London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Before & After: See How This Charming Cottage Lives Up to Its Potential

Before & After: See How This Charming Cottage Lives Up to Its Potential

See how this unapologetic collector (1,200 vintage linens alone!) transformed a nondescript fixer upper into a dreamy farmhouse-style cottage just right for all her favorite things. Plus, you have to see her garden!

As a kid growing up in Maine, Jen Curtis rearranged the furniture in her bedroom on a regular basis. Then, as an adult, a move to San Francisco introduced her to Alameda’s famed flea market, sparking a love for old linens and vintage furniture. Her flair for space planning and her love of antiques had a meet-cute in 2015 when she purchased a 1927 cottage in Los Alamos on California’s Central Coast. The 1,300-square-foot house sat on a generous half-acre parcel. There was just one problem: It was a run-down mess with a yard of mostly dirt. “But it was a nice piece of property that I could make my own,” she says. With help from architect Tom Newman, the hopeful homeowner devised a plan.

Take a peek at the dramatic transformation. (And don't miss our tour of her amazing backyard makeover.)


Before: Exterior

After: Brake-Worthy Curb Appeal

In addition to turning the desolate grounds into a lush garden, Jen gave the home's plain-Jane exterior a much needed face-life with board-and-batten, a wider doorframe, and a new stoop. Dogs (from left) Greta, Benson, Harper, and Hudson also boost its curb appeal.

Before: Living Room

After: Head-to-Toe Shiplap

Jen covered the 13-by- 16-foot living room, ceiling included, in white seven-inch-wide shiplap, helping the space feel wider and adding character without eating into the footprint. The blue sofa was chosen to accommodate her four rambunctious dogs. “As much as I’d like a white couch, I can’t do it,” she says. “So I have white walls.” The collector also incorporated pops of patina that added character without visual clutter (think clear glass bottles, creamy white ironstone, and weathered case goods for storage with a backstory).

After: Vaulted Ceiling

Besides having grubby particleboard floors and walls, the original dining room had low, flat ceilings and one tiny window. Vaulting the ceiling to 16 feet made the room feel more open, and new board-and-batten walls added depth. French doors allow for more sunlight and lead out to the rose garden. A primitive wooden folding table (which occasionally doubles as a desk) and black-stained cement floors add contrast to the all-white architecture.

Before: Kitchen

After: Clean-Lined Cabinetry

Throughout, Jen gutted the interior, replacing floors and windows and streamlining the home’s curved archways (“they were weird ones, not good ones,” she says). To add air to the 11-by-13-foot kitchen, Jen chose to omit upper cabinets. To maximize functionality from the new base cabinetry, which features Shaker-style fronts and 10- and 18-inch-long brass pulls, she had them outfitted with a peg system for storing plates and other kitchen gear. An antique French farm table acts as both a handy work island and a welcoming eat-in setup, thanks to a long bench and trio of rustic stools.

After: Treasures on Display

By creating a nook along the range wall, Jen was able to conceal the vent hood and install a long shelf to display antique English ironstone. “I like things that have a history,” she says. “I think if you can buy something that has a story, it’s much more compelling.”

After: Built-In Bar

Just off the kitchen, a new butcher-block-topped cabinet creates valuable cocktail-hour prep space. (Jen’s favorite: raspberry mojitos with mint courtesy of her backyard herb garden.) A pair of vintage paintings adds the requisite patina. “I’m very much into advocating for rescue dogs,” says Jen. “Any time I see a cute dog painting at an antiques store, I buy it.”

After: Light Layers

What was once an attached garage is now Jen’s light and bright bedroom. In addition to vaulting the ceiling, she installed a skylight and put in new wood floors. Her knack for mixing new and old is evident in her pairing of vintage plaid and ticking-striped pillows with an Indian block print duvet atop a new spool bed. “This house plays on a love for cottage style with modern and old touches,” says Jen.

After: Creative Reuse

In the guest room, the antique headboards were originally part of one bed that Jen separated and hung on French cleats, making more room for house guests. The footstools, which she muses may have once been antique planters, are equally clever. Jen topped the refinished wood floors with a 100-year-old Mahal rug (a type of hardworking Persian carpet known for its looser weave and casual style) purchased at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. “These rugs last forever!” she says.

After: Free-Standing Storage

A striking blue antique armoire holds Jen’s accumulation of vintage linens and grain sacks (roughly 1,200!) from Belgium and France. On top, an antique French metal floral basket holds bulkier linens. A dachshund painting from Etsy (that reminded Jen of her own dachshund, Greta) hangs above a sculptural medicine ball scored at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire.

Before: Backyard


After: Outdoor "Rooms"

It’s hard to imagine this lush yard was once only a spread of dry dirt. To make the most of the space, Jen broke it up into zones—some for living and some for growing. A bed of pea gravel unites it all. “When I was remodeling, California was in the middle of a 10-year drought, so adding a lawn was not smart or kind to the environment. I also wanted a Mediterranean feel, and gravel was the best look for that,” she says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×