EXT Cottage

3. Simplify your kitchen. It’s easy to accumulate a glut of kitchen gadgets and specialty cookware over time. And while some specialty kitchen items certainly earn their keep, if it’s been gathering dust at the back of your cupboard for more than a year, chances are good you don’t really need it. Start fresh by pulling everything out of the cupboards and drawers and putting back only the stuff you really use.Jump-Start Your Kitchen With These Minimalist Essentials

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5. Dining tables in the kitchen. Not everyone is in favor of a big island, especially for eating family meals. Who wants to face the same direction all the time, as in a diner? Many homes, especially those with smaller kitchens, are reconsidering a traditional dining table in place of an island.Browse dining tables

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Exterior: The construction team used white-painted cedar and red cedar shingles for the exterior of the building. Steps: A winding set of stone stairs — at least 40, Larson estimates — leads from the house up to the pavilion. “It only takes a few minutes to get up there,” Larson says, “and you get there by walking up all those moss-covered stairs. It’s really quite magical.”Exterior materials: LS Cedar

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2. Covered hot tub. Imagine a guest’s surprise when he or she discovers a luxurious hot tub behind the door of this playhouse behind a Welsh holiday home. Plus, the cottage is much more charming to look out onto than a blocky, covered hot tub.

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