Thrifty French Country Cottage Style Home Tour
If you enjoy gleaning ideas from the French country cottage style, then this home tour done on a budget will give you inspiration with loads of vintage charm!
French Country Cottage Style Home Tour
Welcome in to the home of Desiree, who graciously shares her french country cottage style home done on a budget with us today! I just recently got to know Desiree on Instagram and was immediately smitten with her use of upcycling, vintage pieces incorporated with new and softly muted decor. Find her on Instagram HERE if you are on that platform.
Like me, Desiree lives in Florida and her colors both inside and out reflect the coastal lifestyle. A snippet of her Orlando garden above is a treat! As soon as you enter her home, you see her love of vintage charm with flea market finds and architectural pieces throughout. Her budget was tight and she’s been able to do lots of projects on a dime, so let’s see what she has shared!
Desiree is a busy wife and mom to four young children. She has a of love photography, refinishing furniture, crafting, DIY’s and really anything creative! She has a blog filled with her pursuits and you’ll find that here – Camelot Art Creations.
Like so many of us, she loves to mix things up and move pieces around. She shared that her home was featured in the 2019 Spring issue of American Farmhouse Style, making the cover! It will also be featured this year, 2020 in Cottages and Bungalows Christmas issue. Her home is a mix, and she has a love of french country cottage style mixed with vintage, primitive, farmhouse and more.
Desiree shares that they purchased this 4 bedroom, 3 bath home in 2016, 2 1/2 weeks before the birth of their 4th child. “Our prior home was a townhouse and we had just outgrown it. When we started looking for a home to purchase, this one was out of our price range. I had actually found it by driving through one of my favorite neighborhoods. There was just something about the large corner lot & shaded front yard from the oak tree.”
“After looking at two homes in our price range, I asked our realtor to set up a showing of this home. It had been on the market for 9 months, everything in this neighborhood sells within two months! I really felt that God was telling me that this is the home for your family! The listing photos were a little scary, but I can always see past flaws. Most of it was just bright paint colors. After looking at the home, I knew it was perfect! A pool for the kids, large yard, open family room into the kitchen & a split floor plan, so our daughter has her own private space when she’s older with three older brothers. The elementary school is right across the street and a good public school system. We made an offer that was in our price range and it was accepted!”
Desiree is “in the know” having grown up with parents that had a construction business. “I was familiar with remodels and have always had a love for home design. My parents always bought the ugliest house, in the best neighborhoods and flipped them.”
“The first thing that we did, was paint all of the main living areas in Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. I kind of wish I went with white walls now. My style has really changed since moving in. Leaning more to the French country, cottage style than farmhouse style.”
“I’ve always loved antiques and the only store bought pieces in our home are our IKEA sofas. Everything else has been curated over time from Craigslist, garage sales, FB marketplace & flea markets. I love mixing in styles like primitive, victorian, French country & cottage. Nothing cost over $70 and I’m definitely a bargain shopper. My favorite find is our dining room table for $60. The natural wood and French legs had me smitten!”
“After living with a ugly kitchen for a year, I painted the cabinets. I’ve always dreamed of a all white kitchen, but with 4 kids I just didn’t think painting the lower cabinets in white was a good idea. We had a 5 gallon bucket of gray paint leftover from another project, so I decided to use that to save money. It’s Behr Gray Area. So glad we went this way because it does hide a lot of the kids messes.”
“We added hardware, covered the countertops in marble vinyl, added open shelves and recently did a peel and stick backsplash, removed the microwave and raised the upper cabinet above the stove to give a more custom look.”
“Everything probably only cost under $500. Some materials were gifted. I have to say that this is my favorite project because of how much better it made the home look.”
Master Bedroom:
“Wall color is Behr Falling Snow. I love how light and airy our bedroom is! I painted the secretary’s desk in Fusion mineral paint, Stirling. Picked that up for $25 at a flea market! I like mixing furniture in a bedroom instead of everything matching, like a tea cart for a nightstand.”
Daughters Bedroom:
“I love her layered gallery wall that we did…well maybe more so me. My husband didn’t care for the layered look.”
Boys Bathroom:
“We added board and batten, did a peel and stick floor tile. Painted the cabinet and walls in Behr Ultra Pure White. the B&B is the Behr Gray Area again, same as the kitchen since we had the paint. This little update made a huge difference for under $100!”
See more of the boy’s bathroom project on Desiree’s blog HERE and head on over to her blog HERE!
PIN ME NOW FOR INSPIRATION LATER!
If you enjoyed this home tour, be sure to check out these recent home tours that are also done on a budget:
Janet, thank you so much for sharing our home on your gorgeous blog! So flattered! I’ve been a fan of yours for many years & you’ve shared so many gorgeous homes!!
Desiree
Very impressive! Lovely home.
Desiree is so talented! What a beautiful, creative home. Thanks Janet for bringing it to us. It went well with my morning coffee.
Noticed at least three sets of chippy white corbels around Desiree’s lovely home — love them! Also the dresser in her daughter’s bedroom –very vintage and sweet. This lady has fabulous taste!
Thanks for sharing Desiree’s home today. I so enjoyed it. The touches of blues, whites and gray’s is so pretty. We have agreeable gray as well on our walls and it does come off as a very very light shade of gray and gives the white trim something to pop off of without being too much.
Peel and stick flooring? I’m seeing this everywhere and would love to see how it holds up.
I subscribed to the Instagram!
Thanks for stopping by with a comment Lori! I’m not sure about the durability of peel and stick, but I would think it’s more of a temporary fix.
What a lovely home. Envious. I live on a wooded site and my house is so dark compared to the light airiness of Desiree’s!
Hopefully you can grab some ideas from posts like these Kathy! xo
Congrats on your new home its lovely, thank you for sharing.
Desiree has a lovely home Marilyn and glad that you enjoyed the tour!
Georgeous!
We love this home too!