Amaya

Turning your cottage into your vacation dream home requires a small amount of planning for a lifetime of bliss! Once you have that perfect dream vacation home, you will feel a sense of peace each and every time you and your family decide to escape to your cottage for a few days. Sometimes, all we need is some warm weather, a change of scenery and a few days to relax in our cottage lake house. As a second home, cottages are ideal for a vacation home for a young family, a retired couple, and every one in between! No matter your stage in life, a cottage vacation home is the perfect comfy and cozy dwelling for a bit of R&R.

#1 Matching Toys



When most people think of designing a cozy cottage as their dream getaway, they think about designing the indoor living space. However, what really defines your experience on a vacation are the events you do with your family and friends! Whether your cottage is on a lake, a beach, in the mountains or in the countryside, the activities you do is what ultimately attracts you to your dream home, so think about what extra features you can get to make the experience of your cottage vacation home even better! Is your cottage on a body of water? Get a jet ski, a canoe, or a sailboat! Spend some time with your family exploring the open waters, zooming across the waves or hunting for treasure in nearby coves. Is your cottage in the mountains? Purchase hiking equipment and go for a long, meandering day hike with your little ones. For those starry nights you can’t see in your clustered city environment, get a telescope and a book on constellations to teach your kids about the night sky.

#2 Focus on Entertainment & Relaxation



Generally, cottage homes are used much differently than a standard year-round home, and a good cottage design will take those differences into account. For many who have a cottage vacation home, the focus tends to be on spending time with family and friends while you unwind away from your everyday scenery. Therefore, having large spaces in your cottage vacation home dedicated to socialization is an absolute must. In addition to having an awesome and large master bedroom dedicated to solo relaxing, you should also consider creating space in your cottage with the intention of hanging out with your family and friends. Think game rooms with a billiards table, cabinet filled to the brim with board games, a projector with a movie collection, and a wet bar on the side.

#3 Add an Extra Feature



The purpose of a cottage vacation home is for you to get away from your everyday routine and to spend some time doing only what you want to do. There are no obligations here in your dream vacation cottage. When you add an extra feature to your dream vacation home, you are making time for your hobbies and your goals. Dedicate an entire room to an activity you enjoy, but maybe don’t get to do enough when you’re in the rush of things back home. Create an art studio for your crafts, a music studio for all those songs you never have time to write, a home library to read the classics, a home theater for all those artsy films you never have time for at home, a dance room to let loose or an indoor slide (this one’s just for fun!). No matter what speaks to you, dedicate a space in your vacation dream home to an activity that soothes and calms the mind.

#4 Create a Kids’ Area/Game Room



If your kids are young, you will need to consider the number of bedrooms they will need and whether any friends of theirs might tag along (now or in the future). No matter the age of your children, creating a game room for the kids is a great idea to keep them preoccupied. Having a space dedicated solely to the kiddos really is a requirement of any great vacation home. When you dedicate a space for the kids, you are also simultaneously dedicating other spaces for the adults. In a cottage vacation home, what is most important is that you are able to use the time you are there for relaxation and rejuvenation. If you and your spouse are constantly tripping over your children, then the space just isn’t working for you: you need dedicated areas where kids can be kids and you can put your feet up and take that much-needed bubble bath.

#5 Personalize Your Décor



In your darling cottage, what could make it feel more like home than decor items that describe your personality, values or life philosophy? With personalized last name signs from Canvas Vows, you can transform your cottage into a cozy vacation home! Whether a custom star map of a special night or your favorite song lyrics on canvas speaks to you, Canvas Vows has it all when it comes to personalized home decor. When designing your cottage, it is important to keep in mind your design tastes and the ultimate purpose for your cozy cottage: relaxation. Therefore, having personalized canvas prints, artwork, or other funky design elements (think colorful chandeliers or fluffy, oversized pillows) can create an atmosphere of comfort to undo the tension built up from your everyday routine.

#6 Create an Outdoor Living Area



Close your eyes and picture yourself outside in the brisk morning air, perhaps with a cup of coffee in hand, or relaxing in the warm sun with a glass of wine at sunset. There are a lot of ways you can design your outdoor living space to create the picture-perfect feel. For instance, if your cozy cottage has a deck or a patio, these spots make for great extensions of your indoor living spaces: add a screen to exclude those pesky mosquitoes but to include the soothing lake breeze. While your indoor living spaces are great for billiards, darts or movie watching, your outdoor living area allows you a spot all your own to think, write and just to simply be in nature. You could build a relaxing fountain with rocks, build a fire pit to roast marshmallows at night, set up a hammock to read in the sun during the day, or create an outdoor kitchen area for the whole family to enjoy a delicious steak dinner around a large outdoor dining room. Whatever speaks to you, keep in mind that this cozy cottage is yours: what does your dream cottage vacation home look like?

Author Bio -

This post was written by Kara Roberts, blogger and content writer for Canvas Vows. We specialize in creating custom made canvas prints and have been featured in a number of publications, including Brides. For more interior design tips, gift ideas, anniversary celebrations and personalized canvas creations, check out our blog!