Good morning from the mountains!

Sunrise this morning....

We are emerging from the unpacking exhaustion/no internet twilight zone! We had a whirlwind week of unpacking and then headed to Atlanta for a wedding and are now back in the mountains ready to make our cottage into a home.

Because we were able to purchase the porch furniture from the sellers, the porch has been our refuge.    It is the one almost finished room of the house. We rearranged the furniture, moving the sofa to the side and taking the console from the back wall into the seating area. It looked like this before.

Sunlight makes such a difference, this day was dark and dreary.

We added one of our jute rugs, a metal coffee table, a few extra pillows (we purchased the sellers orange and gold Sunbrella pillows) and some Indian throws. Still have some pottery in boxes in the basement to add to the mix. Maybe the small fiddle leaf fig that was purchased in SC.

We added a mirror we used in the upstairs hall of our last house to break up the back wall. It gives us a "window" that allows us to see the reflection of the view from our bedroom, adjacent to the porch.

I need something on the round side table between the wicker chairs, perhaps another outdoor lamp or the brown demijohn bottle we have, filled with some branches.

There is a little uncovered porch attached, with a kettle grill and metal table behind the pair of extra dining chairs.

It is the only part of the house that needs attention. The decking is mildewed and the railing needs a fresh coat of paint. We are kind of lazy and used to a gas grill so not sure if we will keep the Weber kettle.

That's all for now, going to tackle some more boxes in the basement today. We are also awaiting one more small truck of our belongings that did not fit in the moving van. It will hopefully arrive this week. So more boxes! 

We have ordered a new sofa, pillows and dining bench and will have to wait months for them to arrive. So the living areas are going to be sparse for some time. Our sofas and sectionals just did not suit this small cottage so we decided to start fresh.

We also have so much discovery awaiting us in the area, can't wait to get to that!

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy

mountain porches

 design by Francie Hargrove

Highlands and its sister town, Cashiers, are both known for their beautiful mountain homes. Of course, most have covered decks or porches to capture the pretty views.

The screened porch below was a big selling point for us in the small ranch home we are buying. These are photos of the porch on the day we bid on the house. Plants and a rug will be added once we move in

along with a bit of furniture rearrangement, this feels a bit tight

The demijohn bottle, set of stationary chairs and round side table are going with the sellers.  But we are able to purchase the rocking chairs, sofa and dining set. I will be sure to post photos of sunny days on the porch soon, this day was quite dreary.

Here are some favorite mountain porch inspirations I have pinned...

a  Cashiers porch designed by Kathleen Rivers and featured in  House Beautiful. The striped rug!

this beauty was featured in House Beautiful

a Cashiers porch done by Phoebe Howard

A beautiful porch bar, done for the Cashiers Showhouse a few years ago. Checked fabrics look great in the mountains.

 design by Francie Hargrove

A log home in Highlands.... this home was actually owned by the same couple we are purchasing our home from. They had two homes in Highlands (one for family and friends) and are downsizing to a condominium.. The house was featured in Traditional Home.  Read more here. This is the same set of  porch furniture we are purchasing from them.

Kathleen Rivers designed this dining porch space that was featured in Garden & Gun. Fantastic view of Whiteside Mountain from this one.

Garden & Gun

A porch with black woodwork, painted wicker and awesome stone fireplace by Charleston designer Amelia Handegun.

I will be sure to regularly post some photos of our porch as we get settled. It will be the focal point of the house in the summer and fall.

Thanks for visiting!

Cindy