Sunday, March 30, 2014

Yes Sir, That's My Baby!

Some of you may have clicked on this post expecting baby pictures of our granddaughter who is taking her time to arrive.  Her parents, Meghan (our daughter) and Tom, are still patiently awaiting the birth and I can't wait to show you pictures of baby Piper when she finally decides to make her debut.  In the meantime... 

Sometimes when writing this blog I wonder whether or not to show you the "before" pictures of a remodeling project.  To be sure, I don't show you everything but I loved my little cottages "before" and it is fun for me to remember how things changed and developed...sort of like parents enjoy looking through their kid's baby pictures....is that weird?

Well at the risk of being "that" parent, I have some more "baby pictures" of Coast Awhile Cottage today to show you today--the upstairs master bedroom with it's add-on sitting room and adjoining bathroom.

Once again (as in the rest of the house) there is wood paneling on the walls and ceiling and there are hardwood floors.  There is also a nice big window that is original to the house.
Come on inside....
 

 The wall on the right when you walk in was where the former owner had a bed.  I decided to put a king size bed in this room and it won't fit along that wall so we will take down the light fixtures before we paint.  The king bed will go on the window wall.





 At some point in the past the master bedroom was expanded to add more space, a larger closet and a bathroom.  We have decided to remove the closet and make this area into a sitting room with a TV.  Henry photobombed this picture---you can see him in the closet mirror!  We were both trying to take pictures :)



Here's a closer look at the sitting room...



The flooring is a low quality fake wood that comes in sheets.  It will be removed along with the wallpaper and the air conditioner unit.   We will install central heating and air as well as beadboard on walls and ceiling.

The bathroom adjoins the sitting room.....





Dare we look inside?





Needs a total redo!  We'll roll up our sleeves and get to work next time!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

"Purty" Potty!

I'm very particular about bathrooms.  When I rent a home or stay in a hotel I want the place to have a pristine bathroom--immaculately clean and fresh.  When we bought Coast Awhile Cottage  we knew we had our work cut out for us to bring the tired, old bathrooms up to date.

 Upstairs there is a bathroom which is at the end of a hall-like area.   



Once you step inside there is another hall.  We believe this bathroom may have been added on--not part of the original house.

This photo was taken before the walls in the house were painted white.


There wasn't much to please the eye in the beginning...


...in fact, it was a little scary...




Ewwww.  As we took a closer look, the tub and the tile were in pretty good condition but the glass shower doors needed to go.  




It was the same with the faucets--we needed new ones.  We decided to keep the pedestal sink but replace the toilet.  And since there was no venting, we decided to replace the shelves with a window over the toilet to bring the room up to code.


It was rather disconcerting to find that once the toilet was removed we could see through to the deck outside.  It's a wonder someone hadn't crashed through!  Needless to say that floor was well-supported before things were put back together. 

Once everything was stripped down, we added bead board to the walls and painted everything white.  I like the clean feeling it gives and I think it will be easier to keep clean than drywall.  Here's how it all turned out....



 The sink was a freebie--it was in good condition so we reused it.  We took down the old "Hollywood dressing room" light fixture and replaced it with something more up to date.  The mirror was a find from World Market.  It was beautiful in it's natural wood color but we spray painted it with Rustoleum paint in Aqua to give a punch of color to this all white room.  The towels and throw rugs are from Target--Room Essentials fast dry towels and matching rugs. 




My designer, Jane Coslick, had an old medicine cabinet in her stash that she keeps on hand to furnish her clients with unique pieces when the need arises.  We thought it would be perfect next to the sink to add storage and to have a place to put personal items needed while 
getting dressed.




Some hooks for clothes and towels and a bright and cheery shower curtain from Home Goods finish off the room!




Now that's a safe, clean, "purty" room I could feel good about using to "powder my nose"!

 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

A Room for Dreaming!

When we finished up the decorating at Coast Awhile Cottage it was immediately rented to a wonderful family who needed a great big house so they could all be together when they came into town to say their final goodbyes to their mother/grandmother/great-grandmother who had passed away.  Their kind notes in the guestbook brought tears to my eyes as they wrote of what a sweet time they had being together, drawing strength from one another and yet having space to be alone when needed.  They said the beauty of the house was "magical" and really ministered comfort to them as they took pleasure in their surroundings.  I couldn't ask for more.  
 
This feeling has been my goal in decorating our beach cottages--to bring peace and healing and rest and togetherness and comfort and delight to those who enter.  More than paint colors and furniture and accessories in a pleasing arrangement--it's a feeling of welcome and that someone has counted you worthy of being prepared for and fussed over a bit.  A feeling of a beloved home where beautiful things were meant to be enjoyed and used.

I think part of the charm of the bedrooms  I have shown you in these posts....
  .....comes from their "happy colors" as my designer Jane Coslick refers to them and part is due to the interesting mix of vintage and new.  Not too shabby and not too chic.

I showed you the before pictures and the work-in-progress pictures for the upstairs back hall bedroom at Coast Awhile Cottage last week.  Here is the finished room....
 

Source for this photo:  Jane Coslick


The little bow front dresser with mirror was a fortunate and frugal find at one of our local flea marketsThe TV needs to be relocated so the little dresser can be fully appreciated.  The painted rattan chair was scooped up for around $20 at one of my favorite bargain haunts (I'll blog about that store soon.)



 
The predominant colors in this room are blue and green.  Jane added a pop of eye-catching color with the two coral colored benches at the foot of the bed.
 
 
 I love how it turned out!  I think I would have sweet dreams in this room!