Wednesday, January 30, 2019

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.

Image result for Renovation  of Plummer School Falmouth Maine

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

20 comments:

  1. I am so glad I came visiting your blog today. I worked seven years as an activity director in an assisted living home, before my retirement. Not often enough but some new residents would move in and with the help of their family or friends would transform their apartments into beautiful new homes. That's what you did here. Now, she has a home to be proud of and can be happy in her pretty little home :)
    God bless you, you're an angel.
    Connie :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Connie! I'm glad you visited as well and hope you'll stop by again. Mary Elizabeth is an amazing woman and it's so much fun to work on projects like this with her! Her home will be beautiful! ~Cheryl

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  2. RELOCATING TO NEW "SQUATS" AT A SENIOR AGE IS FAR MORE CHALLENGING THAN IN YOUNGER YEARS. WITHOUT THE HELP AND SUPPORT OF DEAR FRIENDS, I DOUBT THAT THIS MOVE COULD HAVE HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. BECAUSE OF THEIR ASSISTANCE, MY NEW "DIGS" ARE BLOSSOMING INTO A COZY COCOON THAT WILL PROVIDE YEARS OF COMFORT. THANK YOU TO CHERYL AND HANK FOR EVERY OUNCE OF TIME AND EFFORT THAT YOU DEVOTED TO HELPING ME. YOU'RE MY BESTIES!

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  3. What a cute place! I can see me in a few years moving to a much smaller place. Lucky she has you to help her.

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    1. It really is an adorable place and the people we've met there have been so friendly and helpful. I love that the school is within waking distance to restaurants, our town library, and even WalMart! There are even walking trails on the property. Mary Elizabeth was our Weight Watchers Leader until she retired this fall so she loves to walk. It will be perfect for her! It's always so good to hear from you, Linda. Hope all is well! ~Cheryl

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  4. Mary Elizabeth, your personality is already shining through. You will soon feel like you have always been there. I hope someday I can drop in for tea. I love being your little sister.
    Ann

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    1. Hi Ann,
      So good to hear from you!
      Cheryl

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    2. HI ANN,,,MAYBE NEXT TIME WE SKYPE I CAN 'WALK' YOU AROUND EACH ROOM SO YOU CAN VIEW IN 'PERSON'. TEA WITH YOU WOULD BE WONDERFUL. LOVE YOU, BIG SISTER

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  5. Cheryl, it looks great. I had no idea converting old schools was a thing, I love it! The chalkboard and her table and chairs are amazing! Great buys!

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    1. Yes, here in Maine many schools are being converted to senior apartments as they get replaced by newer, larger buildings. I love that they have left many of the old oak floors, chalkboards, even a few desks in the lobbies. The old gym is now a community room! I love Mary Elizabeth's little table and chair set as well; a great find! Thanks so much for visiting a leaving a comment!

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  6. This is so enjoyable to see the progress, and see you helping a friend, as well. My mom living in a retirement community for 2.5 years, but is now living with my sister and her hubby. Lots to do when downsizing, that's for sure. Mary Elizabeth's apartment is larger than My Wee Abode! ;-) Thanks for sharing on Homestyle Gathering! Hope you will join us again on Tuesday!

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    1. I'll share a link to your blog with Mary Elizabeth so she can follow you at your "Wee Abode". You're right about downsizing; it's a huge job and you have to be almost ruthless. DH and I have been downsizing as well as we used to live in a big old Maine farmhouse. It does feel good to live with less though. I used a lot of Marie Kondo's ideas from her little book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". It really helped. Mary Elizabeth is almost ready to have me post photos of her new bedroom - still a little more decluttering to do - so hope you'll follow along! Thanks so much for visiting and taking a minute to comment.

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  7. I hate to see old buildings torn down so I love that the school has been renovated for senior living.

    I was thinking about my last classroom - it was huge and would make someone a large living area. But, the school is still going strong.

    Thanks for sharing Mary Elizabeth and her new home.

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    1. So good to hear from another teacher! Old schools, old classrooms have a certain smell, don't they? Somehow, I still get a whiff of that bookish smell when I walk into Mary Elizabeth's new Plummer School home. Hope you'll follow along; Mary Elizabeth is working hard to get her bedroom ready for me to post. I told her she has lots of "adoring fans" waiting! Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. You all really worked wonders with this small space. My mom was in a similar apartment, and it can be challenging to fit a lifetime worth of belongings in such a small space. I have never heard of school buildings being used for this. Interesting! Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my travel posts! Tanya - The Other Side of the Road

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  9. Hi Tanya, I just found your blog yesterday and love it! Thanks for visiting mine. We travel A LOT so I hope to join your travel party often. What a great idea! Our last trip was to Portugal (which we LOVED); this October we're headed to Spain. Seems we have a lot in common: you taught HS Science ; I taught HS English (although my BFF Sandy was a Science teacher!). You lived in England (I'm so jealous) and visit there as often as DH and I can. My Mom was born in Bradford, Yorkshire and I'm a bit of an anglophile - I even drive a Mini Cooper with British flag decals on the rear view mirrors! Anyway, Mary Elizabeth will enjoy reading your comment - thanks for taking the time to leave one. I'll be following your blog now (added it to my sidebar blog roll) so that we can keep in touch. Have a good week! ~Cheryl

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  10. Oh I love this. I wish they would convert old schools like that in our area. What a wonderful idea!! You guys are making a really cute home for your friend Mary Elizabeth. It looks really cozy. Mary Elizabeth is blessed to have you and your husband. Thank you for sharing with #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.

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  11. Congrats Cheryl! Your post is FEATURED at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty 35 ♥ Party starts tonight, Friday, March 1, 2019 at 9:00 PM CST.

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  12. Wow, I am thrilled to have my little schoolhouse "digs" shared by so many blogger members. I am grateful to my BFF#2 , Cheryl and DH because without their support, I know that I would not be cozied in my little cocoon. Soon Cheryl will blog the progress of bedroom, bathroom , office and storage-closet-craft space.
    T.Y. for all your replies and your interest in my new mini retirement world. It has been a wonderful journey arriving here and I look forward to having Cheryl share lots of blogging photos soon. Keep checking...

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