One more consideration. The floor has to be able to stand up to a power wheelchair. over 500 pounds wheels turning in tight turns it has to be easy to maintain .... really don't like ceramic. can you give me names of some quality laminate products. and what would you consider "appropriate expansion"? Thanks.......

Here are some shots of cottages and, as you can see, they look great in lighter tones. I like rustic accents and organic also i.e. driftwood lamps, stone sculpture, aged metal containers, shelves made of reclaimed wood, etc. There are so many ways to go with the decor. I started with all solid wood fir walls that were oh sooo cozy and I decorated to the original date of the house as well as could be incorporating modern conveniences but after 15 years of it and people begging me not to change it, I had every bit of wood painted and I love it. So here you go. I'm happy for you to have found your dream place. Here is a link that might be useful: cottages

Lavender, what a great photo! I am considering getting a wood countertop from Ikea as a DIY project. I saw the man from HGTV I hate my kitchen show install a wood countertop over a Kohler sink and think we could do this. As for beadboard, we are still considering it although our kitchen is very small and we were told it may overwhelm the space. I am afraid it may not work as a BS because of the water near the sink and our cooking habits. I do love it too so once the kitchen is done, I may find a way to get it into the dining room. 1929, I have the same concern about the depth of the screw and thickness of the cab doors. I believe DH said you can cut the screw down but what about the threads? Do you have the doorknob style (octagon-ish shape) or the one where you can see the metal smack in the center? I really like both a lot but am leading towards the one with the visible metal in the center since I have the old glass doorknobs throughout the house. We are finally getting into the fun part. Some of these decisions along the way have been dreadful for me!

I would first address structural issues. It looks to be very lightly constructed; probably not anywhere near current codes. The roof, in particular is subject to some serious stresses if you get snow in your area. I would like to see some kind of rafters tying the walls together for starters. If you could find some rough-sawn material, it would add to the look. Even a few of them would add considerably to the roof integrity. It's going to be hard to insulate the walls and keep the exposed studs. To look good, you would have to have some kind of planking as your first layer on the outside, followed by considerable insulation and then siding. Bear in mind that walls like that have little protection from wracking. You certainly either want to do just one wall at a time, and probably put temporary diagonal bracing. There really should be permanent diagonal bracing for a planked wall structure. It would be much easier to sheathe the outside with OSB, then a layer of foam, then the siding. Use conventional insulation in the wall cavities, then drywall, or better yet, horizontal planking to keep the character of the cottage. The same rules apply to the roof, although you would want to keep the planking if it is in good shape. I would strip the roofing, and if all is good, apply a thick rigid foam layer- like 6", then outer sheathing screwed through the foam to the roof structure, then tar paper and shingles. I think it looks like a fun project! Just make sure you protect/improve the structural integrity as you go. It's been found that tightening up air leaks can have as much impact as insulation, so work carefully, and put some study into modern energy efficient practices. Greenbuildingtalk is a good forum for more technical info. As for the pipes underneath, they can go into the ground in an insulated (and possibly heated) box. You're going to want to insulate the floor, too.