Time For The Good Stuff!

It's time for the good stuff...at last I can show you all the fun things I found for the bunk room during my shopping adventures online.

I fell in love with this fabric when I walked through the kids' department of IKEA!  The flag print made me think of nautical flags and the bright colors are so cheery!  The Atlanta IKEA carries the curtains in this print but the only stores that carry the duvet and pillow sham are the stores on the west coast:(

I was scheming about how I could get the duvets and was just about to pick up the phone to dial up my sister Crystal who lives in the L.A. area to beg her help...then I thought I'd check eBay first.  And yaaaay--there was a seller who had four sets for sale still in the packages! 

Vitaminer Vimpel Duvet Cover and pillow sham set

Does anyone else love to score a bargain?  I get a little thrill each time I find just the right thing for an amazing price and that is just what happened with these euro pillow shams.  I can't keep it to myself--normally $40 each, they were on clearance at C. Wonder for $4.99!

I love the rope and grommet detail on each pillow!

 

There is one more item to share--I was walking through Home Goods one afternoon and this little wicker monkey "spoke" to me--he really did.  I had to take him home!  I'm not sure yet the best way to display him but I think the kids will like this little friend!

Here's the room...the room is small and it was hard to stand far enough back to get a good picture with my little point and shoot but I did my best.

As you can see, we managed to get four bunk beds into the room and still have a little floor space!  The kids seemed to like the room a lot when they stayed here a few weeks ago.  They chose to hang out in there reading or playing games--I guess it is fun to have your own space but to have company nearby!  We've got tweaking to do but I'm already loving the way this room is shaping up!  

We Have Bunks--And That's No Bunk!

Does anybody remember waaay back in the earliest days of the old melodrama movies?  Me neither but the story of our bunk room at Doc Holiday might have made a good subject.  It might have gone something like this...

The bunk bed saga continues....in our last installment, Vicky arrived at the cottage with a U-Haul truck full of goodies to begin moving in.  But alas, there were no bunk beds in the bunk room.  (Fainting ensues.  Then panic.)

Our builder finally came to understand that children will be in need of those beds in a few days and, being a kind-hearted man and not a mustache-twirling villain, he arranged for one of his best carpenters to come over the weekend and build the bunk beds.

Enter our hero and heroine to the rescue...Jane Coslick, my designer, and John Lindsay!  I found some photos of beds that we wanted to model ours after for John to see then...

They measured.

And they measured.

 And just to be sure, measured again!

John set to work and by the end of the day---Bunk beds!  My hero! (Sigh)

There was no time to paint the beds before the kids showed up but they didn't mind.  And they loved their room!  (Swoon)

 After our week with the family, we took off all the bedding and the beds were painted.  I'll show you how the room looks now when we meet again in our final installment of the 

Saga of the Bunk Beds!

E is for Emergency! Eeeek!

Today I want to show you a series of pictures--each one represents a few more days to a week of work as the workers came in to make Doc Holiday more and more gorgeous...

Against The Grain, a Savannah floor finishing company, came in to redo the floors which had been painted.  They began by sanding...

Then the stain and first coat of polyurethane was applied.  Better already!

We were thrilled with the floors once the final topcoat was applied.

It's so purdy:)  Let's look at another one!

Then the floors were covered and the walls were primed.

Next came the paint!  We used an old Martha Stewart color called Glass of Milk, MSL 8002. 

And how do you like the little nautical lights we found for each bunk?  They were from good ole Home Depot.

This is how everything looked the day I showed up with my U-Haul truck full of goodies.

 

The bunkroom was fabulous but eeeek!  It lacked an important thing--bunkbeds!  I was expecting four children to arrive for a visit in a few days so it's an understatement to say I felt a bit stressed!  Finally I was able to get my contractor to see that it was time to get them built now--a bonafide emergency--If they didn't do it right away they were going to have to take me to the emergency room!

They got them built.  In time.  Deep breath.  I'll show you next time!

Putting Things Back--Only Better!

The bunk room at Doc Holiday is done with demo in these photos and ready to be put back together again--only better!  It is a very small room and my plan is to put two sets of bunk beds in and still have some floor space.  This was how the space was planned out...

The original door was closed up and we made a new door out of another opening we discovered during the demolition. 

You can see where they have framed out the old door space in preparation for closing it in.

 Then we insulated and closed up the wall.  Since this room borders the living room, porch and kitchen we used sound-proofing insulation so that the grown-ups could still visit and watch TV after the kiddos went to bed.  

Take a look at the walls--aren't they cool?  Catskill Builders put all of the salvageable wood in piles according to length and reused as much as possible--that patchwork 

wall of colors is reclaimed wood!

And look at the walls that have the X shape on them.  Our contractor is wondering if the family that added this room onto the house salvaged the wood for the walls from train boxcars?  It gives the room great character and our carpenters have shored everything up according to code so it is safe!

One set of bunks will go along the patchwork wall... 

 

and the other set of bunks will be on the opposite wall.  We ran out of reclaimed boards so we used bead board for this wall.  There is a solid 5 panel wood door for sound control and it is in the old style to go with the other doors original to the house.

 As you can see, the electrician has been at work putting an individual light and light switch for each bunk!   

All that is left now is to sand and refinish the floor and paint the room---and oh yes, bunk beds.

Bunkroom-To-Be!

We are blessed to have a bunch of sweet grands...

 

 

...and we want to be able to squeeze as many as possible into Doc Holiday, our little cottage at Tybee Island.  Sooo---we decided to make one of the bedrooms into a bunk room with four bunks.  Then we can have one of our kids, their spouse and all their kids 

visit us at one time. 

These are the "Before"photos of the room that will become the bunk room.

 

Full size bed fills the space--this is not a very big room.

 

Demolition and discovery came next---here's what we found.  There used to be a window that looked to the front porch.  We will have to close it up so we can put beds on that wall.

 

 

There also used to be a door in a different location.  We only need one door and will close the opening on the right and use the one we found on the left. 

 

 

This will allow us to fit two built in bunk beds at each end of the room.  It won't be a big 

room but it will be a cozy room!

I Love Lucy

Today we said good-bye to a wonderful friend and loyal companion, our dog Lucy.

She came to join our family fourteen years ago--a fluffy little ball of energy and mischief that won our hearts.  She has been feeling the effects of old age this last year and finally today, it was her time to go.  We will, we do miss her so much.

Have you ever lost a special pet?  If so, tell me about her/him.  Please leave your 

comment here on the blog.

The Tybee Prom!

Henry and I met in high school and our first and only prom together was our senior prom right before graduation...

...that is, until recently when we attended the Tybee Prom!  

Two of our Tybee friends, Sandy McCloud and Jane Coslick, were sponsoring this event to benefit the Humane Society's planned low-cost spay/neuter clinic and we went as Jane's guests to see what it was all about.

The prom was held near the lighthouse at The American Legion Post 154.   It had been an unusually rainy week---finally the sky cleared up and it was a pretty evening.

  

The event was well-supported by many of the folks who grew up on the island or were permanent residents.  There were also a few newcomers (like us).

People were encouraged to come in vintage prom clothes or funny costumes and many did just that.  It was fun to see the creative, sometimes crazy, costumes that people wore.

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Henry and I were more like wall flowers taking in the show but we had a great time.  I didn't have a prom dress but I found a tiny tiara to wear that was a decoration on the table.

One of the highlights of the evening was an appearance by "The Girlfriends", a singing group that performs music from the 40's, 50's and 60's at many venues around Tybee and Savannah. Here they are belting out a song as the crowd danced and got into the act.

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Source: Sandy McCloud on the left with other members of "The Girlfriends"

 And did I mention that we spotted Elvis in the building?  Randy "Elvis" Walker performed as well for an appreciative audience.

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Henry and I had to leave a little early since we had dinner plans in town but Henry spotted this bumper sticker on a car in the parking lot as we walked by.

I'd say that "Quirky" is alive and well at Tybee Island!  Come on down and 
join the festivities!