Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Living Large!

For a small home, the Coral Cottage lives large.  It has lots of windows and it boasts two living spaces--one is the living room and the other is a section of the sun porch that has room for a sofa, chairs and a TV.  Here it was BEFORE:


Not very inviting.  The house had been unoccupied for a while and this area was being used to store outdoor stuff.  We had Horton Remodeling to reinforce the area where the porch roof connected to the rest of the houseRe-wiring, sheetrock, paint, flooring and trim followed this is what it looked like when we were finished:

View after rewiring, sheetrock, and primer coat of paint
With paint, trim and flooring
Ready for furniture!  I'll show you next time.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Worth the Wait!

Can't wait another minute--I've gotta show you how the Coral Cottage front bedroom looks in all her glory!  Remember my recent post where I asked you "What's Behind Door Number Two" and showed you the BEFORE?


Today here is what is behind door number two...welcome in.


Over the bed we hung the wonderful art project made from a window recycled from The Coral Cottage. I blogged about it in this post.


This montage of photos shows the placement of the repainted dresser that I salvaged and had painted with coral paint as well as the nightstand that was a flea market find.


One more


Sigh.  I just love it.  

The Coral Cottage is ready for guests and Jim Heflin at Tybeecottages.com is taking reservations.  We'd love to have you if you're in need of some Tybee Time!


Friday, January 25, 2013

On the Way to Wonderful!

It's taken a long time but our second bedroom at the little Coral Cottage has finally been completed!  Jane Coslick has taught me a lot about how to relax and mix colors.  It's more interesting if everything does not match. This bedroom uses white, blue, lime and coral and the combo is very fresh looking.

We hung white grommeted Merete curtains purchased from IKEA.  Then we put white matelasse quilts on the beds. 


Jane found some beautiful bllue pillows at Home Goods and some smaller lime/citron pillows at Target that we used on the beds.

 
When shopping in Buford, GA at The Queen of Hearts flea market I found this nightstand.  At first I thought we would use it in the sitting area on the sun porch but it seemed to  be meant for this bedroom between the beds.  The lamp was a Target find.


I need to buy some Shabby Chic gathered bed skirts from Target so we can complete the beds. These things along with the coral dresser and the hand-painted window art are all the elements that we settled on to finalize the design.  I'll show you the finished room next time.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

It All Comes Together!

After months of remodeling, waiting, planning, waiting, shopping, waiting, painting furniture, and waiting--at long last it is time to put this bedroom together!  I have a very small space to work with in the front bedroom at the Coral Cottage and I had to be selective about what furnishings to use.

So far I have saved and restored this dresser.  Click this link to see the BEFORE


I also have this beautiful work of art--a gift from Jane Coslick.


Now it is time for beds!  It is amazing how much the mattress stores will negotiate price with you especially if you are buying several.  I think I will comparison shop from now on when it is time to buy mattresses.  The company I used for the Coral Cottage was called Sit and Sleep.



They brought the last pieces of the puzzle--- twin beds with bed frames.


Once the deliverymen left, Jane and I wasted no time playing with all the pretties to see what would work.  I'll show you next time!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Coral Cottage Front Bedroom AFTER!

Last week I showed you the BEFORE pictures of the second bedroom at The Coral Cottage. If you missed them click here for that post.

After drywall...


...and adding trimwork, lighting, and paint

Here's the closet--looks better, huh?  We will hang a curtain since there is no door.


Voila!

Makes it look fast and easy, doesn't it?  Well, Horton Remodeling worked wonders but it took some time.  These pictures span a month's time as the workers were doing all these steps throughout the house.

This bedroom is located in the front of the house and it has the most beautiful light streaming in during the daytime.  Can't wait to show you how we furnished it!

Friday, January 18, 2013

What's Behind Door Number Two?

The Coral Cottage has two bedrooms.  When we first bought the cottage this is what we found behind bedroom door #2...


On the plus side this is a room with lots of light having three windows


...plus another small window that has a cool retro vibe!


It has a small closet.


On the negative side:  The room felt dark because of dark trim and ceilings; the closet door was broken beyond repair; and the floors were uneven cement.  I felt the positives outweighed the not-so-good.  Don't you just love a challenge? 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Cheap Thrills!

It is astounding how a little paint and a few new knobs can transform an old piece of furniture!  When we bought the Coral Cottage all of the furniture was left behind for our use.  There were a number of pieces that we saved and freshened up.  

This chest of drawers is an example:


Here is a closeup shot of the dresser after we took the old knobs off and painted it with primer.

The top large drawer is in the bottom position here--we were just trying to let the paint dry:)
For the final coats I used semi-gloss paint from Sherwin-Williams that was the same color as the Coral Cottage front and back doors.  It's called Coral Reef SW6606.  I think it made this old piece really snazzy!

Some new drawer knobs added a nice punch!  Hobby Lobby has a great selection of decorative knobs and they always seem to be 50% off every time I stop in to shop...which made each of these knobs about $2.50!  Cheap thrills!


Now this dresser is proudly sitting in the Coral Cottage front bedroom  and it gives me a little moment of joy every time I see it and remember the transformation!

Monday, January 14, 2013

From Trash to Treasure--and I Do Mean Treasure!

Leonard Miller, sign painter extraordinaire, paid a call on The Coral Cottage several weeks ago to paint her name sign. 
Source for pictures in this post:  Jane Coslick

While Leonard was working, our designer, Jane Coslick asked him to paint a little surprise for us.  When the windows were replaced at the cottage she saved them and Leonard painted our surprise on one of them--the ultimate trash to treasure project!


And I do mean treasure!

Didn't Leonard do a good job?  Thanks Jane!  We love it!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Lovin' My Boho Hippie Master Bedroom!

I admit it.  I've got a Target habit.  I love the way they translate the current design trends into affordable products for the average consumer.  I like designer goods...but not designer prices.

Last spring I was doing a little browsing on Target's website and I came across a bedroom collection called Boho Hippie.  Here is the comforter:
It's a little crazier/bolder than I typically am when decorating but I wanted to have a happy, relaxed vibe at the Coral Cottage so I decided to go for it!  

There were also some euro pillow shams with the collection as well.  Don't you love the pom-pom trim on the corners?

Here is how it looks in the master bedroom:



Like the coral pillow on the bed?  Amazon.com is the source.

The painting was an inexpensive find from Home Goods:


I found this fun hook on clearance at Kirklands (online--natch).

The pair of inexpensive lime green lamps with a bamboo look was purchased at 
Home Goods:

So that's the master bedroom at the Coral Cottage!  How do you like it?  It's ready for guests--just call Jim at Tybeecottages.com and you can come for a stay!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Coral Cottage Master Bedroom Redo

The Coral Cottage master bedroom--I gave you a sneak peek in this post.  Now let me show you what we have done...Remember the "Before" photos?



The old furniture was saved and given a facelift with paint.  And after rewiring the room, the cement walls were covered with drywall...


Then came trim painted white and paint for the walls--Buoyant Blue from Sherwin-Williams:


Finally the cement floors were covered with Allure vinyl plank flooring in Oak from Home Depot.  And we have a nice new ceiling fan from Home Depot as well.


All ready for furniture!  Coming up!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Back to Business at the Beach!

Hello 2013!  It has been fun having Christmas break but it is time to get back to business at the beach. I'm heading to Tybee for a quick trip to tie up some loose ends at The Coral Cottage and I will continue to show you the photos there until we've been through all of the rooms.

Right now I am preparing to furnish another cottage on the same street.  It is a larger home suitable for a big family or a multi-family group having a reunion--even a small Sunday School or corporate retreat or a ladies weekend would fit in here.

This is a grand dame of the old Tybee raised cottages and I love it--but it is a doozie of a project!  Thankfully I've had my friend Jane Coslick overseeing the remodeling and I've had her wonderful workers making everything safe and beautiful.

There is a tiny apartment under the main roof that Jane and I have dubbed "Mini Pearl".  The main part of the house has yet to be named.  Put your thinking caps on!




Saturday, January 5, 2013

Lookie Here!

I was clearing out my email inbox and I got distracted by the subject line of one of my favorite online retailers--it happens.  One King's Lane introduced a sale today titled "Winter At The Beach".  I couldn't pass up the chance to have a look!

Look at a few of my favorites:

You can never have too many hooks at the beach!  These are priced well at $12 for the set.
Fish-shaped Serving Bowls.  So attractive and useful.
Turtle Salt and Pepper Shakers
Blue Bottles with Starfish
 There is oh so much more!  Love.  If you like to browse and/or shop online then check out One Kings Lane--here's the link!  Happy shopping!