Houzz interview: Layla's Romantic Lettered Cottage

When Layla Palmer and her husband named their house "The Lettered Cottage", Layla didn't even pay attention to the fact that the first letters of the words are T,L and C.
"Someone brought it to my attention the other day," says Layla, "and I just had to smile because of how completely fitting it is. The house was so badly in need of TLC when we bought it".
 
Layla and Kevin moved to their Prattville, Albama fixer upper cottage a year and a half ago and since then they have been extremly busy turning it into a lovely beach style cottage.
The talented couple has been tearing down walls, installing flooring and re- painting every surface in the house, including an amazing DIY kitchen makeover.
The end result is indeed magnificent.  The entire remodeling process, including "how tos" and before and after photos, is documented in Layla's blog, where she also offers virtual design consultation to her readers.
 
I'm very happy to introduce you to Layla and her Lettered Cottage

Please tell us about your “first meeting” with your house to be

When I first tricked, I mean talked, my husband into checking out what we now affectionately refer to as the "Lettered Cottage" he was extremely unimpressed. The house had been vacant, just sitting on the market, for over eight months. It was in need of lots of TLC. The exterior looked so dismal, and the yard was badly overgrown. Inside the house, the wall-to-wall carpet smelled like the previous owners dog, and almost every room looked like it had been painted by Rainbow Brite herself. But at the end of our first walk through, Kevin quickly realized that it was mostly cosmetic work that needed to be done, and we decided that if we could get the house at the right price, we should seize the opportunity to land a spot on our favorite street in town.

The first step of your remodeling process

The first step was removing the stinky, old carpet. It was so bad. Kevin started ripping it out within hours of our closing. Once that was out, we rented a floor sander and began stripping some of the hardwoods. Boy was that a dusty job! There were mountains of dust everywhere. I didn't ever think we'd get it all cleaned up!
See here for the before photos.

The biggest renovation challenge you faced

Can I say coming up with the money to renovate? :-)
Seriously though, it was probably cutting out part of a wall, that s eparates our Living and Dining Rooms, to create a more open floor plan and then figuring out how to put it back together all nice and pretty. We call it "remodeling on a wing and a prayer"!

Your favorite style and colors

I would describe my favorite style as a mixture of the four c's: cottage, country, classic and coastal. My favorite colors are blues, grays and greens.

A spot in your house that makes you very happy/proud

I would have to say our Guest Bedroom. Kevin and I discovered horizontal wood planks underneath a layer of 50 year old drywall. We were ecstatic and immediately began removing the drywall. Again, it was a messy job, but once it was cleaned up, and the planks were primed and painted white, I knew we had done something that all of our guests would really love. My friend, Jessica, who has stayed in the room several times said that when she sees those white planks when she first wakes up, she can't help but smile. :-)

Your precious accessory/furniture/art

I have so many! It's hard to choose because I try to only incorporate things that I feel an extraordinary connection with. Things that really, really speak to me. Two of my absolute favorites though, are the vintage "Accurate" kitchen scale my Mom gave me, and the driftwood sailboat I got from White Flower Farmhouse. I believe, as long as you accessorize with things you LOVE, you can't go wrong.

Your next house project

We're going to build a "headboard bench" from some scrap wood and a $20 headboard I picked up at a flea market. It's going to sit against one wall in our Kitchen. I'm going to paint it black so that it really pops off the white beadboard wall behind it. I can't wait to get started on it!

5 things that houzz readers need to know about your blog

1. I always try to make sure it's an inspiring place for people to visit. Just like I want my home to be!
2. I have a passion for finding beautiful, yet inexpensive home accessories on the web. I post photos and links so that all my readers can scoop them up too.
3. The Lettered Cottage blog was created to document our journey through home renovation and decoration. I post tutorials and photos showing almost every change we make.
4. Because of my blog, I've had the opportunity to create design plans for hundreds of people around the globe. If you need help with a design dilemma, just click the button that says, "Need Design Help?" in the upper right hand corner of my blog to read more about my consulation services.
5. In addition to photos, we also post videos of us visiting flea markets, or doing home renovations, occasionally.

Best tip for the remodeling beginner

Invest in a hand sander, a cordless drill/screwdriver, a compound miter saw and a jigsaw. I don't know what we would do without these tools! Oh wait, yes I do. Nothing!

Last but not least: as a houzz friend, you get to choose a giveaway gift to one of the lucky readers that will share their thoughts about your house and interview.
I have choosen a White Flower Farmhouse stool crafted out of old wood, and an antique barn beam for a seat.  It's to die for!
I love the fact that it's functional and green.  Using old wood in new ways is one of my favorite things to do.  Sometimes I think I could just do that all day long!  Chippy planks of salvaged beadboard and barn beams drive me wild!

For your chance to win the old wood White Flower Farm House Stool, selected by Layla, comment on this interview by Sunday, June 28 at 5pm EST.