My Dream Home

At some point during the day, nearly every single day, I catch myself dreaming about living in an adorable cottage in a small town or rural area. I’ve never been a city girl so living 20 minutes outside Atlanta is definitely not my cup of tea.

The city I live in is super congested and traffic is always bad unless it’s 10:00 AM on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or 10:00 at night.  I do all my grocery shopping, errand running, etc…during those times.  Yup, I’m that woman you see in Publix at 10 o’clock at night, an hour before they close. And let me tell you, that’s a bad time to shop near a holiday like Thanksgiving and Christmas because the shelves are about half empty at that time of night.

People are all so different, which is a good thing.  Life would be terribly boring if we were all the same.  I have friends who love living inside the perimeter and love the big city life.  I would be miserable there.  The city doesn’t energize me, it drains me.  I feel so at peace and so happy when I’m surrounded by nature.  I love mountains, trees and beautiful grassy fields.

When we moved here, it was for the career opportunities. We chose our home/location based on the schools since our son was in second grade. But children grow up and move away, as they should, and one day you realize you could really live anywhere.

I do love my home but when I’m daydreaming of where I might move one day, I picture an adorable 3-bedroom cottage with a big screened-in porch.  The porch overlooks rolling hills, or maybe a pretty forest.  Sometimes late at night I check the real estate listings in the north Georgia area, just in case a cute cottage has recently come on the market.  So far I’ve never found one that was really what I’d want.  Maybe someone already lives in my dream cottage and has no plans to move.

I think what I’d really like to do is build a new, old house. I love so many things about old homes, the deep moldings, high ceilings, quirky rooms.  I’m just not sure I would want to take on the expense that comes with owning a historic home. So building a new, old home would be the next best thing to living in an old home.

One day I was sitting here at my desk researching something online and I came across the house of my dreams. Seriously! It was as if my little dream cottage jumped out of my head and onto the screen. I saved the picture on my computer because it would be a great starting point if I ever hired a contractor to build my dream home. It’s just a playhouse, not a real house. But you know what, it could be built to grown-up size.

Yellow Cottage Playhouse

Photo from Posh Tots.com

At least once a day I pull up the picture and just stare at it for a while. Why do I love it so much?  Let me count the ways:  1. The dormer windows. 2. The bay window on the side  3. The front porch (of course) 4. The gable on the front  5.The adorable white picket fence  6.  The rose-covered arbor  7. The arched windows.  8. The window boxes overflowing with flowers  9. The yellow siding and white trim  10. That it’s not too big.

The only things I’d change (other than making it a real house and not a play house) is I’d like the windows on the front to be full length and there would probably be two of them on either side of the front door since it would be a grown-up size house.  The more windows the better!  One of my most fave things about historic homes is how they always have big, beautiful windows down the sides, as well as the front.  It needs a fireplace and it would be especially nice if the fireplace were designed so the master bedroom above had a fireplace, too.

I know you can’t see it, but I’m just positive there’s a big screened-in porch across the back, a porch filled with lots of white wicker. Were you wondering about the view from the screened porch? Well, it’s gorgeous! There are lots of trees and every morning the deer come out of the woods to eat the treats I put out for them. There’s a wonderful vegetable garden, too, fenced in to keep the critters out. When I’m not working, I’m biking the trails nearby, reading and playing in the garden. Max is there, too, chasing the bugs and napping in the sunshine.  🙂

Yellow Cottage Playhouse

 

Tell me, how does your dream home look? Is it a new home, an old home or a new, old home? Where is it located? The country? The beach? On a lake? The mountains? In a big city?

Do dreams come true? I sure hope they do.

Love the idea of living in a dream town? Check out these wonderful places: Dream Towns, Fantasy and Real

Stars Hollow(Stars Hollow)

*If a post is sponsored or a product was provided at no charge, it will be stated in post. Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. *



 Never miss a Between Naps on the Porch post! 

*Subscribe to have updates delivered to your Inbox. 



Comments

  1. You had me at yellow and please and in a city neighborhood where I could walk to dinner.

    • I have to admit, I do love the “walking to dinner” part. That would be kind of tough in the country. 🙂

      • I live in a small Midwestern town and my house is right in the edge of town. Two blocks north of me is a lovely small lake with lots of wildlife, a little beyond that is a river and woods; one block south of me is a little open mall with several good restaurants, and the supermarket is across the street from that. Yes, I know how blessed I am!

  2. G´day Susan,

    Great playhouse, huh? But this like a dreamhouse. Well, my dreamhouse will be on topp of the hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

    The scheme and the blueprint are ready. 5 more years till my retirement, then mybeach shabby chic dreamhouse will come true. Just keep fingers X.

    Happy mid-week.

    Greetings,
    /CC girl

  3. I guess Lavender Hill is my dream house in most ways… the house at least is – I just wish it were on acreage in the country instead of a nj suburb outside of Manhattan! I’ve always dreamed of owning a log home in the country as a getaway – not a full time home, but someplace rustic and cozy to escape…..

    thanks for sharing YOUR dream house!
    gena

  4. Aaaah, you would have loved my old money pit: http://www.brokenteepee.com/2010/11/before-farm-my-victorian-money-pit.html

    Dreams do come true. I’m living in what has to be the most beautiful place I have ever seen and I’ve seen some beautiful places. We have our little goat farm and my husband has built me a house that I designed and it is full of color and light. So yes, keep dreaming. And yes, old houses ARE money pits.

  5. I could so live in this house, but in the mountains with a beautiful view!

  6. This looks so perfect! I love our home and it’s like a dream home to me, but I’ve also always wanted to one day have a home just like this but maybe with larger windows and a wrap-around porch! I’ve always LOVED wrap-around porches!

  7. I agree with you about the traffic. We lived in Cobb Co. for 12 years and recently moved to Middle Georgia. I knew the traffic was horrible where we were, but didn’t really realize it until we moved here and didn’t have it anymore. Now when I come up to “town” to visit I really dread driving around.
    I love your little dream cottage…hope it comes to fruition for you one day. 🙂

  8. Oh I do that all the time. My dream home would be in or very close to mountains, like in Gatlinburg, TN, wildlife is absolutely necessary…no city life for me. A much smaller home, one-story, less to clean means more time to “do”. Like you, I’d like lots of windows to let the light stream in, a front porch and screened-in back porch is a must. As far as the exterior, I’m pretty open, I like so many styles but there are some things I refuse to give into. I live “in the country” now and wouldn’t trade it for city life ever! Thanks for sharing Susan, have a great evening.
    Audrey

  9. Love this cottage. We are very close to retirement when we get to decide where we want to live. I am saving ideas for my dream home. It doesn’t have to be big but it has to have lots of windows and outdoor space. I think 3 BR 3.5 baths with a pool house with a sleeping porch for the family overflow. Problem is I am a country girl. I love sunrise and sunset and views so it needs to sit on a hill. I love the idea of walking or biking to run errands in a friendly small town but I don’t want to live in a neighborhood. Not sure all of my wants are going to match up.

    • Sandy, that’s sounds exactly like the debates I have going on in my head. I want to be in the woods but love the ideas of a small town, too.

    • When my mom retired she had a very small 2bdr, 2 bath house built. The lot was a double corner lot so she could devote her time to her love of gardening. She also had a small shed built and filled it with camping supplies.. tents, cots, cot pads, lights and so on. When the family visiting overflowed her house we camped out in her backyard. She even added an above ground pool at one point. It was so much fun! She traveled to visit the kids & grandkids during the cold months. Now that I’m at the retirement age I think I’ll follow her lead.

  10. Thanks for sharing! For a moment I thought it was me!

  11. Love your dream home! Mine would be a historic plantation home on the water…would LOVE that!

  12. Susan, This is an adorable house and built to adult size would be lovely. I can see it overlooking a lake too. I would love it for a second home.

    The floor plan in my house is as close to my dream home as I’m going to get. I just wish the style was more classic, instead of Mediterranean. I love So. California, as I am close to the big cities, live in a town that is very much like a small town, can drive to the mountains, beach or desert in less than one hour, and there are still dairy farms in the neighborhood.

    I actually have dreams from time to time of Mansions, 3 or 4 stories tall with huge grounds and various gardens, servants and the works. Now that I’m older, that sounds like too much work, even with servants. Ha ha.

    • Sounds like Downton Abbey. 🙂 It would be fun to live like that for a day, wouldn’t it? Just to experience it. Then we would want normal again.

      • Yes, and I have recently started watching the show on Netflix as so many of my friends were hooked on the show, I just had to see it. I am enjoying it very much.

        I think to like live they do in Downton Abbey or as the royals, is much harder than most think, just like the celebraties. They have no private life.

        I am with you. I think smaller and normal is better. But I do love this little house. I am also very fond of yellow with the white trim. It looks so fresh.

  13. “Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly.
    “One must have sunshine, freedom,
    and a little flower.”
    ~Hans Christian Andersen
    ~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~
    ANYTHING ELSE? …”and a cute, new old beach cottage, a white rocking chair… or two… on the porch, a white fence and an evergreen garden with beautiful magnolia trees…
    ~(modestly) Cecilia
    AND WHERE? …somewhere over the rainbow…” 🙂
    ~E.Y. Harburg

  14. Darling home. If you do move and want that fence be sure the city/town allows you to have it. I just bid on a house this week (yellow ranch) and it would be perfect with a white picket fence around it. But our city does not allow fences in the front yard. I never knew that and never even thought about it but I checked on the city page and it does not allow them. Bummer!

  15. Ok…since you asked!….my dream home…well, I think we are on the same page….if you asked me years ago, it would be a home like in the movie “Something’s Gotta Give”…every inch of it…the magnificent house and views to go with it…then I would have wanted a great garden like in the movie, oh darn the name is escaping me..you know, with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin…but if you ask me now….it would be the small cottage…with gorgeous iron fencing…3 bedrooms, but with a super large laundry/craft room…a room just for “packing a suitcase”…a wrap around porch and a great patio in the back…a Charleston garden patio…with beautiful iron gates…A small house but trimmed out to the max….but it would have to be new…built exactly the way I want…So that is my “retirement dream house”…I guess I am not asking for much!!!

  16. I once lived in a little cottage that looked a lot like that! It had a fireplace where your bay window is, but had two bay windows and a huge back porch overlooking a meadow with a pond and a forest beyond. It was amazing, and I still miss it. If you enjoy looking at floor plans, here it is. (The plan is a mirror image of our house and the playhouse you discovered.) http://www.hankingroup.com/ResidentialSFH-Sundance-Floorplans.php Enjoy!

  17. You are a girl after my own heart..i have a friend that lives in the sweetest small waterfront community..just below St. Micheal’s MD..about 40 mins from me and my tiny town…her town is on a dead end road..and no one locks the door…after all..they never know when a neighbor may need a cup of sugar..or a glass of wine…so the doors are open home or not…i don’t lock mine either…even tho i don’t have people stopping by..i certainly hope your dream comes true..i hope to live in a sweet cottage some day myself…i’ve always loved the one julia roberts moves to in sleeping with the enemy…love that house…i’ve watched the movie several times just to fast forward to when she moves and look at every square inch of the place…Thanks for sharing your “cottage”…Wende

  18. Well the source is “Posh Tots” and at $42,000 they sure would be posh tots to own a playhouse like this. I absolutely love this for all the reasons you listed and feel the same way about city living. We live on 7 acres outside a bedroom community of a large town.

    • I know…crazy. Can’t imagine spending that on a playhouse. Do you think double would get us the real thing? 🙂

    • Gayle, u are so right, and that is where I bought my plans for a play house, only the builder was going to fly to my state and build it in my back yard and that was about 14 years ago, but the price was 25,000.00 to 30,000.00 and that was the cost for everything. I pondered it over, and after I thought about it, the price went up, and then my husband got cancer and he passed away. so I moved, as I did not need a 3,500 SQ FT home. I only wish I had built my small house then. I want to do it now and build a new old house, but to find the property to do it is not easy. I have joined a sight called change.org to get the states to allow the not so big house to be built. I hope it will happen before all the baby boomers are gone. I know you can buy the plan, and have a builder make it bigger as that was I was working on. I only wish we could all get together and buy some land in the place that Susan loves, as that is what I also want.

  19. I love the cottage! My dream house would be by the ocean but I do enjoy the area where I live now. We are in the country yet only an hour from New York City. This summer we were driving back home from a day in New York with the kids. The sun was setting and the Zac Brown song, “Free” came on the radio. The line that says, “We drive until the city lights, dissolve into a country sky, just me and you” just summed up that very moment and how I feel about where we live.
    -Shelley

    • Shelley, that’s neat how that happened with the song. 🙂 I’ve been told by neighbors who have lived in my area about 15 years longer than I have that our homes were once in the country. There were a lot of horse farms all around here when we moved here but all those have been sold and turned in subdivisions.

  20. My hubs wants to build a new-old house because he doesn’t want the maintenance. I, on the other hand, want old original Victorian or Farmhouse charm. I know if we build it will start small and end up growing, which means that all my old details won’t be included as it will start to get expensive to finish with all those character features. You know how that goes ; ) I’ve found a few I really like online for sale that are small and cozy but we are at odds because he still wants room for all his toys (pool table, poker table, huge widescreen, etc). So here we’ll stay I guess in the city (though its a small one and we love it). Patty/BC

    • That is a challenge, to find an old home with room for everything. I hope you find the right one, Patty! Don’t give up!

      • We have come to one agreement about a property, if it has an outbuilding that can be converted to a man cave that isn’t too far from the house, it might give us both the space we need in a unique way : ) Perhaps a carriage house type of building would work.

  21. I live in a big city and I’m with you Susan, it drains me. My dream house would look like the one Howie Mandel has on the market and have a lake view in a cooler climate. The little yellow house is just so cute!

  22. When I finally realized that time waits for no one, I decided to do something about it. I turned my little condo into a log cabin. I painted the walls to look like logs and changed the stucco around the fireplace to look like field stone. This was done wiith no experience but an idea the Lord gave me one morning around 2 A.M.
    To keep from getting bored, a few years later, I painted a sunset mural with white birch trees in both corners of my bedroom. My home is decorated in “early attic” and my budget is small, but it doesn’t cost a lot to be creative.

  23. Ah, Susan, we are kindred spirits! I cannot imagine living without seeing a lot of trees, grass, flowers….my dream home’s ideal location would be in the mountains, surrounded by a wide green lawn and flanked by tall evergreens, with a view of a lake in front and a riot of flowers in a backyard garden that has mountains as its backdrop. A back porch to watch the sunrise and a front porch to see the sunsets over the lake would be heaven! Someday…

  24. Dorinda Selke says

    Hi Susan – Your dream house is just adorable !! I would plop it on a little patch of land in or near Key West, Florida and my husband and I along with our furry ones would live happily ever after!! I totally understand about living in the country – we live in a little town in northwestern CT, and I love everything about living in the country, especially seeing and hearing nature all day and at night. My husband and I grew up in a town on the coast of CT only about an hour out of NYC, and it has changed so much since we moved away we could never live there again because it is so “citified”. It’s like my grandma always said, that’s why there’s vanilla and chocolate ice cream, cause everyone doesn’t like the same thing!

  25. We have been living in our dream home for about fifteen years. We had always wanted a log home and we sold our home and moved into a trailer on our ten acres where we were to build our log home. Now fifteen years later it is fully paid for and my husband is retired. But I do love that little yellow cottage. It would make a great house for getting away too. Don’t give up on your dream,it can come true!

  26. My husband and I are newlyweds looking to relocate closer to my job…and we’ve looked at HUNDREDS of houses online and can’t find any that really really zing us. But one day, while looking at floor plans online, I found THE perfect house. A cape cod with an open concept and private master suite…and now we’re RUINED. All other houses fail to measure up…..sigh.

  27. Since I know you love movie interiors too, I bet you’d love the house in Nora Ephron’s “Bewitched.” It is a real home according to the commentary of the movie. It has the picket fence, the roses, and a cute cute kitchen with a patio. Lots of windows tool. I love to watch it frame by frame to see all the details.

    • Diana, I remember having a fit over that house when I saw the movie. I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it. I didn’t know it was a real house…awesome! I need to do a movie house tour of that house! 🙂 Thanks for reminding me of it!

  28. I love your dream house and yes, dreams do come true. When our children left home (for good) 10 yrs ago, we downsized and built a cottage similar to your dream house. (Small, cozy, efficient and with porches on both the front and back). It sits on a hill overlooking a valley in the Ozark Mountains. In the morning, we often watch the mist rise up from the valley floor. We are not handy to town at all, but the wildlife, quietness and view make up for that. I have to pinch myself sometimes. Never quit dreaming, you’ll need to know what you really want when the time is right and opportunity knocks.

  29. Hi Susan, I love that little house! I don’t have the house of my dreams- but I do have the yard of it. The last 2 years, the husband & I have worked hard trying to make it that way. I had to leave my blog “It Could Be Worse” but I moved to a Facebook page called Goose Grove. The pictures are there in the photo album. I ended up making a calendar through Shutterfly (love it) and someday if we move- that will be my memories. Your blog will be that for your home. It has been an inspiration for many of us- over many years.

  30. I love your little dream house Susan, but for me does the movie Under The Tuscan Sun ring a bell? My dream house would be a small villa located under the Tuscan sun in Italy or in the region of Southern France with a view of a spectacular countryside as far as the eye could see. Of course you and your family would be invited to visit me.
    Can you picture it? ☺ -Brenda-

    • Brenda, you would only need to invite me once. I’d be there so fast you would wonder if I sprouted wings and flew on my own! 🙂 I love that movie and th house! I love reading Frances Mayes books too…of all their day trips out into the countryside to various wineries. I would love to live there for a year or two to really experience it. If you ever need to get your UTTS fix, you can tour it here: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/bramasole-under-the-tuscan-sun-the-movie-welcome-to-the-112th-metamorphosis-monday/

      • Susan, I am delighted that you would consider visiting me and you would be more than welcome to stay as long as you liked. ☺ When in my late teens I actually back-packed through Italy and the memories are something I will always cherish. Times of course have changed but I imagine that the Tuscan landscape has not really changed that much and the sky at night is still lit up with the same sea of brilliant stars. (Something you do not see living in a city as I do.)
        Also, I had missed your fantastic post on the Movie so sincerely appreciated that you drew it to my attention as I enjoyed it immensely! -Brenda-

  31. Dream home: One level, safe/secure neighborhood, neighbors who take pride in their homes appearance and respect others’ property/privacy. Plumbing, electrical, roof, central heating/air system, foundation all in perfect condition – all brand new and perfect working order for another 30 years. Floor plan to my specifications with lots of storage space. 😀 Want me to go on ? Can you tell – I need to move. 😀

  32. I love it for all the same reasons you do, Susan! I loved it enough to Pin It. And begin dreaming…

    It does need a stone fireplace though and my front door will be painted farmhouse green.

    • From the comments here and on FB, I think the builders need to build a bunch of these! Love the stone fireplace idea…that would perfect! Yes, a green door! Love it! Red would be cute, too…but I think I like the sound of the green even better.

  33. Wow, that is a playhouse??? It is adorable but I tell you what…if you move out of your beautiful house I would certainly move in in a flash!!!
    Suzyq

  34. My dream house is a cottage in Glastonbury, England. It’s a wonderful, charming and magical town in the southwest part of England. The town’s ancestry is steeped in Arthurian Legend, Joseph of Arimathea, and the Mists of Avalon. Stonehenge and Avebury are nearby. Homes there call to my heart as my true place of refuge. Many seekers are called to be there. In my quest and mission to help single women buy a home solo, rejuvenating myself at spiritual places like the Chalice Well in Glastonbury help me continue on my journey. http://www.bountyandbliss.com We women can always go to our special cottages in our hearts.

  35. I have seen a house almost identical to your dream house in Wenham, MA. It’s on a quaint little street in a beautiful town. It is actually in walking distance of a tea house, museum, and several small shops. It went on sale a few years ago, however I live in Maine and want to stay here.

  36. Can I live next door?

  37. I love it too! I live in a small yellow ranch myself, with the farmhouse green door! We had to downsize when I got sick with my heart. We are in a neighborhood, out in the country, so I do love the quiet and the woods around! But I often wish I were closer to town, where I could walk, or roll around to little shops , restaurants, and chat with folks! Your cottage is perfect however! If you’re building, any of you, think about a private master suite on the ground floor! We’re not getting any younger, and steps don’t always work! Love the porch, love the picket fence! and the rose arbor! be still my heart! Cecilia, thank you for the hans Christina Andersen quote, it’s lovely!

  38. Ann S Mindicino says

    I love Manhattan. I have lived there but not since we had our children 30 years ago. I love my 100+ year house in the suburbs. My dream? Keep this home; get a small apt. in Manhattan and a place somewhere warm. 3 homes? Each would be decorated differently keeping in mind where they are and how I’ll use them (good dream).It’s a dream; but you did ask. There are southern areas in this country that are quaint and European in flavor. A lot of my friends are getting great deals in gated communities on the east cost in southern Florida Not sure that would work for us. I do think as we age the benefits of a gated community are worth thinking about; so much maintenance when you have to do it all by yourself. Susan, you asked a simple question but I think about our ‘ 2nd home’ or our “dream home” can be a complicated issue & in a lot of ways it’s even a more important and more complicated than when we bought our first (and current) house. That being said, so many people don’t even dream of more than a safe place with heat and hot water. No harm in dreaming but if you are able to obtain your dream home you are way ahead of most of the world. I am thankful to even think about it. Ann S

  39. Wow… I am in love with your dream cottage! The happy yellow clapboards and white picket fence remind me of my old home that was destroyed in last year’s flood. I miss that house every day, and this would be a wonderful replacement! Thanks for sharing your little piece of daydreaming heaven 🙂

  40. Susan, I think you have been “reading” my dreams. My dream house is exactly like yours, view and all! We also live in Atlanta, inside the Perimeter, at the top of the loop. We have the advantage of the traffic leaving the inside the loop after rush hour everyday and weekends are great, too. Only so many folks can live inside the loop which is great for us. Love your blogs!

  41. Have you ever been to Celebration, Florida? Give me just about any one of those charming houses, move me to the hills of Tennessee & I would be a happy Grandma…if my grandkids could move along & live a few blocks away! Franklin,TN. also if full of adorable cottage homes. Maybe you need to relocate?

  42. My dream home is very much like yours….only mine fronts on the ocean. A cottage by the sea – picture Carmel….those thatched roofed cottages, with diamond paned windows and window boxes underneath overflowing with flowers. It might be straw colored with faded blue shutters, an arbor covered with bouganvillea. Stone cottages also make me weak. There are a couple here in Reno and every time I pass them I sigh. However, that said, I wake up every day and thank God for my lovely home. I’m truly blessed and grateful!
    Trish

    • Hi Dorinda! We might be neighbors! We have a weekend home in Tolland, Mass., which as I’m sure you know is southwest Mass., near the border of northwest Ct. We are going to the fundraiser chili dinner in Colebrook Ct. Saturday night. I know you must be close so come by!

  43. The mountains or the beach or maybe just close to family? My dream home always has a screened porch and a view. But mostly it has my sweetheart. Home is truly where my “heart throb” is!

  44. That’s an adorable playhouse. Wow. It is a cute model to make your dream cottage too.

    I’ve had a dream home, but I’m happier with my cottage fixer-upper. Maybe, it is more me. The driving is less, because it is an urban cottage; oddly the furniture I have suits it better and looks like it was chosen for this one. The only thing I ever miss is the gorgeous pool and yard I designed.

  45. Playhouse?! Who cares. I think it’s bigger than my house here in CA. 1375 sq. ft.? I have a dream of putting one of these in my backyard and putting a sign up…”Ladies Only.”

  46. Hi Susan – I will move over and you can share your dream with me. I have had almost the exact dream of scaling down, but why does it hit us at 2 a.m. ? I own a town home and the thought of using the vacuum on two floors, and two flights of stairs, with white carpeting, is tiring in itself. It is in good condition, except for replacing the bathroom fixtures, and floors, possibly the shower, and on and on.
    I dream of the water, which comes as no surprise, and I don’t need half my furniture. I have been making weekly trips to Goodwill every week. Funny, once it’s gone, it’s hardly missed.
    Like you, those x-ways, and crazy traffic is getting worse.
    My thought on this is you can only use one room at a time — or the best idea might be my hometown for 6 months, and South for the other six.
    They always say, “Go for your dream”, so keep me posted !

  47. This post has struck a chord with me and clearly so many others Susan! The house is just about near perfect! My dream house sounds like so many that have been described on this thread already…not too big, maybe 2000 sq ft., 2 maybe 3 bedrooms, master on first floor, double sided fireplace in family room/kitchen, arched doorways, wide plank floors, medium sized kitchen with built in baguette, sunken living room, small library, beamed ceilings, wrap around porch (although I struggle with this because I like sunlit spaces and porches block the light), an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, a cute garden shed that only becomes visible after walking thru a stone path that winds thru a cottage style garden, a separate building where i could store and work on all the furniture I score at tag sales, a screened in porch out back decorated in white and blues, and my sweet Charlie back from Singapore napping on my lap. :).

    As for views, I love green views like you, but I also love the ocean. Someone mentioned the movie ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’, and yes, her house is adorable, but her house ar the beginning of the movie is pretty awesome too! Right on the ocean on a cliff! Being able to walk or bike to town for errands or dinner is very appealing to me also. Our log cabin is located in a lake community, about 20 minutes from just about anything. One of the good things about this kind of community is people are friendlier…maybe because they ‘need ‘ each other more for entertainment! I know we will be spending more time there once we retire, but being so isolated 12 months a year like that could be lonely, so I don’t think that’s what I want on a permanent basis. Bottom line…it’s a lot easier for me to describe my dream house than my dream location, because I’m not sure it exists!

  48. Kathy Glenn says

    I love the cottage! We are building our dream house on a beautiful piece of land (78 acres) in rural Alabama and it too will have the big wrap around porch with lots of windows for the beautiful views. In fact we break ground this week and hopefully (weather permitting) it will be completed in 3-4 months. Our house is one story Farmhouse with a basement ( I didn’t want stairs, been there done that) it will have an elevator space for when we can’t climb the stairs in the basement. Right now we live in Marietta and I have a 40 minute commute to work everyday, once this house is built and we move in I’ll either work from home or retire. I just wanted you to know that dreams DO come true, just don’t give up 🙂 I love your website!!

  49. I love your little dreamhouse. I checked out the site and mine would be the New England Lodge somewhere warm (maybe near the beach). I took a minute to envision me sitting on the porch in a rocker sipping an adult beverage. AWWWWWWW. Thanks for the nice moment.

  50. You might want to look at a little upscale town called Aiken, SC. Lots of nice homes like this and a thriving downtown.

  51. Thank you for letting me dream, don’t know why in his hectic world we feel we need permission to day dream…but thank you!

  52. Oh, Susan, that dream house is just wonderful! I can appreciate why you love it so, and can easily imagine the improvements you mention, including the back porch and garden. My dream house would be a cottage with a wrap-around farmer’s porch in a small sea-side town with lots of shops nearby. There would be french doors here and there, a fireplace (or two) and room for gardens around the house. There would be a garden shed, which I’d use as a potting area as well as place to sit and relax. And it would have a pergola or a gazebo, for tea in the garden. I’m sorry you haven’t heard from me in awhile–I do enjoy visiting your lovely blog even when I don’t say much!

  53. Hi Susan,
    My dream house has to have a water view, high ceilings, of course a screened porch and decks… Here in RI we have ponds that are like lakes in other states. Many are connected and we can boat for miles. Right now I have a wonderful view of the pond, with the ocean in the distance. We are entertained by a myriad of ocean ducks, swans, Canada Geese, returning Osprey and last week Bald Eagles! The pond is brackish and doesn’t really freeze so the birds come in… This is where I want my dream house… Close to city entertainment, but definitely country.
    FYI…Beware Deer! We have way to many around here and nobody would feed them ever. Shrubs, trees and flower gardens are consumed and that’s just for their breakfast. One of their favorite treats is daylilies, which they eat like popcorn, only the buds and flowers of course, and don’t get me started on what they did to my Asiatics… Believe me gardens and deer don’t go together.
    Wishing all our dream homes morph into the real thing someday soon…
    All the best,
    SheilaC

  54. Susan, I would love that cottage in the summertime on Mackinaw Island in Michigan. There actually is a home on the island that is yellow and the flower boxes are full of red geraniums it is so lovely. I would love to live in a english tudor style home with a beautiful garden in a quaint little village, where we walk to the local tea/coffee house for lunch and sit out side at the pretty tables with umbrellas on the sidewalks with good friends.
    Thanks for letting us daydream this morning!
    Paula
    Indiana

  55. I, too, live in the north (east) metro area. And, I, too, dream of a slower pace of life with less people and more wildlife! We have gone so far as to search for property in the TN area around Townsend and Seiverville. I want ACREAGE! I don’t want to walk out my back door and see anything resembling humans! Living in the city does that to your, I guess! LOL! I have a dream plan (and have purchased many furniture pieces with it in mind – stored for now), that is smaller and more manageable for those years when we finally decide to slow down and enjoy life! I hope I live long enough to see those days!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

    • Rennie, I totally understand! Acreage will at least provide a buffer. It seems no matter how far you move out, “the world” eventually catches up to you. It may take 10-20 years but just as you’re entering those golden years when the last thing you want to do is move, a giant cookie cutter subdivision gets built behind, beside or across from you. I don’t want land to manage/keep up, etc… but I’d love to find something that’s backed up to a preserve or an area where you know it will never be changed. I don’t want much. 😉

  56. Ahhh! My dream home – would depend on where I am. If I’m going to be in the mountains (North Carolina) then it would be a cute little log cabin – not these HUGE log houses that some say are “cabins” – I can’t imagine how some think a 2,500 + sq.ft. home is a “little” log cabin – how about 1,200 – 1,500 sq.ft. Front porch that goes the entire length of the cabin and nice little screened porch on the back.
    Now, if I’m on the lake or ocean then your little Playhouse would be perfect – Key West would be fabulous, except there are just too many tourists. Maybe the panhandle of FL? I could even see this beautiful little farm house in Western Kentucky – another one of my dream home locations. However, I don’t see us leaving the area we are in now (small community – not even a town) – how could I leave the best grand baby in the entire world (which I have the honor of keeping every day while mom and dad work)? I’m here to stay and looking forward to moving into our “new to us” home next month (finger’s crossed) which we will make into our dream home!
    Hugs !

  57. Patricia Beaver says

    Loved reading about your dream house then…lo and behold I saw your movie homes and there was my dream home (from Something’s Got to Give)!!! Thank you so much. I have tried subscribing to your newsletter but am having trouble so I will just keep checking back. Love your blog!

    • Thanks so much, Patricia! When you sign up to get the little email notice that says a new post is up, I think it will send you an email that has a link in it that you’ll need to click on to confirm that you do wish to receive the email. I’ve been thinking of doing a newsletter so I just may do that sometime soon. 🙂 Oh, the house in Something’s Gotta Give is amazing, isn’t it! I think that kitchen has been copied a million times since the movie was released.

  58. It’s right there….on the page and in your head! It’s the same as yours! No, I’d never seen it before, but it certainly fits my idea of a perfect, happily-ever-after dream home! It makes me feel serene, comfortable, safe, loved, and blissfully happy, all just by looking at it! 🙂

    • That is so true, Becky! It makes me feel the same way. Just pulling it up and looking at it a couple of times a day sends me on a mini-vacation where all is right with the world. 🙂

  59. I do this all the time! There are a lot of things I love about my 115-year-old house, but its proximity to the city is not one of them. Like you, I live within the commuting hub of a major city (with terrible traffic). I love the idea of a house overlooking a forest or a valley, but I would be perfectly happy with a house downtown in a village, on a block of other (Victorian, of course) houses, walking distance to the post office and the drugstore and the library and the church. So I regularly spend time on realtor.com looking at houses in the villages and countryside around smaller cities…where I might in theory maybe be able to work some day…which have un-busy, un-harried places to live within a short drive of them. I would be perfectly happy with another historic home, since I think I’ve gotten used to the upkeep. But I definitely think you have to have a little bit tucked away against those surprises – buy a little less than you can afford, and save the rest for the discoveries that make old homes such an adventure :).

    And I must say, I envy you the freedom to move when you’ve found the right place! At this stage in my life, I have to live in a place where my husband and I can both find work. It’s not easy to hop around right now. But I’m sure changes will come as they are supposed to. ‘Till then, I think my dream home looks pretty much like this: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/116-4th-Ave_Haddon-Heights_NJ_08035_M56782-08182.

  60. My sister and I are working on just such a little enclave not too far from Atanta (where we also live ) but out of the horrible traffic . Our little cottages look very much like yours but maybe just a little smaller….2br 2 ba some with three. It is a dream I have had for about 20 years. I don’t know if it will work out but we will give it everything we’ve got.

  61. I have a friend with a cottage similar to this, except it is her garden shedd..She has made it her escape.. a beautiful, peaceful retreat, filled with her favorite books to read and the things she loves. It’s surrounded by her flower gardens and shade trees with wind chimes. I love your cottage and understand your love of all things of nature . I live in the middle of a woods with visiting deer. Since I have no need of heavy drapery , all my bird feeders/squirrel/raccoon/fox and fawns are clearly seen through the windows. Watching them is part of my everyday routine as I sit at my computer. We’ve been here for over 30 years and can’t imagine being anywhere else. Don’t give up on your dream..

  62. We tried living in Chicago- right in the heart of it when we were first married. I felt the same drain. We went on a vaction out west and came back to the city and both said “what the heck are we doing here”? We packed up and moved back to Michigan, but we went up north. We would love to live somewhere a bit warmer than where we are now. I love homes with porches. We fell in love with a home plan designer called Donald Gardner who is out of South Carolina. http://www.dongardner.com/ I discovered his name in a magazine I used to get. If I were to build again I think I’d use one of his plans. I want a front porch that’s generous enough to sit on with rocking chairs, and a view to admire….like a valley with trees and maybe a lake nearby! I bet if you buzz around his web site you will find a home like your dream home. I like the idea of deep windows and bays too. We actually ran across a home of my liking while on a parade of homes tour and it was in a soft yellow back in the early 2000’s. It was too remote for my liking but I would’ve loved to have that home somewhere else! I was so into the Donald Gardner homes that I actually recognized the plan when we walked in. I asked the person that was there if it was indeed a Gardner home and it was! He seemed surprised that I knew that! That’s the kind of house lovin’ geek I am! Now all I need is a p ile of dough to land on my lap and I’m going for it! Problem now will be deciding where! With my son living in Pennsylvania now it’s very tempting to live near him, but then my daughter is unsettled and I would feel torn making a decision! Most of all I want to get away from the extreme winter weather we get up here.

  63. Love that house you showed. I live at the edge of a small town in southern New Mexico with views of the desert and mountains in the distance and near perfect weather. I love my bay window where I sit to have tea and our large covered porches that keep the house cool in summer. I love being close enough to drive to the city in an hour but be away from the traffic most of the time. Being able to hike the foothills or desert out my door and having an acre of land to give us room. So I realize I am living in my dream home! http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiltdiva/sets/72157623383176660/

  64. That is so weird to hear you say you want to live in your dream cottage. I did just that. 5 years ago my hubby and I built our dream cottage in North Ga. with a creek and cows in our back yard. Check out my blog photo of my home. You can make that dream a reality.

  65. Rachel Carey says

    I live in my dream home. It’s a 1925 English Cottage, all brick with sandstone keystones and leaded glass windows. It has a built in porch on the side, a rounded doorway on the front. I live close to the city, which gives me great joy! I can walk anywhere! It has the original kitchen, still in perfect condition as I’m only the 4th owner. The main bath is all original in art deco style (minus the updated low-flush toilet). I have been working hard to put in new gardens, and it’s looking beautiful with hydrangeas, hosta, coral bells, ladys mantle, and the like.

  66. Early episodes of Gilmore Girls used Unionville, Ontario as Stars Hollow. It’s a nice few blocks around a park with a gazebo. (Not as picturesque as on tv) and nestled near major city life in the Greater Toronto area. Worth a visit if you happen to be in the Markham/Richmond Hill area.

  67. Hi, Just been spending a bit of time on your wonderful blog. I must take time to comment and tell you that it is never too late to have a happy childhood and “create” dreams so that they come true for you. I encourage you to keep searching for your cottage that suits you well in adulthood but where you inner child will smile every day. A place where your heart will sing and where you will be mortgage free and nurture that inner child that seeks a retreat, a cozy space or home to dwell in that is set away from the busy city and suburb lifestyle.

    I had a little menopause cave built for me and while I am a terrible blogger you will get an idea of my little retreat if you view my blog. Since it is on wheels I had it towed to a piece of land I bought just outside of Highlands NC. Yep all the way from WA state 3k miles to NC. I also purchased a very small old funky farmhouse cabin where I can enjoy Act 2 (the second part of my years on earth). I hope to get relocated soon and am looking so forward to 4 seasons and a new adventure. I hope you find the perfect cottage that will make your heart sing.
    Blessings,
    Tonita

  68. loving your blog, creeping around it today. When I first saw the little yellow cottage, I did not realize it was a playhouse. I thought, Oh Mom would love that. My parents have lived in the same house for 42 yrs, not much has changed in it either right down to the chocolate brown oven, stove top and sink. At least they are not olive green or worse harvest gold. ugh … In the last couple of years they have looked at a few houses. My brother and I have decided they will never move. End of story.

    As for my dream house, I always pictured myself in a large farm house, like the one my grandmother had. I guess it wasn’t meant to be, because I now live the next state over. An hour from the state capital, which is in a huge city. The towns I live between aren’t even map dots. One has a post office and a junk yard. The other has a half dozen businesses. The first time people come to visit we have to drive into to town and get them, if they make it that far. The house is not the white farm house with the big front porch that I once dreamed of, but it is for sure a dream house. When I pull through our front gate I sense of peace comes over me and I know that I am home.

    • Your home sounds wonderful, Rhoni Ann! My MIL and FIL lived in the same house for 55 years. They finally left it because the neighborhood had gone down hill and there was so much crime occurring. They had their riding lawn mower stolen twice out of their carport. They ended up building a small cottage style home in a better area of town and were very happy there for several years until they were no longer able to live alone (MIL had a terrible stroke). So I know how hard it is for folks to move when they’ve lived in the same place for so long. It’s hard for me to think of moving but I do love the idea of downsizing and getting away from all the traffic of metro Atlanta. So glad you are in your dream home! 🙂

  69. susan,
    you wrote this a few years ago….and I haven’t read all the comments…but! since you live in atlanta, I wonder if you’ve ever visited dahlonega? i live here and you couldn’t want for a better little town to live in. being born and living in south miami for many years makes me appreciate my lovely little town all the more.

    • I have and it’s a beautiful place! I’ve been up there a few times over the years to visit some of the wineries with friends. I love the area!

    • Tammy! I grew up in Dahlonega! Mostly every weekend and a few weeks in the summer with my Grandma, alot of relatives are still there..I remember the square back-in-the-day, it wasn’t the tourist town it mostly is now, sometimes you can’t get from one end of town to the other for all the traffic! but after getting off the beaten path it is a wonderful place, I just can’t afford the land prices now… Mom and Dad moved to Marietta and that’s where we lived, but every weekend it was back to Dahlonega! I even miss Marietta now and was thinking of finding something small there, but Susan is right, the roads are jammed. I have my dream home too, so Susan, when you’re ready to start the town, just let me know! it would probably be full within a day—ever been to Blue Ridge? some beautiful views!

  70. I own a cute little home-Sears & Roebuck from 1920’s era only 1300 square feet, in a small city-200,000, Shreveport, LA….I plan to walk to a concert in the park next Saturday -and June starts movies on huge outdoor screens….we are two small cities separated by a river-Bossier City home of Barksdale Air Force Base….I ride my bike to the river when I need country or go out on Caddo lake which she goes forever….only missing is the beach….I zip to New Orleans if I need crazy and next week is Mudbug Festival because we are Louisianas and we celebrate anything we can throw in a pot and eat…ha

    • Robin, I love the sound of this! So ready to get away from big city, Atlanta! Thanks for describing your lifestyle, loved hearing it!

  71. You just described the house I have also been dreaming about. I hope both are dreams come true.

  72. I live in a Sears/Roebuck cottage in Shreveport, La- just under 200,000 people…only missing is a porch..but our city full of cottages etc. I love the finishes of my old house – it’s a pier/beam construction- a Louisiana style.

  73. Patricia Beringer says

    My gosh you sound just like me with same thoughts same type of house etc. Hate living in the city especially SoCal and in the desert. Praying for job somewhere we can breath clean air. Love the country and the mountains. We are not city people.

  74. you do know this is a playhouse right lol? Super cute though~

  75. I found you on Pinterest, where I go to daydream, with pictures. Reading your story above, was like reading my own writing. I felt a kindred soul kind of connection. I, too, live in a congested area, which I hate. I long for the time when I can move to a small town or rural area. I long to live in a small, yet Adorable cottage in a peaceful setting. Lounge for ‘days’ on the porch- reading, napping or just embracing my surroundings. Thank you for sharing your dream!

  76. Susan, I love the little yellow playhouse too. I remember the last time you showed it. My grandparents had a big yellow Victorian home and the yellow cottage I long for, was a separate building for her wash house. Wishing I had that building for my studio. As a kid it seemed huge. Just one giant room that people would love to live in today. I love where I live. I can walk downtown and everything I need is within six miles. Unfortunately, I don’t like my house. It’s too small and I regret buying a used house, speaking of ‘money pit’ This week Kristen’s Creations blog showed her aunt’s home. That I would love. Southern women love the big two story mansions and big wooded lots. A gazebo would be wonderful. The vision board was made long ago. I am a senior and hopes of my dream home are fading-but there is always the lottery !

    • I have such a fear of that…downsizing and hating it. The yellow cottage wash house sounds so cute! I hope you’re able to find a home that’s more to your liking, Myrna. It’s so hard to know sometimes what size we need until we’ve moved and are there.

  77. Bluebell, Alabama from T.V. show Hart of Dixie. Always having a festival around gazebo in town center. Great sweets and coffee at the Butter Stick Bakery & hangout with friends for food, locals & live music. Cute fixer uppers available. Doctors with great bedside manners who make house calls

  78. I adore small cottages and treat my home as if it’s one. I even call it Dove Cottage for the doves who perennially chose to build nests near me every year.
    I’d love to live in Good Witch’s Middleton in a cottage just like the yellow one above. Big fan of yellow here, too!

  79. Melissa Brechon says

    I do love your idea of this cottage, I on the other hand have dreamed of living in a restored barn! Not huge but a barn none the less! My go to audio books are a cat series by Lillian Jackson Braun and Jim Q lives in such a barn. I love this series and return to “Moose County” during stressful times in my life! I also believe what you dream about, you bring about so keep that cotttage dream!

  80. Do you like the house in the movie Mr. Mom? I believe that is my favorite small home and where I dream about living when I downsize. It is similar to the little cottage you have pictured.

    • I need to watch that movie again, I haven’t seen it in many years so having trouble remembering how the house looks. Thanks for reminding me of it, Tasha!

  81. I love love your dream home and the adult version is what I would love to have. I am 77 years old and a caregiver to my 93 year old husband. Although the idea of a dream home coming to being is very remote remember that dreams are perfect. Reality is something else. Never give up dreaming, it can keep you going when real life is difficult. Love your blog . You inspire me to keep doing beautiful table settings using my beautiful things. It can make a hamburger seem like a steak

  82. Kathy Barnes says

    Love your dream house. As I thought about your question my mind went from the mountains and the beach. However I also thought about how much I love my house. We moved into this new home in ‘77 and our girls grew up here. Then I thought about my girls and their families, four grandchildren that live about 20 minutes away. So, to answer your question….. I think I’ll stay right where I am.

  83. Jane HILLIS says

    I’ve decided that my dream house is where my memories are! I’d love to scale down and have less to clean but My children and grandchildren consider this Alabama Farmhouse built on the Family farm is HOME. All their memories are here so I suppose I’ll be grateful for this big old house. Maybe one of them will buy it and build me a cottage beside them!

  84. Believe it or not, I just ran across your dream house as a puzzle on http://www.jigsawplanet.com. When I saw it I was pretty sure it was the same little house I remembered reading about, so of course I had to do a search on your blog to satisfy myself that I hadn’t dreamed it up. If you like working puzzles, this one was posted by Valjeane1949 as “Tiny Romantic Cottage.” If you’re not already familiar with jigsaw planet please be warned that it can be somewhat addictive:-).

  85. I know it’s no help, but I saw online that playhouse built as a real guest house. I don’t remember any specifics, unfortunately, it being at least 8 years ago that I saw it, but the couple who had it built loved that little house so much, they had it replicated into an adult version for their property on which they already have a full-size house they live in (spectacularly gorgeous itself, of course!)
    I do remember that at the time I saw it, I thought I’d very much enjoy living in it full time. I now have a sweet two bedroom apartment in the Midwest, a little place I seriously love, with all kinds of beautiful views around me, as well as the tiny city I live on the edge of being just one mile exactly from here. I lived in my home state, one in the northern tier of the USA, for 64 1/2 years (my home city), from birth until Sept. of 2017, and I loved it. Unfortunately, it’s now one of the most sought after retirement cities and tourist destinations in the entire country, and the prices of every single thing reflect that. Between that, the rapidly growing population, the hard, cold, harsh winters, and myself having been forced into medical retirement in 2016, I chose to move to the southern part of the Midwest, and I don’t regret it at all.
    I do wish I could remember where that adult-size former playhouse was built so you could see it, but memory just isn’t present for it.

    • Joyce, thanks so much for letting me know! I can definitely see why someone would replicate it as a guest–I love that idea! If you ever come across it online somewhere again, please let me know. I would love to see it! I may do some “googling” just to see if I can find anything. That’s wonderful that you’ve found the perfect spot to retire. Glad you were able to escape the cold!

I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment!

*