Lenape Unionville Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania
This brown shake shingle cottage caught my eye because it blends into the background. You almost can't see the house for the trees.
It's a little house in a big woods. Almost five acres of big woods, to be exact, because the property includes two lots.
It's only accessible by this easy-to-miss gravel drive.
The listing suggests building your dream home on the empty lot, which means that this little cottage could be your guest house or Airbnb.
It was built in 1968, but recently renovated into the perfect blank slate.
If it were mine, I'd change the color of the trim and inset porch area and freshen them up too, like this:
The paint color is Benjamin Moore Cathedral Gray. I also added a Crate & Barrel black bench, but the If It Were Mine Council liked these hanging swings better:
They do seem more fun for a guest/vacation home. Let's go inside and see how we can make it appeal to guests, too.
The living room has cottage character with engineered wood floors and a wood-burning fireplace:
It could meet its match with this cheerful design below:
The kitchen is visible through a pass-through window:
Its blue and tan backsplash tile is giving me color cues for the rest of the house.
My thinking for this room is, if you put in a cute blue stove, then that's what your guests will notice and remember and you don't have to do much else. (Although I would also extend the backsplash.)
{stove source}
I had a similar idea for the laundry room...
and would just keep it sweet and simple, too, like this:
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Going back to the living room gives us a glimpse of the dining room through the french doors.
Here's the cheerful and guest-friendly design I chose for it:
{Sweenor Builders/This Old House}
Upstairs is a loft bedroom with a bathroom. (The house is considered two bedrooms because the dining room could be used as one if needed.) There is 1,340 square feet.
To accommodate more heads in beds, I'd add a double bed by the window...
and twin beds on the other side of the room...
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The listing doesn't show either of the bathrooms, but I imagine they could look a bit like this:
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I'd finish things off by finishing this great outdoor space for guests:
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This cute cottage doesn't have a lot of history, so I gave you lots of pretty photos to look at instead. I thought it would be less time-consuming (read: less work) for me, but I was very wrong.
That's okay. It was still a lot of fun to take notice of this hidden gem and find ways to make it even more special!
The listing is here.
