Sassy Seagull on The Tybee Tour of Homes!

Wow! It's been a long while since I've posted. Now that spring is here I am thrilled to think about tuning up our Tybee cottages for beach season!  I'm also super-excited to announce that our cottage, The Sassy Seagull is going to be on the 

Tybee Tour of Homes on May 5, 2018! 

We've been working hard to make it a fun time filled with lots of inspiration and great ideas for all of the tour patrons. We hope that you will come for a great day of touring and having lunch at Tybee! Click here for details about the tour, tickets and such...

My last post was a wrap up with pretty pictures of the vintage clawfoot tub bathroom reno at Sassy Seagull cottage. If you missed it and want to catch up, there is a link below plus a few "blast from the past" posts at The Sassy Seagull...

Clawfoot Tub Bathroom

Beach-y Master Bedroom

Quirky Little Kitchen

From Dive to Dining Room

Living Room--Welcome In!

I'll be back soon with some all new pictures and posts!

Happy, Cozy and Comfy Master Bedroom!

Coast Awhile Cottage has some pretty gorgeous bedrooms thanks to my collaboration with designer Jane Coslick and her assistant (and designer in her own right)  Anna Speir.  Those ladies are sooo creative!  If you haven't picked your favorite yet then take a look at these...

• A "Makes-You-Smile" Bunk Room 

• Nautical and Nice 

• Anna's Magic Touch 

• A Room For Dreaming

But wait to pick your favorite until you see this last bedroom.  It is the upstairs master bedroom and adjoining sitting area.

I'm crazy for the iron bed--a Craig's List find that I picked up for a song!  This is what it looked like when I picked it up.

 

It's amazing what a little white spray paint can do!  The dandelion print pillow was made from a $1.99 scrap of fabric scavenged from Fabric World!  Anybody want to make a wish?

This little dresser came from a flea market as well as the little lamps on top.  The mirror was a cast off from Coral Cottage which we painted white and then distressed to give it 

an antique look.

Leonard Miller, a Savannah artist, painted wonderful window art for this room using an old window salvaged from Coral Cottage. 

Jane Coslick gave him the inspiring words which call the reader back to the freedom of 

simpler, happy days of childhood.  These are some things we need to hold on to.

 

The bedroom opens up to a sitting room... 

 We wanted it to be a cozy spot in which to read, talk or watch TV.  The TV can be angled for watching from the bed as well (my favorite).

Like it?   Tell me--which bedroom is your favorite and why?  Which bedroom would you choose for your own if you were staying here at Coast Awhile Cottage?  (See the links at the beginning of this post to view the other bedrooms.)

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....

• A Makes-You-Smile Bunkroom 

• Nautical and Nice Bedroom 

• Anna's Room

  .....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 markets.  The 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!

 

 

Pondering and Perfecting!

Last week I showed you the front bedroom at Coast Awhile Cottage.  It was styled by Anna Speir, an  artist and friend of Jane Coslick, my designer.  When I say "cottage" it may give the impression of a charming, tiny home---Coast Awhile Cottage is charming but it is not tiny.  In fact it is quite large and it was all hands on deck when it came time to furnish the house!  We really appreciate Anna's contribution.

Once we had the house and it's furnishings somewhat under control it was time to tweak it and make it just right.  Jane likes to "ponder"--- that's what she calls it.  I'd like to show you how this already beautiful room was finished.

There used to be a game that a kiddie TV show used to play where they would show a picture and then change it slightly and ask the kids to see what was different.  The song keeps playing through my head..."One of these things is not like the other.  One of these things is not the same.  Can you tell me which thing is not like the other before we finish this game?" or something like that.  Let's see if you can find the changes...

Before

After

Did you see the changes?  Now look at these pictures...

 

Before

After

I found the tables next to the bed at a flea market for next to nothing and we decided to paint them white and use them in this room so the lamps would be the same height.  
Could you find the other changes? 

 I am learning this about decorating:  Rarely do you get things "perfect" on the first try--although Anna came very close.  It is usually necessary to arrange things, ponder a while, and then rearrange--add to--or take away--before it's just right.  Don't feel discouraged--even the pros like Anna and Jane consider this to be part of the process of design.  

Keep playing with it and have fun! 

 

Nautical and Nice!

So excited to finally show you the downstairs master bedroom at Coast Awhile Cottage!  I had fallen in love with a blue and white pinstriped duvet at Ikea and we (my designer, Jane Coslick and I) used it as inspiration to put together this room with lots of flea market finds and a few new things to make a fun--not kitschy--take on "nautical".

We found this old trunk in the storage shed and brought it in for the foot of the bed. It reminds me of an old captain's chest and it offered some storage space.

Some new knobs on the vintage chest of drawers spruced things up along with the lamp and mirror from Home Goods.

It's amazing what a few new things and a some old things used in a new way can do...

Photo Source:  Jane Coslick

  

Nautical and nice.  Ready for company!

A "Makes-You-Smile" Bunk Room!

Coast Awhile Cottage is a spacious home with 5 bedrooms plus a separate 1 bedroom apartment and when designing it I envisioned multigenerational family groups coming for a stay.  I could just imagine lots of cousins hanging out together just like I did with my cousins when my family had a reunion at Tybee over 40 years ago.  The more the merrier!

The bunk room is not very big but I wanted to squeeze two sets of bunk beds in.  They were custom made by Peter Dittmar and designed by me and Jane Coslick based on previous projects of hers plus a few Pinterest pins that I liked.  We had space in the corner to add some shelves for each person so they could have some storage.

I thought it would be nice for the bunkmates to have their own light for reading, etc.  and these inexpensive  nautical ones fit the bill perfectly!

I also liked the idea of having curtains so if one person felt a need for privacy or wanted to shut the light out to nap, they could.  Peter fashioned some strong metal bars for us to use as curtain rods on the beds.

Pre-installation--they are leaning against the lower bunk.

I found some wonderful curtains with a flag design at Ikea in the children's department and bought several pairs so we could use them on the windows and french door as well as some to cut up and sew into curtains and pillows for the beds.  

The yellow bean bag seat was a great bargain from Joss and Main, one of my favorite daily sale sites.  You should check them out!

I also found clearance bedding at Target and wonderful decorative pillows at Garnet Hill (on sale of course).

This little lime green dresser came from a flea market--ready to go!  No painting or refurbishing required.  I love that it offers both room for hanging clothes plus drawer space for each guest.

The bunk room is such a happy place--so colorful and bright!  Makes me smile :)

"Coasting" into 2014!

It has been good to have a few weeks "off" to focus on my family and to think through my goals for 2014.  I'm still thinking and praying about the year ahead but also looking back to what was accomplished in 2013 and I just realized that I never finished giving you a tour of

Coast Awhile Cottage.

 

Jane Coslick and I worked so hard on Coast Awhile Cottage and then my husband and I sold it   The sale happened just as we were finishing up Doc Holiday cottage-- and it just kinda got lost in the busy-ness of decorating.  Kindly, the new owner gave me permission to show you what we did--this is what I was doing as we were ushering in 2013.

 I have already shown you the front porch "after".

And earlier I showed you how the living room went from this

...to this.  Click here for a link to the post with more photos!

In my last post concerning Coast Awhile Cottage there was a kitchen reveal. 

 

 

 So that bring us to where we left off...pretending we were finishing up cooking a nice seafood dinner.  Next time we'll head over to--where else?--the dining room!

By the way--Happy New Year!  I hope 2014 will be blessed and that we all will prosper in the most important areas of life!  Let's get started!

 

 

Get It Together!

I had fun in this post and this one showing you some of the pretties that I found for the living room at Doc Holiday cottage.  Now it's time to get it together and show you how they 

look in the room!

I've already changed some things around since this photo was taken in July.  The rustic wood coffee table now resides on the front porch.  And see the burlap pillow on the sofa that has 

the phrase "Happy All Around" stenciled on it?  It has been re-located to one of 

the master bedrooms. 

Yes, despite the voting results I used Look #5 because back in the summer at move-in time my budget needed all the help it could get and I already owned the pillow.  But that is the beauty of this little cottage--the color scheme is carried throughout so the furniture and most of the accessories can move around and find a new life in any of the other rooms.

There is an undercurrent of watery blue throughout the entire house and punches of other colors like yellow, lime green and coral are used in varying degrees so that the rooms each have their own personality!  

This beautiful painting by Bellamy Murphy was my inspiration piece:

 I love the pops of yellow in the painting, the lamp and the pillows.  And if you 

turn in the other direction...

Don't you love the way the yellow bar stools play with the starfish pillows?  It's important to keep your line of sight in mind when you have rooms with an open concept like in this 

living room/dining room combo.

There are also a few touches of coral sprinkled about in the front door, the pillows on the sofa...

...the painting and the mirror (a thrift store find that we painted)....just enough to be interesting and carry your eye through the space.

On the opposite wall from the sofa are the DIY painted pieces posted about here and here. 

 I still have some final touches to do before everything is complete but overall I'm happy--and

 I think my room is happy too!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

 In working on Doc Holiday, our little beach cottage, my plan for the living/dining space was to try to squeeze as much out of the small space as possible.  I had learned from working with designer Jane Coslick on other projects that it would help to lighten up the dark paneled rooms with white paint--not only does it make the space seem brighter but it also makes it appear to be larger and gives a neutral backdrop for any color I want to introduce.

When it was time to select a sofa and upholstered chairs I chose white slipcovered pieces because they would blend in and take up less space visually plus the slipcovers make it easy to wash away the occasional spills of little (or big) people.  

I shopped IKEA because they specialize in small scale furniture and their goods have a nice design and reasonable price.  The only problem I had with IKEA was getting used to the strange names of the furniture!

Ektorp Sofa with Blekinge white slipcover

Ektorp Jennylund Chair with Blekinge white slipcover

Once I had a nice white backdrop it was time to put some color in the room--and that is where the exciting, nail-biting, rewarding, terrifying, thrilling, satisfying part of decorating comes in--the part where you give your room some personality!

I had to decide what kind of feeling my room should evoke when people walked in.  I wanted people to feel uplifted and say Ooooo--niiice and yet not feel intimidated because the room is too precious.  I wanted the room to welcome guests, invite them to relax and to have furnishings that delight them and make them feel happy as they look around. Also I wanted the room to say You're at the beach!!  without getting too cute and overly kitschy.

When I began to shop I tried to keep my objective in mind--to only buy things that met my goals.  I usually try to establish a color scheme fairly early in the game and pull the colors through the house to all the rooms to keep it cohesive.  But who am I kidding?    

My Most Important Rule:  Buy what you really love and skip the rest.

So today I want to show you some of my favorite things--things that made the cut because 

they say "happy" to me.  

This painting was my first purchase--it was my birthday/Christmas present from Henry. 

I blogged about the artist, Bellamy Murphy, way back in April when I visited her studio.  Her paintings make me smile and I'd been wanting one for several years.  The only problem was narrowing my choice down to just one...

After seeing "May Day" on Bellamy's blog I just knew.  I had found it.  The perfect painting to use as a focal point and inspiration for my bright and happy color scheme!

I love to shop for vintage pieces.  I've scored some great deals with Craig's List, eBay, and little local flea markets.  Some have needed do-overs like this cupboard I posted about here.  It now has a split personality since I separated the top and bottom, painted them, and made them into 

two pieces of furniture!   

These tables for each side of the sofa were also flea market finds.

The lamps and shades I bought to go on the side tables came from Target.  They were chosen to echo the yellow found in Bellamy's painting.

It's white, folks!  The picture makes it look sort of grey.

This little painting from Home Goods was left over from decorating a different cottage.  I liked it too much to return it and for now it has found a home above the sofa.

Then there is the matter of pillows...

A pair of these are on the sofa.

These are my faves!  I found them on Amazon but their price took my breath away.  No matter how much I loved them, I could not justify it with my tiny budget :( 

But hooray!  A few weeks later just in time to furnish Doc Holiday, one of my favorite flash sale sites, Joss and Main, offered them for less than half the Amazon price and I snagged a couple!  Sometimes it pays to wait! 

If you'd like to check out some of the great deals at Joss and Main please click my link and join up!  The deals change daily so if you don't find something you like and need today you may find it tomorrow!  At any rate, it's fun to window shop!

These are a few of my favorite things!  This post is getting long so I will wait til next week to show you a close-up of an absolutely fabulous seashell-encrusted mirror!  Then I want to put everything together and show you how it looks in the living room!

What about you?  Do you have any favorite finds or stores to share with us? 

Where do you like to shop?  Are you a flea market enthusiast or do you prefer the

fancier stores?