New Old Cottage Exterior Reveal

_{This post is sponsored by Barn Light Electric, however all opinions are explicitly my own. This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, you can read my full disclaimer here.}

Today’s the day! I finally get to reveal the exterior of our new old cottage here on the blog and show you how the cottage looks now that construction is about 98% done!

But before I show you the “after” photos… let’s take a peek back at the mood boards I made early on in the construction journey!

The Cottage Exterior Mood Boards

If you’ve been following along, you might remember when I shared the Cottage Mood Boards to give you a peek at the design and our vision for the cottage.

Here’s a little look back at our original exterior mood boards.

From the front…

And from the side…

The Cottage Exterior During Construction

Here’s what the cottage exterior looked like the last time you saw it on the blog.

I shared this photo and more in a mid-construction cottage tour after drywall went in.

New-Old Cottage Exterior Reveal and Design Details

Since then, we’ve painted, installed lights, and cleaned up a lot of the construction debris and things that were on the porch in those earlier photos.

Here’s what the cottage looks like today!

The cottage is so close to being complete – just a few more last minute things to take care of, and we’re also waiting on final inspections so we can get the C/O.

But she’s looking so good! What do you think?

I can’t get over how good this little cottage is turning out! I’m so excited to finally share some finished photos with you today…

Let’s chat through some of the design details while I show you all the cottage exterior pics I’ve been working on the past few days!

Vintage-Inspired Lighting from Barn Light Electric

First up, let’s take a peek at the exterior lighting!

The two lights on either side of the front door are the Galvanized Wilcox Deep Boal Gooseneck Lights from Barn Light Electric.

We opted for the 14 inch shades, and I love how substantial they are!

I think they’re the perfect size for the front porch! And I am obsessed with that pretty swoop of the gooseneck arm! I don’t think I’ve ever seen prettier exterior lighting…

If you walk around to the back of the cottage, you’ll see those same Galvanized Wilcox Deep Boal Gooseneck Lights on either side of the back entry door.

Gosh they’re pretty!

We went with the 14 inch shades for the lights on the back of the house too and they were the perfect fit!

I can’t wait to see these all lit up at night once we have power cut on!

On the side porch you’ll see two Galvanized Seaside Sconce Lights from Barn Light hanging over the double doors.

I knew I would love these lights when I saw them on Barn Light’s website. But seeing them in person I somehow love them even more!

I have never seen lights quite like them. They’re very unique – and very fun!

The fluted detail on the shade adds such a playful touch to this side of the porch! And again, the gooseneck arms are simply perfection.

Because these two lights hang over the double entry doors, we wanted something a little lower profile than the other exterior lights we picked out.

I think they’re the perfect playful, whimsical lighting for a new old cottage!

If you loved the exterior lighting we chose, I know you’ll love the interior lights too. So I’ll link them all below for you to see.

Click any of the links below to shop our vintage-inspired lighting from Barn Light Electric.

Stay tuned, I’ll be sharing the rest of these lights in upcoming “cottage reveal” posts!

A Pointed Arch Window

Next up… THE WINDOW!

This pointed arch window truly transformed the front profile of the cottage!

It’s probably my favorite design detail on the exterior of the house! I think it makes this cottage and I’m so glad we were able to incorporated this unique feature.

Head to this earlier post to read more about the pointed arch window and what inspired this design choice.

The short version is that the we drew inspiration from the American Gothic House, and the iconic American Gothic painting seen below.

See the pointed arch window? We’ll have to re-create this photo in front of the cottage at some point!

White Board & Batten Siding

Now onto the rest of the exterior details.

We chose a white vinyl siding in a board and batten style to complement the other Carpenter Gothic style features on the cottage (the pointed arch window, and the corbels which are coming soon!)

I love that it also complements the white board and batten siding on our farmhouse!

A Galvanized Metal Roof

The galvanized metal roof was an easy choice!

#1 They last. And #2 I think they make the house look much older than it is!

What do you think?

“Haint” Blue Porch Ceilings & Sky Blue Door Entry Doors

Painting the porch ceilings blue was another easy design decision!

Well, until it came time to pick the actual shade of blue, which I’ll share with you below.

We grabbed so many paint swatches from Lowe’s that it was overwhelming! So, believe it or not, we actually let my daughter pick the color after we narrowed it down to our top 10 or so blues.

And she used “eenie meenie miny mo” to choose the color! Lord help me… haha!

The blue porch ceiling “trend” is actually very historically significant here in the south.

Haint blue porch ceilings originate from the Gullah Geechee people, who believed that it would bring protection to the home.

The blue hue, resembling water, was meant to deter evil spirits. It was believed that they could not cross over water so painting the porch ceiling blue was done to prevent them from entering the home.

You’ll notice “haint” blue porch ceilings on historic homes all through the south – so it just made sense to incorporate a “haint” blue porch ceiling into the design of our new / old cottage!

The exterior doors were originally going to be a tan color. But after seeing how pretty the blue looked on the porch ceilings, we decided to go blue on the doors too.

And I’m so glad we did because now I can’t imagine these doors not being blue!

I’ll link both the ceiling and the door colors below.

Cottage Exterior FAQ’s

what’s left to do in this space?

• install exterior door knobs – ours are back-ordered, but I’ll be sure to share!
• add antique-inspired corbels to the porch posts
• clean-up the yard and plant grass seed
• add a gravel driveway
• bring in furniture like rocking chairs, and my mom’s old church pew

What about those ceiling fans?

My mom actually got a really good deal on the porch ceiling fans! They were a clearance item at Lowe’s, so unfortunately I can’t find the link for them anywhere now.

when will we get to see the interior?

The Cottage Reveals will be shared in 5 parts:

• The Cottage Exterior Reveal (this post)
• The Cottage Kitchen Reveal
• The Cottage Primary Bath Reveal
• The Cottage Guest Bath Reveal
• A Tour the Cottage (coming soon)

These “room reveal” posts will be shared weekly here on the blog over the next few weeks – so check back soon for the kitchen and bathrooms!

If you haven’t already… be sure to subscribe to my email list below, and I’ll send you a link to all the upcoming cottage reveals as soon as they’re live on the blog!

Once construction is completely done, and once my parents are all moved in… I’ll share updated photos of the entire cottage, inside and out, in a big “Tour of the Cottage”!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I loved getting to share the cottage exterior with you today now that construction is coming to a close.

I hope you enjoyed it too!

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the cottage, the construction process, or something else I didn’t cover in today’s post… leave a comment below, or send me a DM on Instagram!

I’m happy to answer questions and share anything I can that might be helpful, or that you may just be curious about.

Until next time…

Love, Brittany