Thank you roj leather and Simon for your recommendations. I like the hanging chair and the almanda creeper on the wall. This will certainly liven up the patio.

Hi shampadhar. I look forward to a pic, but generally, yes: it could look odd to have the headboard appreciably higher than the footboard. Despite any other changes, it will look like a bed in the living room. HOWEVER: part of cottage style is relaxed eclecticism, so this may not be a problem and possibly quite charming. The solution will be in placement and styling. If the bed is placed against a wall, position the footboard end nearest the corner. Use a relatively substantial table in the corner at the footboard end of the bed with lighting, accessories, etc., creating a "sofa" feel. No table at the other end, with maybe a pendant or small chandelier suspended over the headboard end. This asymmetry will provide casual and effective light for reading and other activities and support the relaxed vibe that says "cottage style". Use a variety of throw pillows, also more heavily concentrated on the footboard end and arranged largest to smallest along the footboard and down about 3/4 the length of the wall. This will reverse the perceived visual weight of the bed from the headboard to the footboard and help to offset the disparity between the different heights. Consider only a lovely bolster at the headboard end. I really do love to use pieces out of context when this makes sense. If you love the wood, leave it alone and simply dress the bed differently, as described above. It is an interesting way to give this favored piece a new context and a new life, and a cottage is the setting wherein this is most likely to be successful. Post pics, please. I would love to see what you come up with. Have fun with it and good luck!

I'm not against colorful homes. There's bright, and then there's too bright. I wouldn't go with persimmon for the whole house. The photo you provided has lots of white trim which offsets the orange, but your house doesn't have that much trim (unless you were planning on adding some, which I think would look good no matter what color you ultimately choose, but even so, I wouldn't go with persimmon for the whole house, as it's still too bright). To repeat what @nwduck said, the other homes in the neighborhood don't appear to all be done in the bright colors, and so yours would stand out too too much. I like @deco's idea of the bright door, if you really love a bright color. For the rest of the house, any more subdued color would be fine, along with additional trim around the windows, and assuming that your siding color coordinates with your roofing color.

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!