YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME

Thu., Feb. 9, 2006

Cheryl-Anne Millsap cam@spokesman.com

2017 E. 16th Ave. Spokane

When Jeannine and Troy Tipke decided to downsize, they really meant it. They sold their comfortable home on Spokane’s South Hill and in June of 2005, replaced it with a tiny cottage with only 750 square feet of living space.

“Our daughter will be leaving next fall, so we were thinking about moving into something smaller then,” Jeannine Tipke said. “But when we found this place we jumped on it.”

The couple completely remodeled the cottage and updated the kitchen.

The petite house is painted with soft organic colors and is filled with Jeannine’s “restyled” furnishings.

“I pick things up at garage sales and work on them,” Tipke said. “Everything in my daughter’s entire room cost about $200.”

Now, each room in the little house boasts a chandelier, more of Tipke’s finds.

One showcase project is the headboard in the master bedroom. “The room is so small it wouldn’t accommodate anything larger than a double bed,” Tipke said. “But we couldn’t find a double headboard anywhere.”

Finally, after fruitlessly searching furniture stores and antique malls, Troy suggested they make one.

Using fence posts, bead board and fireplace molding, the couple crafted a one-of-a-kind headboard. For ornamentation, Tipke added a resin floral motif, found for $4 at the TJ Maxx’s after-Christmas sale.

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