the bolthole

so my little country cottage.  the bolthole.  my fresh air escape, formerly known as the green shutter house, is no longer a red brick house with green shutters.  it is now a shutterless whitewashed, enchanted little cottage.  green shutter was a moment as well, and not just a physical description.  a brief, beautiful, shining moment.  lightning in a bottle.  my vision quest.  i remember years ago when i was looking to change up my life and alice and i were thinking of where we would like to live, i had such a strong instinctual feeling in my heart, and we drove past this dilapidated little house in the middle of no place special and i knew that it was the one.  months passed, and alice and i would occasionally drive past it, or refer to it as the green shutter house.

so i ended up buying it, and living in it for a few brief years, but for the most part, it just sits and waits for my visits, all sweet and patient, and so welcoming when i come back.  it is home for me.  and always will be.  the sweet humble little place that is so filled with love and good memories.  it is the first house i ever bought, and i really didn't have much of a plan for it other than not ruining what i thought was the charm.  the old features, like the lovely old doors and hardware.  and the giant old trees that were and are still breathtaking.

so anyway, life has a way of taking us places, and i really rarely get to spend more than a weekend there, but it is the place that feels really like home.

so i finally tackled the kitchen doors!  over the 4th of july, i learned how to use a heat gun, and after almost a year of just wanting to strip the doors, i finally stripped, primed, and painted my screen door with farrow and ball cinder rose.  i actually found the process to be very pleasant and relaxing, and i can't believe i had been so daunted by the whole prospect, and putting it off.  easy peasy.  not sure if the shade is too brown and melancholy for me, so i decided to think about it before applying a second coat, or the inner door.

so many other pinks to consider though.

i open up the place, and air it out a bit.  i always keep some coffee in the freezer, so i can just  wake up in the morning to the sound of tweeting birds, drink a cup, or six, and just start weeding.  fully caffeinated.  well rested.  blissed out.

cosmos grown from seed on my new york windowsill, ready to be transplanted.

roses in summer.

i got this lilly pulitzer for target canvas chair years ago, and the purple spiderwort somehow has thrived on the neglect for all these years.

my view from the kitchen in late may early june.  

the kitchen used to be painted a very warm and exotic benjamin moore tuscan coral.

 then it went minimal stark white, which i love.

 colefax and fowler constance linen in the tiny shoebox size bedroom...

mr. chase loves his visits to the cottage, and now that its just the two of us these days, i think we will seriously be spending a lot more time here.  his favorite english rolled arm chair is upholstered in colefax and fowler old rose chintz and has been custom shredded to bits by him.  i love it that way.