s where we’ve always eaten every meal. And because that space shares space with our sun room, it’s easier and more practical to accommodate a large amount of guests in that space.

It sort of hit me one day that the room would literally never be used as a dining room and that pivoting to create a space that suited our needs better was perfectly fine. And our library was born!

We’ve spent the past three years tweaking the design and layout, but we’ve finally settled on a “finished” version of the space and love it. My husband and I use it for morning coffee chats. Our kids use it to curl up and read a book. I’ll even bring out my laptop to do blog work here.

It’s an unexpected and unique space, and we’re really proud of our decision to take the plunge and turn into something that has gotten much more use by our family.

A Front Yard Garden

Our cottage sits on an acre of property, but the draw back is that the layout is incredibly narrow. Despite the fact that we want chickens, bees, and possibly goats (my dream, not Rob’s), it’s hard to know where to place things.

We toyed for years about where to locate our garden. Because I’ve dreamed of a traditional “kitchen garden,” it seemed only logical to place it somewhere near our kitchen. It also felt important to locate it near the house so that it couldn’t be ignored.

This really only left our front yard.

It’s very rare for gardens to appear in front yards. In most climates, gardens lay dormant for seasons. Most people don’t want a dormant garden so close to where they greet guests. But in Florida, gardens can really produce year-round and remain beautiful!

At the end of the day, the location we chose was the most practical to meet our specific needs. When designing the garden, I tried to keep aesthetics in mind. And truly, it brings me so much joy to stare out my front window at the garden. I have to walk by it every time I come and go from the cottage, which means I stay pretty in-tune with what’s happening out there. It certainly wouldn’t be receiving as much attention if I had placed it anywhere else.

I guess you could say I’m a proponent for front yard gardens now!

So, there you have it. These three spaces happen to be among my favorites at the cottage. So many possibilities open up when our homes serve our needs. Do you have an unused or under-utilized space in your home you dream of transforming into something extra special for you or your family?