A cozy house for 30,000 dollars!

I don’t know about you…but I can’t deal with the heat! I have a really hard time enjoying anything in the 103 degree temperatures here in Virginia!! It really has me missing the cool air back in Sweden.

A month ago my brother Joacim and his wife Lisa, threw Zoe (my niece) her first birthday party. They bought a summer cottage a few years ago, in the middle of the woods with no running water, from a local artist for…$ 30,000…yes $ 30,000!! I was pretty amazed with what they had done to their house since my last visit. They now live there full time, and have turned it in to a really sweet,cool place to raise their children.

It’s a red Swedish cottage completely surrounded by woods. It has three bedrooms and a large art studio attached…

…and it has some unusual architectural details, like this slanted porch.

A great place to sit and enjoy the afternoon sun and watch the kids play soccer!

Joacim and Lisa did all of the renovations themselves. They added windows, installed new floors, built a kitchen etc. etc. There’s really nothing they can’t do!

I love the new black and white kitchen floor and the red Ikea cabinets. The beaded drapery and lace curtains keep the mosquitoes out!!

Even with a house filled to the brim with guests, the open shelving in the kitchen looked organized!

I like how the cleaning tools had a creative look. No reason they shouldn’t look nice.

Except for the Ikea kitchen, the home doesn’t have a single furniture item that was purchased new. Everything was bought at second hand stores or flea markets.

This is a great little corner nook on the terrace…

…with some colorful fabric.

It’s a great place for Zoe to sit and ponder what a sweet place this is to turn 1!