Gorgeous New Old Stuff!

Where would I be without eBay and Craig's List?  So many of the things I bought for Coast Awhile Cottage  were purchased secondhand from these websites or they came from 

flea markets.

Two reasons for this:   (1)  I can afford better goods if I buy them used  and (2)  the house will have more character, look more collected over time, if some of the things are vintage.

When I looked over the pictures of the dining room to select some to share I realized that almost everything in it was owned by somebody else first.   I wanted a pagoda chandelier for the dining room.  I love the bamboo look--it's beach-y and elegant but not stuffy.  Most of the ones I looked at were out of my price range.  So I began searching for one on  eBay.  It took some time but patience paid off and I found this vintage tole pagoda for an amazing deal!

A coat of spray paint (Rustoleum aqua) and boom--it looks fresh and ready for it's new life at Tybee!

 

Peter and I couldn't wait to take down the old fan and put it up.

Source:  Jane Coslick

My dining table and chairs were scored by searching Craig's List.  I paid for the table and six nice, heavy chairs with rush seats less than I would have spent for one chair new. The wicker chairs at each end of the table also came from another Craig's List search.

I wanted a buffet or sideboard piece for the white sheetrock wall and this one came from a flea market.  The gorgeous vintage Imari lamps also came from a flea market and I was able to get them for less than I would have spent at a discount store.  They came with wonderful black silk shades but I bought some white ones--it's a beach house after all. 

  I'd have put a pretty painting above the buffet if I had not sold the house.  Maybe one like this one by Bellamy Murphy.  Here's a link with some of her paintings--what a talented lady!

Source

Remember the fabulous shell mirror from this post?  It was a special anniversary gift from my husband Henry.  It wound up coming with us to Doc Holiday when we sold the house but I originally planned it for this dining room.

T

Now let's put these things all together....

The curtains are from Ikea--this style with grommets is called Merete.

  

 My designer Jane Coslick arranged these shells in an antique bread bowl.  Aren't they fantastic?  It's the little details that make everything magical.

 

Source:  Jane Coslick

 Don't you love the oyster shell candlesticks....Jane's son made them!

Source:  Jane Coslick

Source:  Sandy McCloud

Source:  Sandy McCloud

What do you think?  Pre-loved stuff is not so bad, huh?  Sometimes old things used in a new way can look fresh and beautiful.  Who wouldn't like having dinner in a dining room like this?

From Dive to Dining Room!

How do you get this...

...when you start out with this?

Let me show you how it was done.  

The dining room at Coast Awhile Cottage was reasonably large and well-positioned next to the kitchen.  It had a mural painted on one wall.

And the rest of the walls were dark wood paneling.

The look I was going for in this cottage was light, bright, and relaxed-upscale.  Does this say light and bright to you?

No?  It didn't to me either.  More like black hole.  These dark walls would seem cozy in a log cabin in the mountains but they didn't read "beach-y" to me.  

We needed to paint the walls white so the light would bounce around the room and brighten it up.  My husband objected but my design consultant, Jane Coslick,  backed me up and Henry decided to trust us.

 It was quite an undertaking.  The walls were sanded, primed and painted (2 or 3 coats).  Jane suggested we use a Martha Stewart Living color #8002 called "Glass of Milk" in a semi-gloss and it is amazing what a change it made!

Better already!  It feels clean, bright and ready for some beautiful, beach-y touches!  I'll show you how we furnished the room next time!

"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!

 

 

Cookie-making With Kids---Silly, Sassy and Sweet!

Christmas, for me, is first and foremost about celebrating a Savior who came quietly to a manger bed and ended up changing the world.  But it is also about spending time with family and making memories together.  

Today I was remembering a fun activity that I did with some of my grandchildren.  I went searching for the pictures to show you and was astonished to see that we did this four years ago!  The years are flying by!  I want to fill them with as many happy times as possible.

This is a quick and easy no-bake cookie---Nutter Butter Santa cookies.

 

You will need: 

  Nutter Butter sandwich cookies, melted white chocolate bark, red sprinkles, miniature marshmallows cut in half, miniature chocolate chips, and red cinnamon candies.

To assemble: 

1.  Pour red sprinkles, red candies (for nose) and chocolate chips into cups or small bowls. Also snip miniature marshmallows in half and put in a small bowl.
2. Melt the bark in microwave or on stove top (be careful not to burn it.)  This is a job for grown-ups or older children.
3. Dip both ends of a Nutter Butter cookie into white bark.  Then dip one end of the cookie into the bowl of red sprinkles--do not completely cover the white chocolate bark but leave a little bit showing for Santa's "fur trim".  If you use a cup or small enough bowl, the sprinkles will be deep enough for you to simply plunge the cookie in to the right level.
4. Working quickly, attach a half-marshmallow to the "hat" for a "pom-pom".  You may need to use a dab of bark on the marshmallow to help it adhere.  We had some leftover icing from another cookie project that we used for the "glue".
5. Use a tiny dab of bark (or icing) to attach two chocolate chips for eyes and one cinnamon candy to make the nose.

This was an easy-for-kids activity that the grown-ups had fun with too!

Don't worry about perfection.  Just have fun.  Besides, it's the imperfections that give each cookie a personality!  Look at these guys--some are silly, some are sassy and some are sweet!

And one other fun thing---eating the cookies!

 Mmmm mmmmm.

Have you done anything easy and fun with kids at Christmas?  Care to share?  I can always use new ideas:)  Hope you're planning to make some fun memories this Christmas!

It's A Cover-up!

Is there anything at your house that sort of grates on your nerves every time you walk past it?  Something that bugs you because it is an eyesore or needs a change?  Well that's how I felt about this water heater.  And I decided it needed to be covered up before Doc Holiday made its debut on the Holiday Tour of Homes at Tybee.

It wouldn't be so bad to have an exposed water heater except that this room opens up to to other parts of the house and it is in the path to the back door.  I don't like looking down the hall and seeing this...

It was supposed to be concealed in a closet in the original plan but somehow we ran out of space.  What are you gonna do in this situation?  You need to have hot water.

I've been thinking about how to solve the problem for a while and thought maybe I could buy a curtain rod that would bend to go around the water heater.  I was googling around to see if such a product exists and I came across this bendable shower curtain rod that you can bend to any configuration.  I ordered it right away.  Yaaay!

The shower curtain rod is a track that comes with hooks to hang the shower curtain. 

 I wanted a solid white shower curtain so it would blend into the background.  I found this white one with little ruffles and thought it would be perfect.  Once it arrived I saw that the fabric was very see-through (boo) but we solved the problem by using a white fabric (not plastic) liner.

I called on my go-to handy ladies at Tybee Girl Helpers to install everything.  Heather and Patricia took on what turned out to be a two-woman job and worked their magic.

And then...oh happy day!

At last things are covered up and pretty.

Sooo much better!

 
All weekend I felt a little smile cross my face whenever I walked into this room.  The saying is that "if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."  Well, Mama is happy :)

Have you ever had to come up with an unusual solution to solve a decorating dilemma?

Making A Joyful Noise!

Just a little something to lift your spirits and refocus your thoughts on the reason for the season...  These monks who have taken a vow of silence still manage to have a choir and to express the good news that is in their hearts!

Take a moment to watch their performance of The Hallelujah Chorus.  It will make you smile.  My favorite part is the big "hallelujah" at the end!

Have time for one more Christmas tune?  This is an a capella rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy" performed by Pentatonix.

Sigh.  I wish I could sing beautifully.  But I am glad that God is happy when I make a 

"joyful noise"!

Colorful, Christmas-y Cottage Tour!

What a great day Saturday was!  Tybee Island put on one of it's most glorious winter days--think sunny with a high of 80 degrees!  It was downright balmy in December and a perfect day for Jane Coslick's 2nd Annual Holiday Tour of Homes featuring ten beach cottages.

I went down a few days early to try to make things "party perfect" by putting out some Christmas-y touches using beachy colors and mostly things I already had.   

Doc Holiday was Stop #1 on the map. 

  When guests stepped onto the front porch there were brightly colored furnishings and a cheery poinsettia to greet them.

Just inside the front door they were greeted by Rudolph, my ceramic deer head.  After putting his antlers made of twigs into the head, I decided he needed some additional fluffing sooo...I bought some colorful jingle bells and tied them on with ribbon.  I also found a small piece of slate at Michael's and had a little phrase painted on by Patricia from Tybee Girl Helpers--is there anything she can't do?

A couple of grocery store bouquets helped to brighten up several spots in the house. Some shells and ornaments were displayed in a shell-shaped dish on the coffee table.

My daughter Kristen and her little girls decorated the tree while I set the table for Christmas breakfast.  Henry put some sand in the bottom of a pretty jar wrapped with rope and added a candle and some shells for a simple centerpiece that is appropriate year-round.

 


 Kristen made cookies and we set out goodies for Santa in the kitchen.
 

It was a fun day with all of the tour patrons commenting on the pretty things they had seen and taking pictures for ideas to use at their own homes.  Next year I hope to be one of the patrons myself!  I ho-ho-hope you'll plan to come and join me!


For some more fun and easy Christmas ideas, click over to Home Stories A to Z where I shared my jingle bell reindeer idea :)