Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I have been hesitant to say anything about the visitors I have had at the cottage this week.  I was afraid that something would happen to jinx the visit.  But right on schedule (or close to it), the photography team of Gridley and Graves showed up for a photo shoot of my house for French Country Style Magazine.  We are still in the midst of it all, but it has been a very interesting, exciting, and scary experience.  Scary because of my obsessive worry about everything being perfect; not possible.  Exciting because I never dreamed that my house would be in a magazine.  Interesting because the process of professional photograph is amazing.  Anne Gridley and Gary Graves are real pros and very easy to work with.  Their equipment is massive as you can see by the above photo.

In preparation for their visit, I made a Walnut Gateau Breton and baked my Garlic Rosemary Baguettes for props.  They spent most of their time in the kitchen yesterday.  Today they have moved on to the rest of the house.  

I’m not sure when, or if, our Lake Lure Cottage will be in French Country Style Magazine, but I feel honored to have been considered and will be one happy lady when I see it all in print.

I love decorating almost as much as I love cooking, so today I have decided to give you an update on the cottage renovation. We started with a 600 Sq. ft. space and added a second story to the existing cottage. The second story with the new kitchen, master bedroom, and living room as shown above have been livable for a while. We had our contractor friend Don texture the walls to give them a stucco effect. I then painted them a soft yellow and went over that with a burnt umber glaze.

The dining area leading into the kitchen has a reproduction French cupboard with chicken wire in the doors instead of glass. I store many of my blog dishes here.

We have gotten the walls up and the furniture out of storage. I do want to replace the rug, but this makes a nice sitting area for the downstairs bedrooms.

David made the headboard out of laurel branches for this bedroom.

I had fun making this a bedroom for Rachel and her cousins. I still have a lot of accessorizing to do, but Rachel loves her bedroom.

This is a picture of the lower screened porch. David made the swinging twin beds. There is another one on the other side. We are calling this the sleeping porch, but it is also a wonderful place to curl up with a good book and take an afternoon nap.

There is another budding designer in the family. Rachel discovered my design magazines while she was here and was totally fascinated. That’s a picture of her and her Dad below.

We are taking a break from working on the house for the next few weeks. It has been a labor of love and I can’t think of a better place to live.

I will be posting my Barefoot Blogger recipe a little late this month. Stay tuned.