Moving To A Schoolhouse 1: Small Living Room on a Budget

My dear friend, Mary Elizabeth, is strong, creative, and never indecisive. Within a month, she decided to sell her home here in Applegate and downsize even further, to a new Senior Living complex just a few miles away.  In a matter of weeks, she has listed her home and moved to a newly renovated schoolhouse here in Falmouth.  We've enjoyed helping her.

This is Plummer School. It was built as Falmouth High School in 1931. and then served elementary students until a few years ago. As in many communities around the country, these beautiful old school buildings are finding new life as senior apartments.

It's kind of sad to see old school buildings giving way to modernization and yet, as a retired teacher, it makes me happy that they are not being torn down. In fact, Plummer School is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here it is just before renovation began. I can almost hear the ghosts of students past, gossiping between classes before the bell rings.

Each classroom makes a perfect-sized apartment for one or two people. Mary Elizabeth chose a small one bedroom unit , only 612 square feet. She looked at larger ones but liked the view hers has; it faces west and overlooks the old playground, which has been updated with flowering trees and walking trails.

So # 204 it is! Home Sweet Home!

Mary Elizabeth's living room is only 11 feet by 15 feet and has to do double duty as a dining area.

There were many challenges to decorating this room including : 1. Mary Elizabeth has a piano,  2. She wanted to bring her little electric parlor stove with her, and 3. Mary Elizabeth is on a limited budget. 

Although this is a work in progress, here's what has been accomplished so far. The walls are a warm beige; the woodwork is off-white. Neither can be changed.  I love the huge old school house windows and high, high ceilings. Both make the room look larger than it is.

We haven't spent much on this project so far (or should I say Mary Elizabeth hasn't; she always says hanging out with me usually costs her money!).  I love the curtains. We found them for only $12.99 a pair for 84" at our local Rhode Island Job Lots store.  Total cost to dress two huge windows" $26.00!

Mary Elizabeth loves both farmhouse and coastal styles and already had a lot of accessories we could use. I love the arrangement she did on her blue shelf above the stove. We updated further by adding the 24" tobacco basket which we found at T.J. Maxx for only $12.99. As you can see, there is still "stuff" on the floor to the right of the stove waiting to be unpacked . . . eventually.

While we were at it, we added a few accessories to Mary Elizabeth's front entrance. Since she spent her career working for AT&T, the wall phone was a must. The distressed chalkboard for messages and phone numbers was a Goodwill find (new) for $11.00.

And behind the door, we repositioned Mary Elizabeth's coat rack from her Applegate home, along with her "Falmouth" sign.

This is the living room before she moved in, taken from the window wall and facing the kitchen.

Mary Elizabeth found this adorable table and chair set for only $50.00 at one of her favorite antique shops. It's perfect here!

Today, DH and I went over to Plummer School to help Mary Elizabeth hang shelves and bedroom curtains. There's still a lot to do but I look forward to updating the blog with progress in the bedroom and storage areas of this cozy little classroom turned home!

So . . . can we live comfortably in smaller spaces as we age? Yes! 

Can we do it on a budget? Absolutely!

Can it be fun? For sure!

This post is linked to:

Homestyle Gathering 3 at My Wee Abode
Best of the Weekend Link Party at Calypso In the Country
Blogging Grandmothers Link Party at Grammy's Grid
Amaze Me Monday #300 at Dwellings
J & J Link Up #178 at Plunky's Second Thought
Flaunt It Friday #435 at Chic on a Shoe String