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

Beach Cottage Breakfast Room & More Vintage Furniture

8:30 pm Byabeachcottage

Well I've certainly not been too near the beach, though I did walk by it – it's been grey and drizzly out there with the odd patch of sunlight just to remind me that yes I do now live in Australia.

Do you eat breakfast? I'm asking because I started and failed miserably this new campaign to eat breakfast. Properly at a table. It's not really working til the morning chaos is over. In fact it's not really working at all and has turned into me eating chocolate at the table for Morning Tea.

It all started with a brioche recipe somewhere in blogland, can't locate it now but wish I could and Nigel Slater whose book I'm currently reading tucked up in bed drinking tea. I love a diary, dunno what it is about reading entries but I like it and Nigel's is no exception, though it's all upside down – literally, with his months being the opposite to Australian months. If you see what I mean.

On April 25 he talks about 'rummaging through the fridge', I mean I just love that,(don't we all do it) and toasting brioche with chocolate stuffed in it for a 'mid-morning pick-me-up with a cappuccinno', mmm mmm. So I started having stupid ideas about being all domestic baking brioche and then sitting around mid morning sipping coffees with it.

And I have done that, at this table and it must stop, so not good for my white bits, the ones on my body, not the ones in my house.

In the midst of this brioche-fest and when the old pink dresser found her new home I changed the IKEA chairs for these older ones – painted with a beachy white acrylic and sanded back. Going for that mismatched look – the old odd chairs and the modern table and unit. And we re-purposed the old Armoire as a storage place for my piles and piles of vintage china including a growing collection ot Pyrex (why I am in love with this stuff I do not know) which seems to multiply by the day.

Hope you like it and if you have any breakfast ideas, that do not include cereal or milk, are easy and do not involve melting chocolate please let me know.

blogged for the table dressing event at Between Naps on the Porch and Thrifty Thursday

and don't forget the Book Depository if you want a fantastic selction of books, shipped right to your door, worldwide for free

come stumble through tumblr with me, great time-waster when you should be ironing tablecloths ;-

Edited to add: this came in from Kathi, a great tip, I'm trying, a no-brainer, thanks!

I have an easy breakfast that I take to work. Just mix quick cooking oats, raisins, brown sugar and nuts in a container. When you are ready to eat, just scoop some of this mixture into a coffee cup (fill about 1/2 way), add water just to cover, stir and microwave for about 45 seconds. Yummy and healthy too! I guess you could add some chocolate chips too if you need chocolate for breakfast!

Filed Underthrifted finds for the cottage 51 Comments

I’m Liking…Easy Elegance Decorating with Atlanta – A Book Review

3:28 pm Byabeachcottage

G'day all. My legs still hurt.

Do you like my little book reading corner this week, including old found vintage mirrors, old bottles and gifts of flowers? Last week the books were all things French, this week it is all things Atlanta…Atlanta Bartlett being the author inspiring me to add some colour and got me hauling old pieces of vintage furniture around the cottage in a frenzy.

Lots of you asked where this new thing had come from and though it's not a new look for me (before the beachy thing kicked in I was more into this chippy old furniture with a faded patina) it has definitely been influenced by this particular book.

This, coupled with the fact that I get a heap of emails asking me to review things (and not of course that I mind that but I do think it odd to be asked to review something that I haven't seen) made me think that I might do a few of my own recommendations for stuff I have tried, tested…and like.

Thought I'd start with one of the books I've bought lately and more importantly the one I have had pasted to my thigh for the last few weeks and gave away to Julie-Anne with no blog a few weeks ago.

It all started when I came across, and sorry I can't remember who recommended me to this site, the internet book store Book Depository based in the UK.

So what's so good about it? Well basically this site offers free, yep that would be completely free shipping anywhere in the world, now if you are in Australia, that means plus plus plus for a number of reasons. Firstly the choice here can be somewhat limited, therefore this solves that. Secondly, the free shipping together with the low cover price, even though it is in good old British Pounds, means that a book you might pay a hefty amount for at the mall is much better value and it comes direct to your door.

Hmmm, but what about time, I mean it has to get on a plane from England, won't it take ages. Well, so I thought, but after a trip to the bookshop where I wanted a book for $60 and one of the kiddos for $20 we searched instead on Book Depository, both books were in stock and including shipping to us here it worked out just under half price on both books.

We placed the order on a Thursday afternoon and the following Monday they arrived. I don't think I could ask for a better service than that, to be honest I was astounded that the whole thing worked out well.

So we did it again and I have, ever since, spent long late sessions searching for any number of books and ordering them in a new secret addiction (hence the various reasons going on here to conceal my growing collection).

And onto Atlanta Bartlett, her of At Home with White fame . I ordered Easy Elegance on the back of how much I liked At Home with White and by very fact that she is extremely popular and much emulated. I wasn't disappointed.

If you want a book for your coffee table, it looks pretty good. It's well set out, flows with a simple coherent theme, uses different takes on the same ideas to accommodate different decorating styles and is choc full of wonderful photos. Atlanta seamlessly takes us through the different versions of 'Elegance' (she hasn't seen me collapsed on the sofa with her books) and explains in detail her ideas and advises on how to achieve the looks that are expertly styled and photographed in the pictures as only the pros do.

If I had to criticize, the only thing would be it is ever-so-slightly unrealistic and when you flick through to the photo credits the list reads a bit like an elitist list from a niche group of interior stylists that somehow makes the whole thing ironic and un-attainable to someone like me. But then who wants pictures of attainable, that's the beauty of a book like this and the ensuing oohing and ahhing when you put your feet up at the end of the day.

oh and if you do want to feature on here – I would love to pay it forward

submissions: abeachcottageblog@gmail.com

and go stop by Beach Cottage Inspiration with a coffee and tumble on through…

see you all later…

thanks for the nomination!

Filed UnderUncategorized 16 Comments

The Old Vintage Pink Dresser Finds A New Home

9:04 pm Byabeachcottage

G'day lovelies, hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Mine included sport. More Sport. And Sport.

Including me and can I just tell you that I could barely get out of bed this morning – you know that feeling when you exercise properly after a bit of a break and then the next day you feel like someone went over you with a steam roller. Yep that was me, I had to lift my leg with my hands to put the foot brake on the car…

But back to old pink dressers that have not been morphed and seeing as so many got in touch to see whether it had been shipped off to the dump I thought I'd show you where we were at.

Hmmm, are you surprised to see it still pink?

Well I don't know if you've noticed but I've got a bit of a colour thing going on here lately, inspired by a new interior/decorating book that blends using vintage thrifty things with white and simple elegance and it's got me all revved up for a bit of nostalgia in the cottage.

And, to be utterly truthful, after the message from the reader Susheela Myers, (you can read what she said here) I just couldn't stomach painting her white to have her 'slumped in the corner' and then dismally regretting it. And besides that's how this whole journey started using old vintage chippy furniture with a faded patina against a backdrop of white and neutrals with a few nautical inspired things thrown in for good measure (and go here for more).

Recently we had a move around…this got me to thinking about the lack of storage all around in the kitchen and how, though I love open shelving, this can look somewhat messy unless you are sergeant major-like in your putting-away and seeing as three kids have chores of dishwasher putting away while I lie idly around on the sofa, this is not the best recipe for ummm, aesthetically pleasing style.

Soooo, I saw a dresser in a magazine article on kitchens, right next to some very modern units, used to store tea towels and napery, it said. So I thought I would give mine a go in the breakfast room, to store napery and my much thumbed, some looking a bit daggy cookbooks and those oh-so-annoying plastic things that you seem to accumulate and not use until one day when you desperately need a plastic storage container and then realise that you threw them out in a de-cluttering fit.

And so I'm thinking it's not too bad – a decorating storage solution for 20 odd bucks?

What about you, and seeing as a whole load of you lovely gals took the time to let me know last time (some even coming out of lurkdom, woot woot) what you thought and had me in absolute quandaries over what to do, I'd love to hear what you think?? But more importantly, are its pink days numbered? wink*

oh and remember the burlap sack love I experienced, well go and visit Petit Coterie where you will find these lovely oh-so-rustic pillows for your beach cottage, all expertly hand stitched – I came across these in blogland this weekend and don't know anywhere in Australia where I might find such beautiful hand crafted real French delights…but these are spot on, the Ampersand ones are maybe even better, if, of course, that is possible

…and no I am in no way affiliated , just sharing the positive love, as per the powerful post at French Essence,

French Style Grain Sack D. LaBlanc Pillow by Petit Coterie

blogged to participate in Rhodas thrifty event at Southern Hopsitality and taking part in Susans Metamorphosis link up

Filed Underbeach cottage makeovers, junking for the cottage, thrifted finds for the cottage 83 Comments

Flowers, Vintage, Sunshine & Snubs

12:32 pm Byabeachcottage

bought myself some flowers and then some…hadn't realised there were blooms in the front garden & then received a gift from a friend, can never have enough flowers though I suppose

I'm quiet today allover, so just a few snaps from my sitting room this morning in the winter sunshine…loving my old plates, dreaming of the old days when we used to pop over to Lille (France) for lunch and lusting over vintage crochet

I'm off to my inspiration blog with a coffee and to do some blog surfing…see ya

blogged for Susan's Tablescaping and Making Life Beautiful, thanks

and if you like delicious things packaged oh-so-wonderfully go take a look at armchairtrader - for the love of beautiful things

Filed Underjust a beach cottage life 69 Comments

Beach House Makeover – Yes It’s A Wooden Deck!

6:15 pm Byabeachcottage

G'day!

Oh it's busy times here and guess what we had another trip to the ER, and yes it was Mr Teenage BC and yes it was from the skate park. Lots of blood, a heap of stitches and dressings but thankfully not too many tears. And why you ask did I let it happen? That I cannot answer.

Anyway after a full day today of which I'll be showing you more of soon I collapsed in a jumble of grottiness out here on the deck. It had needed a bit of an overhaul after all the recent rain and that happened a few days ago and was very welcome this afternoon…

I thought though that I would tell you about the deck and how when we moved into the cottage it was looking extremely hideous in all it's orangey painted glory and more importantly I was thinking that it would never, ever, be anything more than a dead decorating loss. I knew it had some plusses, first off being that at the very least, yes it was a wooden deck of timber, second it was already there and we didn't have the bother of going about building it ourselves. Then I came across a few homey makeover blogs and I was inspired to get off my backside, stop moaning, start doing and work with what I had or didn't have (and go here to see the first makeover job a year or so ago) – Mr Beach Cottage and I hauled out this old sofa and then I gradually pulled a few things to bring it all together – I think it is amazing what you can do with nothing, this could easily be a very different corner.

The back cushions I recovered with some natural linen and the seat is a throw from IKEA tucked in and around, added a few new nautical fashion cushions, I'm really liking those and a pot of lavender grown from a cutting by my fair hands, yup, truly…easy as sticking a cutting into some rooting compost and letting it go after itself.

particpating in the Outdoor Wednesday event at Southern Daydreamer, thanks Susan and if you've got little angels in your family check out Room Time

wanna play designer wannabe with me? scoot on over to Beach Cottage Inspiration, see ya there!