2009 June | Real Life Beach Decor, Coastal Living & Nautical Decorating Ideas

A Beach Cottage, The Washington Post & Wardrobe Love

8:22 pm Byabeachcottage

Howdie beach loving bloggy gals. Remember that bed from Friday, that nice crisp, tidy percale one? Well Friday night we were tucked up in it, me reading, drinking hot chocolate, Mr Beach Cottage making notes (he likes to write notes a lot). So I thought rather than, you know, blow one's own trumpet, I would nonchalantly throw into the conversation the Washington Post mention (and thanks to those who emailed me about it, if not for you I would never have known).

Me: "Do you know where Washington is?"

Mr BC: "Err ye-eah, of course I do. Why?" writing while speaking

Me: "'Cos our old cottage got featured on the Washington Post website!" (trying to voice a mix of nonchalance with you-should-be-impressed)

Mr BC: without looking up: "Oh that's good." Carried on note-writing

Me: "I mean you know the Washington Post, the place where the President lives"

Mr BC: "uh huh, great" copious note-writing

Me getting irritated "do you think you'll ever be in the Washington Post?"

Mr BC: "Nah"

So that's the kinda recognition I get around here, this Beach Cottage Crew are a tad more interested in going down the beach or playing their various sports or writing notes than talking about old pieces of furniture or mentions in publications or decorating beach homes. And that ladies is why I write this blog. Do you feel my pain?

Talking about vintage furniture (please I hope you are not getting bored with yet another post of a piece of furniture) and after showing you all my bed on Friday here are some pictures of our new old wardrobe. Would you believe me if I told you we got it for free? You are probably thinking that I cannot possibly have come across another thing for nothin'? OK well I'll pretend then and tell you I bought this for a few hundred dollars. But that wouldn't be true.

I came across this and arm-locked Mr BC into putting it on the roof of the car, this was truly a precarious job, but with his male-physics-tieing-on skills and my supervisory/instructing skills from below we made it home safely onto the drive of the Beach Cottage.

I'm sure there were curtains twitching as a little circus of lifting and instruction then ensued to get the thing into the cottage, but to be totally honest, I didn't really care.

Soooo, she was in great shape, and I was absolutely lovin' the plainness of this piece, the simple lines of the period, in particular the inlaid sides and rounded door fronts and the classic Deco adornment hinting of delicious old days gone by. This was exactly what I had been looking for to tie-in with the floor and the bed and the cushions.

Here's how she looked before:-

In not bad shape, but certainly needing a tidy up – a coat of primer, a couple of coats of my secret *wink hand mixed beachy white and a quick sand and distress…

I love her, and gave her a full-on Beach Cottage initiation – taking not very good pictures of her and asking her last night, if she had heard of Washington…

blogged for Susans Metamorphosis Event and Rhodas Round Up of Thrifty Finds

At Home in the Beach Cottage Bedroom

11:56 am Byabeachcottage

Edit: One of my favourite photos, for the Blog Hop, cos my bedroom doesn't often look quite like this, with three Beach Cottage kiddos!

G'day fellow beach cottage lovers, how you all going? A good week at the beach cottage, busy, but good, no trips to the ER or skate parks…nice winter weather, sun and running on the beach…and in case you missed it, found myself on Apartment Therapy (click if you wanna look)

So how about a little look at my new bedlinen? I'm never going to be a Tidy Bedroom Queen – I'm telling you lovelies I had to do a huge amount of frantic scrambling around tidying up for these pictures, so you better give me some comment luv for my efforts. Kinda the blog version of having someone over for dinner, you have to get your act together and get it tidy. Purging was good though. Once I'd started I got right on into it and threw out a large garbage liner full of clothes that I don't like, or ever did like and was for some eason holding onto.

Funny that isn't it, how you hang on to this stuff "just in case". Rummaging around in the storage boxes under our bed I came across a black 50's style dress I had bought when we first came to Australia, it was trendy then. Think Hepburn. I was coveting scenes of me flitting along in said dress, tanned, carefree…cute little pumps…get the picture? But hmmm, people, me and the dress, my white bits and the arms made me look far from Hepburn. So there it stayed in the box. See it under the bed?

Until today when I let go of it. Ahhhhhh. But then thought, 'what if I go to a fancy dress 50s party' (cos I go to so many of those), ummm I think I'll keep it. Whaaaaat the heck! You'll be pleased to know it went to Vinnies for someone else to wear to a fancy dress party or perhaps skip along the beach all carefree. Someone with better arms.

Back to the bed.

I came across this wonderful bedding from Margaret Muir. There's something addictive about white bed linen, is there not? I instantly fel in love with the pattern on the crispness of the white and loved how it hinted of the romantic without that OTT feeling you so often get with that whole ruffly romantic thing.

Do you like it? I am pretty happy with it, though two of the buttons fell off the first time I used it so I wasn't so pleased about that, but the percale luxury is quite nice to climb into when you're exhausted at the end of the day.

And how about your weekend? Well think of me, I am treasure hunting tomorrow and I am making these and these to fulfill my ever-increasing chilli-lovin addiction

….see you all next week

chair, free

vintage suitcase side table, old treasure found & painted

bed, budget repro

vintage door, garage sale $5

drapes, IKEA

Pitcher, Wheel and Barrow

linen, Shabby Chic, Margaret Muir

bolster cushion IKEA

if you'd like to read some Beach Cottage bedroom decorating ideas on a budget, you can go here

and come on over for a surf at Beach Cottage Inspiration

blogged for The Inspired Room and Kelly's Korner events, thanks

irabdz4qty

Filed Underjust a beach cottage life 61 Comments

Getting Nautical – Beach Cottage Trunk and Apartment Therapy

11:16 am Byabeachcottage

G’day bloggers, hope you are all sizzling in the heat and thinking of us Down Under where though hardly cold, (it hit 21C today on my walk by the sea), it is certainly chilly in the evenings. Before I tell you about my beachy trunk love a couple of bits of news.

First I got featured earlier this week on Apartment Therapy, that’s good isn’t it…go take a look…

and second I’m guest posting at Sandy’s this week who persuades us all to open our homes to others and not worry about things like tatty old cottages on the wrong side of town…hop on over for recipes and advice to get you back in the groove of having people over without any stress…

Anyway after the tips on Monday I thought I’d put it into practice…a very old trunk, on it’s last legs some might feel, but for me when I came across it was just what I was looking for for an awkward space in the sitting room. A somewhat blank wall but because of it’s window and aspect is difficult to get most anything right in there…and as you can only too well imagine, I’ve had the males in this old cottage hauling lots of different pieces in and out of there til this one when it felt right.

I found this unique little baby at a sale all old and wearing time, and got it for $35, it’s very scratched and a teeny bit musty inside, but that’s ok, I wanted it more for it’s aesthetics than it’s storage capacity.

I did the dance when I got it as I had been looking out for a rustic, bit unusual wooden trunk, that with any luck had chunky old latches and was the right shade of weathered wood. I had come across a few others on my travels but the wood was paler and, yep, believe it or not, in the white world I live in, I wanted some natural dark wood for a pop against the backdrop.

Now, sorry but I can’t go on without telling you that I did seriously consider the paint treatment on this one, you’ll be pleased to know that didn’t last too long - I rather loved it once it was in here with a few bits and bobs to dress it up on the top. And am I wrong to call this tablescaping? I am not sure of tabelscape etiquette, but I believe these little side table vignettes are great to fiddle about with so I’m including in my learning-to-dress-a-table-journey (find more tablescaping delights at Between Naps on the Porch with Susan.

What do you think? Do you think it adds a bit of vintage marine style to the sitting room as per those tips the other day, even with those oh-so-girly pink beauties I pulled out of the front garden this morning?

I do beieve it was a gift at that price, do you?

Filed Underthrifted finds for the cottage 66 Comments

Decorating – Ways to Get Beachy in Your Sitting Room

5:14 pm Byabeachcottage

OK, I have a lot of emails asking me what I would do with a room and how I decorate on a budget (and I love those emails and try to get back to everyone, keep em coming) but I only wish there were a little more time in the day to answer them a bit more comprehensively

…so at last I've got together some information to do a little series on what I've learnt with this old beach cottage, a bit ratty round the ears but looking oh-so-much better now. And if you subscribed for the tips (and thanks, a lot of you did), this is it and there'll be more next week which will be a bit more floors and wall focused…

So, lets get beachy. I am no expert, but I think that's a good thing, and no not-in-the-real-world tips noting how easy it is to attain a certain look if we go spend $5000 on a sofa at a boutique…if only it were that easy..my sitting room is all very much on a budget with mostly thrifted finds and antiques (and I don't mean the exclusive ones!) – go see Rhoda for more inspiring thrifty finds.

Here are a few quick ideas on what I've done and how to get that coastal chic feel to your living room – regardless of your current decor you can get the beach cottage look with a few quick sweep changes and you SO don't need bundles of cash or have to live near the coast to get the seaside feel.

Here are a list of simple, easy, no-brainer things you can do in a short amount of time that won't cost lots of money and won't date too much…

1. Add some weathered texture to bring to mind that feel of a coastal dwelling Pull in some old vintage chairs from garage sales and thrift stores – look out for seating in rattan and wicker and benches & stools with peeling paint in faded pale colours and dress with a simple cushion. Find old unloved directors chair, recover them in linen or canvas and whitewash or distress them. Look out for worn old side tables and interesting thrifted objects for that distinctive battered-by-the-elements coastal feel.

2. Rug it Up – add some coir matting, easily found on a budget and instantly drops that seaside feel. Try jute, seagrass or sisal too for texture, depth and value.

3. Consider the sofa – try it in a different place and pull it off the wall. Dress it up for a relaxed, coastal feel, cover it in a throw in a light natural colour and then pile it with some cushions perhaps with a nautical stripe – you don't have to spend a heap of money, look out for cushions and throws at garage sales, thrift stores and discount shops, stick to the same neutral palette and perhaps a sea-blue accent to keep it all pulled together.

4. Lose the clutter – make this place the room where you want to sit, spend some time making it inviting and uncluttered. Ditch the piles of magazines, scoop up the kids' toys and put the junk away.

5. Baskets,suitcases & trunks. Look out for rattan, cane and anything woven, the bigger the better to emulate those old fisherman's baskets – a great way to add easy storage on a budget. Scour secondhand shops for unusual shapes and keep an eye out for the chunky ones then whitewash with a simple mix of paint and water and use to keep everything at hand but out of sight. Add vintage trunks and paint old suitcases white or pale watery colours to evoke seafaring days – they can double as coffee tables and great place to store blankets & toys.

6. Create a Display. With your cleared off surfaces start a natural collection for that whole been-to-the-beach/nature table feel – beach homes will often display the findings of their avid beachcomber owners, so emulate this with your own. Bring the outdoors in, balancing textures and colours and tie it all together with a heap of shells and coral. Add cones, gnarled old sticks and pebbles with the odd starfish as a focal point, to give some natural life to the room. Stack shells and pebbles in glass vases and set them on the side. Look out for coastal related items, but pick just one or two, nothing worse than a themed room – try model boats, flags, seafaring prints (find pics on the web, edit them to b/w, print off and frame), knotted rope balls, or huge decorative seashells.

7. Make the most of the light. Pull back your drapes, open up your blinds and let the light flood in. Consider switching your curtains for a lighter touch – muslin, linen and voiles allow the light to filter softly. Add a twist of rope or tie with a seashell for a nautical touch. Look out for faded old fabrics for that air of sun-bleached style.

8. Soften up your room. Decorate with throws and blankets, an instant way to add warmth and comfort even if it isn't cold. Pile up thrifted blankets in soft muted seaside colours and fold them over the end of the sofa for softness and texture. Look out for inexpensive fabric in whites, neutrals and watery aquas. Hunt out old patchwork quilts for that relaxed look to create a lived in feel. Add lots of texture with hessian and burlap, turn into cushion covers and get rustic!

9. Candles, lamps and hurricanes. Look out for plain lamp bases in classic styles and add lampshades in cool colours. Buy chunky candles in different heights and team with weathered old hurricane lamps. Turn off that overhead, switch on your lamps and light heaps of candles as the days fades for a soft warm ambiance.

10. Layering up frames and mirrors. Collect old frames and give them a quick wash with a pale neutral colour then layer them up. Chalkboards and piles of shells are a great combination – look for cheap frames at thrift stores, paint the insert with chalk board paint & stack up shells and driftwood beside them. Find old vintage mirrors and those with chunky wooden frames and group them together to use the light.

That's it, ten easy ways that I've used to attain that beach house ambiance without spending much money and without going for that oh-so-nautical, finger-down-the-throat theme feel.

And the best thing of all if your decor is getting a bit tired but you just can't be bothered to do anything more than collapse at the thought of it all – get yourself off to your nearest flower market or better still out in the garden and buy the most flowers you can afford and get arranging…nothing better to lift your room at the end of the day…

oh and don't forget to slap on the sunless tan and lay around drinking frozen margaritas.

see you down the beach….Sarah

Filed UnderUncategorized 52 Comments

Beach Cottage Meets Eskimo Blanket in Vintage Love

11:52 am Byabeachcottage

In my long hard sourcing of vintage treasures, working my fingers to the bone for this tatty old place, I recently came across a lovely old blanket in great condition. Now I have to tell you that before I started on this journey in junk, blankets weren't really my thing, more of a quilt girl myself.

But that was before I lived in a home without central heating, a real English wimp am I. Here in Sydney, it gets errrrm rather chilly in the winter in the evenings and out come the rugs and now I've collected a lot, in fact, the old ones, with the vintage labels and silk binding are a bit on an obsession.

This one may be what one might have called in the old days an instant warmer, instead today we just flick a switch and turn on the heat.

Made by Eskimo Textiles of Switzerland and with the most delicious soft old faded lablel I believe it is lambswool with merino but that part of it is hard to read now, it's certainly warm, soft and very cozy.

Last night, wrapped with it over my lap and tucked up by the radiator behind the chair, doing a spot of reading once it was quiet and most were in bed I thought you might like to see its muted colours and soft looks..

Like it? It's one of those things that makes me feel good for not much. And I need that.