I have to admit, it feels good to be a little bit lazy at this time of year. Everyone seems to be out enjoying time at the pool or at the lake, eating ice creams, or sitting out on the porch beneath the string lights - as it should be! I hope you're having lazy days of your own.

We've got some extended time at the cottage coming up, and while we have a few projects still left to do (the ensuite bathroom and loft storage among them), I'm not feeling pressured that we MUST do them. One other small project that we could address or leave alone is dealing with the faux shiplap wall.

Photo from last summer

I can't believe it's been two years since we installed this wall treatment. I love the texture it adds to this wall, but even from the start, we debated whether to paint the shiplap or keep it natural.

I shared a full tour of the cottage on my IGTV channel recently (watch it here) and we've made a few small changes in this area. The blue bookcase has been moved to Chloe's room, the buffalo plaid chair was brought home and we put this striped chair in it's place, and we added floral curtains in the adjoining dining area. These changes in colour and pattern have this small area feeling a little busy. It has me wondering if it might be time to paint the shiplap white.


I do want to replace the TV stand - it's always felt a little short - and we are considering mounting the TV on the wall to fill some of that room above but even with those changes, I think the natural wood wall feels a bit off. Maybe I change out the stand first and see how we feel?

Where do you stand - keep it natural or paint it white??