Love the room, great job and that view looks like a post card!! Both beautiful.

Very pretty!

It looks so beautiful! I love how you pulled it together with your Loon and colors. You have such incredible views! (Your kitchen that you posted is also gorgeous!)

Congratulations on your home!

Cameron

Do you live there year round or is it just a weekend place?

It's sooo cute- and I love the kitchen too!

Very beautiful! and what a setting. You're so very lucky. Enjoy!

love the room, love the view.

Clean simple and beautiful. This is the kind of decorating I LOVE. Gorgeous. You did a wonderful job. Thanks for sharing. :)

Very nicely done. Love the addition of the buffalo plaid and small check on the chair!

Personally, I would want to paint the walls with a warmer white or pale ivory, including the slanted area above the bed. I think it would really connect with the flooring. But it is very pretty just as it is!

Lovely. And the black toile looks so serene in that setting.

Red

Very pretty. You did a great job.

Very nice - I especially like the chair & buffalo check is one of my favorites. Can you share where you got them?

Very simple, tasteful and beautiful......
Enjoy!

Thanks all! Being in that room is like being in a treehouse - I feel like a kid again when I wake up in the morning!

polly - We've only been in since Dec. 22nd, and right now it's just weekends. Eventually it will be our full-time retirement home. But the joke is that since we built it, we'll never be able to retire!

Les - I appreciate your good eye and suggestions. The wall color is SW Creamy and honestly doesn't read as warm in the pictures as it does in person. I've never had anything but straight walls in my homes before and I love how throughout the day the light plays off all the angles. Once I've been there a while, I think I will maybe go with another shade that works to catch that to the best advantage. If a color comes to mind, let me know and I'll jot it down.

Some Questions - In the seating area...would you put another rug there? If so, what size and shape? And do you think I should add a buffalo check pillow to the rocker? If so, a square shape, or the rectangular shape I have on the bed? And if I were to add an ottoman, should I go with an upholstered one the same width as the chair, or go with a smaller one in another fabric?
Note-The adjoining M Bath is grey with white beadboard wainscotting and I have a grey/black toile rug in there. All fixtures are white and hardware is chrome.

ttodd - The buffalo check panels are from Country Curtains. The cane roll shade (in "natural") on the front window is from them, too. That window looks out onto the lake so I didn't want to fuss it up with dressing. Someone from GW recommended that shade and I love the texture, the ease of use, the privacy it gives and how it almost disappears when rolled.
The rocker is from a local dealer, but can be found on the web at "Country at Home." It's really comfortable.

ttodd - for the chair go to countryathomefurniture.com - "Country at Home" that I listed above won't get you there fast.
I'm not crazy about a lot of the fabrics they've shown on many of the pieces, but check out their fabric choices for more inspiration. The quality of the fabric is great,IMO!

Beautiful room, amck. Did you say that your bedding was cream and black -- and not white and black? I'm assuming that it is because the Buffalo checks are cream and black. Do you mind revealing the source of the beautiful coverlet?

Oh my, what a lovely spot you have. I would be in heaven if there was a mountain fed brook outside my bedroom door. The sound alone would hypnotize me! Best wishes on your beautiful home!

Did I miss something? Where are the kitchen pictures? I'm dying to see them.

Another priceless rm of yours, thank you for sharing it is really beautiful. Now my question, can you tell me where you got the reading floor lamp?

Thanks, stargirl! The product description for my quilt lists it as "ivory and black." It is more cream than white for sure, and coordinates w/ the Buffalo check.

I found it interesting that Country Curtains (where I got my curtains)pairs its ivory/black toile duvet cover with their Blackwell Check dust ruffle which is almost a pinkish white with black. It looks good, but I was surprised to see in person that they're not at all the same hue. They have those items displayed in their store with black Buffalo check accessories.

I wanted a coverlet instead of a duvet to top the bed so I searched around and found a good deal at QVC.com. For the drape, I ordered the king size for my queen size bed. The all-cotton quilt plus 2 shams came to under $100, including shipping. I'm very pleased with the quality. The item No. is H0604 - I just checked before replying - and they only have black toile in twin size in stock right now. Don't know if/when other sizes will be available.

What a beautiful, beautiful room. You have done such a nice job in this room. Sweet dreams and I hope you hear a loon or two ;-)

teeda - You can hear the brook year-round, even in August when it's running at its lowest. The deck is where our closet was on the original house plan, but we couldn't resist adding the shed dormer and walkout so that we could have the screen door open (in summer!) and fall asleep to the sounds of the brook. It runs under a stone bridge on our property and into the lake. I will try to find and post a pic of the bridge. It sealed the deal for us!

stargirl - I posted pics on the Kitchen Forum under "Finally...Pictures of Lake Cottage Kitchen." Because the floor plan is open they show lots of the 1st floor.

wildlifephotomom - We have a loon nesting site nearby. Last summer we would pack dinner and drive up after work to check on construction and we could hear the loons cry. We're in the general area of where "On Golden Pond" was filmed, so there had to be loons!

eandhl - The floor lamp is from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop (www.sturbridgeyankee.com)and is called Cambridge Adj. Floor Lamp in Antique Black.

I think an ottoman, while charming, would look kind of odd with a rocker. What I would consider is a little tuffet type of footstool, done in the toile with black bullion fringe around the bottom for fun. I would add a lumbar pillow to the rocker done in a solid black with either the buffalo plaid or toile in a panel down the center, and thick black and white or solid black brush fringe around the outside perimeter.

As for a rug, I think it would be nice if you could find a larger rectangle that would run from the balcony doors and back toward the bed, that would allow the rocker, lamp and table to feel like the whole area is connected. A round rug could do that, too - just hard to tell about dimensions.

I don't know if you have considered adding a small cornice or valance on the left side window in the buffalo plaid, but I think it would be a nice touch.

One other thing that I keep looking at is the slanted wall above the bed. I think it might be a charming place for some type of quote about loons or the peacefulness of living at the lake, etc. done in WallWords. You could even do it in white, so that it was very subtle on the warmer wall color you have.

If you decide down the line to change the wall color, I think a very soft, but warm green would be wonderful, to bring the outdoors in and tie in with the feeling that you are living up in the trees.

I know that whatever you do it will be lovely - it is terrific just as it is now.

amck-- love the room! I love how the black and white is so crisp, yet cozy!

when you mentioned loons, I was wondering if you were near "Golden Pond"! I have a cottage about 25 minutes from there and we've had some loons on our pond. There's noting like that sound--so beautiful...

I love the loon pic, would you mind sharing the artist's name/info? I would love to get some local work for our cottage.

btw, (not that anyone but me cares...) a few years back, we were lucky enough to rent for a week the actual house where the movie was filmed (dh works with a guy who is a friend of the family that owns the house). The house was very rustic and pretty cool, esp. the fact that they sitll had some of the furniture and the curtains from the movie! And a big ol' moose head over the fireplace!

We're supposed to head up to NH on Thurs. nite, but now they are saying more snow...

Nancy

I just love your cottage style bedroom with the black and white theme. I feel everything is perfect in the room to make it interesting and peaceful serene place to sleep in with that great view. If I had an extra bedroom to decorate, I would love a bedroom that looked just like yours.

I like the SW Creamy on the walls with the white trim. I think behind the bed needs something and I like the wording idea by Les in white or even by itself it is so so pretty with that slanted ceiling and in person may feel like it needs nothing else.

What color is your white trim?

Love your room. You did such a good job with your blk & wh.

I ordered blk & wh bedding last week and it came last week.
I am going to start on my guest BR.

I just hope mine turns out as pretty as yours.

Les - Thanks so much for your thoughts. DH happened to be walking by when I read them before heading to bed last night and looked over my shoulder. His reaction was, "How does she know that!?" as your suggestions are so spot on.

DD had actually suggested a cornice covered w/ the Buffalo check. I was so determined not to visually clutter the room that I initially dismissed it. It's funny how seeing things in a photo gives such a different perspective, though. I went back to the pic after reading your post and thought that window looks a little bald. I will be doing the cornice.

In addition to being a rocker, that chair is really wide and deep. The scale is perfect for long-legged DH, but I usually sit in it with my feet tucked up on it because my legs are short and don't reach the floor. I love the idea of a tuffet! In fact, I just like the word! I am now in search of a source for tuffets! My taste is probably a little too Spartan to go with the fringe, but doing it in toile is perfect, as was your suggestion for the lumbar pillow. Something kept stopping me from ordering another Buffalo check one.
DH loved the idea of wall words for the slanted wall.
Again, thanks for taking the time to really examine the room and offer those great suggestions. They're not things I have to find and do right away, but I think they will really bring the finishing touches to the room!

namabafo - Thanks for your nice comments. If you have a place near there you know that whatever we do to the interiors, we cannot compete with the beauty of the views outside. Not just what it looks like, but the smell and feel of it! Having a place there really is beyond what I've ever dreamed and I don't think I will ever take it for granted.

And, I think it's very cool that you stayed in the "On Golden Pond" house, and I'm tickled that you shared that with us!

Gene Matras is the artist who did the loon print. I got mine at a local furniture store who carries some of his things, but he has a site,www.nhmade.com/genematras/GM_nature.htmt.

We have a stone bridge on the property that looks just like one he sketched, and I got that one for my laundry room lav.

I love being able to connect with people from all around the country - and beyond - on this forum. But it's also neat to meet someone who's nearby and knows my surroundings so well!

lynn - I appreciate all the nice things you said about my room. It's true, being in it gives a feeling that can't be duplicated through seeing a photo.

My trim color is SW Snowbound. I like that it pops the trim and seems to add warmth to the SW Creamy without making it look too yellowed or dingy. I don't think that translates as well in pics as in real life.

Amck, you're doing a great job and the room looks beautiful! I can't wait to see it when you're done. The view out the window looks like you're in heaven there. The sound of the brook must lull you to sleep. How divine!

There are some lovely loon prints on eBay too.

Now I know this is WAY too expensive for us mere mortals, but I thought of this as soon as you said tuffet. I'd imagine you could pick up or make (I'll bet there are directions online) a footstool. But you just have to see this...

Here is a link that might be useful: Tuffet

Target has footstools for $29. All you need to do is find some fun fabric to cover it...

Here is a link that might be useful: Target footstools

Oceanna - I know you've been scoping out cottage decor lately, so I was hoping you'd weigh in!

How about that $1,300+ tuffet?! I was happy to see you followed up with a more modestly priced alternative. Your idea of buying one and covering it is a good one.

My DD is very good with tools, lumber and a sewing machine. I may be able to enlist her help in making my cornice and sewing a toile slipcover for a footstool or tuffett!

Just beautful, and that view!!!

Cindy

I actually found a tuffet! It's solid black with a big - like about 4" across big - button on the top which is covered in the same fabric. I may end up slipcovering it w/toile fabric later. But for now I have 2 questions -

Where should I place it? Should it be kept in front of the chair like an ottoman would be? Or should I set it on the left hand side of the chair and just pull it around when I want to use it as a footstool? This is my first tuffet...

And, it has little dark cherry feet. Should I paint them black to match the chair handles, or leave them burnished brown to add some contrast to the black and blend with some of the same colors that are in the rugs? They are curved in shape, similar to the chair arms?

Any thoughts?

I think (without seeing it) that I would leave the tuffet feet because you don't want absolutely everything black and cream. As to where to place it, you'll need to get it done and move it around until you like where it lands.

Red

Thanks,redbazel, that was my inclination with the feet, but I was wondering if part of me was just resisting getting into the refinishing. Maybe if I slipcover later, I can do the feet black then if it starts to look too mish-mosh.

Not having used them in decorating, and honestly, not having seen any in my friends' homes, I didn't know if setting it in front of the chair would look out of scale, or if that's where they're meant to be placed.

I think you have to play around and see what appeals to you. One thing I might try is to put the rocker angled into the corner under the eave, where the little table is now. Pull it forward enough that there is room to rock and not bang the wall. Put the little side table flat against the little wall by the drapery, which I think would still make it accessible for the rocker. Put the floor lamp to the right side of the rocker, and put the tuffet up against the wall under the loon pix.

Or, put the rocker in the corner, put the lamp on the right side, put the table under the loon pix and put the tuffet up against the wall by the curtains.

Also try it in front of the rocker, of course. How it looks there may depend on proportion more than anything.

I would leave the feet alone for now. Add a round pillow on the chair to echo the tuffet shape, perhaps done in the toile, with a big black button in the center, echoing the tuffet. It will make the chair feel just a bit more feminine, so that it works well with the more feminine tuffet.

Will we get to see a pix?

Another Lynn here, fr CT. On Golden Pond is my favorite movie of all time. I didn't realize that it was an actual place. Lucky you to have been there.

Room is lovely and I can't wait to see what you decide to do from all those wonderful suggestions you received but... in the meantime I would like to ask you a question if I may regarding your floor. I can't tell but it looks as though it may be pine.

We are at the final stages of an addition and I need to decide on a floor and I love pine. As much as I would love reclaimed pine it is way out out of our budget, yet new pine floors are not. Every store I have gone to has tried to discourage me from them because of their softness. The room I need to put the hardwood in is a true "living room" and although my kids are now teens and use the family room and their own bedrooms, with company and all - our new room will get some use.

How is your floor holding up? Looks gorgeous!

I just redid my boy's bathroom in black and white toile, so that tells you how much I love the look, but I really think the walls are screaming for some color. Maybe a warm tan like Wilmington Tan? I wish I could PS so I could play around with it, just for the fun of it.

Laurie

Amck, I'm so glad you found a tuffet! Now you can sit on it and eat curds and whey - lol!

An ottoman cover should be so easy to sew. Nothing to it. I'd just lay the pieces around it and mark them with pens or a pencil. You can draw out a perfect circle for the top with using a pin or nail and a string with a pencil attached, or find something the same size and draw around it... or close to the same size and draw it then measure in or out from your line to establish a new line that's the right size. I'd be tempted to throw some tassel trim around, but that's just me and I don't have (or want) a DH. :-) I'd also be tempted to put up quite a bit more decor -- pictures or objects on the wall, some greenery and so on. Make it look a little more lived in and homey.

The room is adorable, as in gasp and remark on it. But I'm thinking of what Cher always said to Bob Mackie about her costumes -- throw some more glitter on it! :D

Your room is absolutely beautiful and seems so peaceful! I truly love your wood floors - and I'm ordering my eastern white pine from Carlisle this week so I'm very glad that you posted pictures.

lynn r ct - The floors are, indeed, Eastern pine, and they really are gorgeous. I don't think my photos really do them justice. We got them from Carlisle Wide Plank Flooring, and if you check out their site they have professional pics that showcase them better than mine have.
We had a chance to visit their NH site near where they procure their pine. It's quite an impressive operation - large enough to be on top of lastest technology, but still family owned and operated.
They offer reclaimed pine, but the Eastern pine was more the look and price line we wanted.
I posted pics on the Kitchen Forum under "Finally...Pictures of Lake Cottage Kitchen." People asked me about the floors and there's more info and other photos there, if you want to check it out.

les - Brought the tuffet up this past weekend and I love it! It always surprises me that just one piece added to a room can pull a space together so much. It is shaped liked a cushion-cut diamond - square top that angles down on the sides.

I have it set on the left side of the rocker, sort of under the loon print. It doesn't crowd anything and the square shaped top works with the boxy shape of the rocker, while the curved feet mirror the curves of the handles. The stained feet make it not too matchy-matchy. Since my nightstands, headboard & chest all match, I think it's better not going overboard with more black wood!

The rocker was placed there because it gives a view right out to the mountain and brook, but I will move things around as you suggested, just to see.

I also like the idea of a pillow with the big button. Maybe I'll leave the tuffet black, and just cover the big button with a coordinating fabric (?) And I'd still like to get another rug for the sitting area, though I'd probably move it out in the summertime.

A friend who came for dinner on Sat., who had never seen the cottage but had looked up this post, brought me a Wall Words saying as a hostess gift. She made it clear it was up to me whether I wanted to use it or not. The script is black and it reads,"Prayers Go Up, Blessings Come Down" which she thought would look good on the wall behind the bed. She said she thought the phrase worked especially nicely because the wall is angled "Up" and that coming upon this property was a real blessing. Thoughts?

oceanna - I can just feel how badly you want to dress that room! I now it probably looks sparse, but if you stood in it I think you would feel differently. My aim is to have it be an uncluttered space where my eyes are drawn to the outside views and sounds. I want to appreciate the way the sun glows off the wood floors and highlights the knots and texture of it.
If this were in my home here, in a city neighborhood, I would be with you(and Cher!)100%, though! And I appreciate the tips on covering an ottoman. You inspire me to give it a try doing it on my own!

This conversation is making me chuckle. Last year I had a client who had a little space in front of a bookcase and I had said to her that she needed a "tuffet" for that little spot (she has 3 little girls who I could picture perching on that tuffet!). We found a few good possibilities at TJ Maxx/Homegoods, but in the end she ordered a leather one from Home Decorators that worked perfectly. But the funny part is that while we were going around calling it a "tuffet", we could NOT call it a tuffet in front of her husband because she said he would never go for it. We had to call it an ottoman whenever he was around. On a side note, I have a tuffet/ottoman that I bought at auction for $18 about 13 years ago. I've recovered it about 5 times as it has moved around from house to house and room to room. I also just bought a fantastic 1/2-circle ottoman for $12.99 at TJ Maxx -- it sits alongside my coffee table. Sometimes we put our feet on it, sometimes my daughter sits on it to draw at the coffee table. I have a real "thing" for ottomans. I think every room should have one!

sueb20 - You should have seen the look on DH's face when we were packing for the lake this past weekend and I said, "Geez, don't let me forget to take the tuffet - it's in my trunk!" I think he thought I'd acquired another pet, like a ferret or something.

I, too, think I will I will be looking for more of them. They add personality and function and have such a small footprint. I'll likely be using mine with a tray to hold my cup of tea sometimes. It will be a more convenient reach than setting it on the side table. More tuffets! More tuffets!

amck, I laughed at your DH reaction to not forgetting the tuffet. Tell him be glad you don't want to buy Riley and Puck these. http://www.pamperedpuppy.com/features/200408_luxurytuffets.php

I am delighted that you found the perfect tuffet, and that the idea worked out so well. Sometimes I suggest things and then wonder if it was the right idea. LOL

As to the wallwords that your friend bought. Let me first put out the disclaimer that I an neither religious or a praying person, so that may color my view.

My preference would be more for something referring to the peacefulness of the lake, or 'Sweet dreams we share, sweet memories we make, in our lovely cottage by the lake'.

If you are a more religious person and would find the prayer and blessings phrase meaningful there, then by all means use it. I still am wondering about the lettering being in white, rather than black, for a softer look that doesn't compete with the bed. I think that could be very effective against the color on the walls.

les - I have concerns about the praying phrase too, and that's why I was asking about it. It's not that I don't pray, it's more that I'm private about it....Also, and this reveals the imp in me, I just couldn't help but get a giggle over that phrase over a bed if taken out of context. I know, shame on me....

In proper context, I think the phrase is a lovely one, because I do believe that giving thanks for what we have and fostering a grateful nature(my version of praying, I guess)does bless our lives. Maybe I can find a better spot for it - a stairway? You go up as a prayer, come down as a blessing. HEE HEE - I'm losing it, now!

The friend who gave it to me is such a close one, I know she won't be insulted if I don't put it there. I was so touched that she took time to locate this post and found inspiration in it to buy me something that that is what the true gift was for me, and she knows that.

I'll wait till the right phrase comes to me, and I will do it in white, which is what I thought would look best, too.
Thanks for your reply!

I took a look at the link you posted. Wow! There are some pampered pooches out there! Mine, not so much. They are happy w/ their LLBean dog beds. Well, Puck is.....Riley might appreciate a little more luxury, though.

Ah, amck, great minds think alike - or naughty ones, anyway. The prayer over the bed, as well as it being related to 'go up' made me laugh, but I didn't want to offend anyone. ;^)

I too believe in living in and expressing gratitude. I have much for which to be grateful - I just see it from a secular viewpoint. But pausing to reflect and give thanks is always good!