Monday morning here, it's beautifully hot. I have sore back of legs from yesterday's too long on the beach. It seems to be that I worry so much that the kiddos are sun safe that I miss out one area of myself every time. So last night, very sore, I googled 'natural sunburn remedy' and found aloe vera and considering I have two aloe vera plants in the garden, hopped out there in my pyjamas and picked a few – splodged out the gel and wacked it on. Wow, that stuff rocks! Instant relief…
Anyway, enough of my stupidity. We spent most of Saturday putting up Christmas decs. Did you?
This is our first Australian Christmas in our own home. And our first real Christmas at the Beach Cottage, as last year we headed North to Queensland for Christmas. And I have to say that I'm quietly excited about that because ultimately, putting aside all the horrible commercialism around it, there's nothing I like more than fiddling around with decorating, sparkly things and cooking big birds!
So, after vague ideas of keeping it sparse this year, I decided stuff that and rather thought we'd go for it. I use that term loosely though, because I'm sure that some of you reading this, especially if you are in the States, could well think my idea of going for it pretty pathetic.
After trawling through the ideas in the magazines and not being inspired by anything I decided on keeping it to one main palette of white and silver, and then adding flowers, things from the beach, things from outside and basically stuff I already had.
This was the first thing I did – I wanted to create something in the hallway and I'd seen a mantle dressing in a magazine where they'd used real live fir tree branches stuffed with all sorts of twinkly bits and a few rustic cones.
Well without wishing to bore you with that budget thing again *smile, I had two problems with live fir or buying an artificial. One even if I found a real one, I didn't think it would last more than a week in these temps and two, I had set myself up to dress this place without spending much and after looking at the artificial ones in my price bracket, I thought I would rather go without.
But press on did the hardy Beach Cottage Decorator On A Budget.
I decided, as I did with the shell wreath to Do-It-Myself and shopped the house.
I don't have a mantel here yet (I'm cooking up a way to get one though), so I cleared off the vintage unit in the hall – this is how it looked before (and go to Susan's for more makeovers)
Three main ingredients equals one DIY garland…candles, greenery and pretty things…this turned out quite OK…and I can easily replace the greenery every week and add a few fresh flowers every now and then to keep it looking cool…
I didn't spend a penny on this, everything came from things I gathered from this very tatty and very messy-at-the-moment old cottage.
Whaddya think of my playing Christmas-dollar-free dress-up? I'd love to hear your comments…
The giveaway winner from last week, is Tiffany, thanks to Susannah Tucker for this and there'll be another one, a beachy one this week…stay tuned beach chicks!
here's the comment she left: my kinda girl
hey Sarah! So I am addicted to your site I just bought my first place, not a beach cottage on the outside (a condo in the burbs) but inside I have brought the beach. Your budget friendly ideas have so inspired me! I have done a white wash table, end table, coffee table…..on and on….but my fiance knew I was addicted when the wooden oars I ordered arrived
So if you need a fan to ship these lovely prints to, count me in!
xo
tiffany from maryland
oh and a little housekeeping thing – if you subscribed with Feedblitz, please re-subsribe here or with the button at the top as Feedblitz no longer works, thanks!
You are preaching to the converted about not having a Christmas tree! I don’t have one either, but I love wreaths and bowls with ornaments. I am American and I still love how you decorated your mantle. Yes, it is simple, but it is elegant and I may even copy your idea on my own white mantle!
I love what you did Sarah. I also shopped around the house this year. Putting silver ribbons from around the house on things I already owned. Christmas only comes once a year and why spend a lot of money on it (more money for gifts from hubby). White and silver are my Christmas colors, I use them every year. I also went to Ikea for Christmas (I picked up the large paper stars, and put them in the windows). You can also count the dollar store in my Christmas shopping for decos (I spent $2.00 for tree decos and a tinsel tree). Christmas can be done cheap and elegant, as you have just shown us. Great job again.
Sarah, I love your white & silver palette! I’ve got a whole bunch of silver grouped & love it all together. You always do a great job with your vignettes & it looks beautiful. Love going around the house to see what you can find. And the natural look is so pretty anyway! Merry Christmas, friend!
soooo pretty Sarah. The simplicity speaks to me I was at IKEA today and almost picked up the silve candle holders….ended up buying the lanterns for my daughter and daughter-in-law. My kids are grown, and I still spend more money on my kids!
Anyway, love what you’ve done…festive, clean, gorgeous!
Beautiful!! I love that it’s so different from more traditional/typical Christmas decorating. Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional too — but it’s nice to see a fresh and different spin on things
sarah, it looks super! no surprise, however!!
i don’t have a tree either. well, i call it a tree, but it is really a few branches in a large crystal vase with the glass beads in the base to help the branches stay up where i want them. i used the little balls i have and i wrapped a string of beads around the pinched in part of the vase. it coordinates with the little ball ornaments. so pretty, easy, and *free*! in the den on the mantle i put the old fake bough with little white lights up, and decorated it with pinecones (courtesy of the neighborhood trees) and some nests i had collected from the yard, and the odd votive (out of firehazard reach) and called it done. the bookshelves have their own cones and candles, and VOILA it looks like christmas. it was easy, fun, fits the mood, and looks lovely! i didn’t spend a cent and it’s bc friendly! LOVE this blog for inspiration and encouragement! jkj
I enjoy “dressing up” my home with things I already have. Sometimes I get the urge to rearrange the furniture or move the rugs around. Down here in the south (USA), we call it “fluffing.” Fluffing is using what you already have to brighten up your home. I know a lady who makes good money at fluffing. Maybe you could sell your services, too.
Fabulous look Sarah. I got out my ‘white’ christmas tree yesterday and to my horror it has gone all discoloured and creamy in some places. Such a dilemma – I’ve only had it 2 years. We think it has discoloured on the side that faces the window. I was just going to ditch it as I was so angry but today decided to play around with it and face the creamy discoloured side to the window one more time. So far all it has are lights as I was so disappointed when I opened the box and saw it that I just aren’t in the right frame of mind to go through the decorations I have boxed in my garage. Maybe I should just decorate my dining table and ditch the tree now!!! arghhh….
Alison
Hi Sarah,
I love having a peek into your beautiful home…Thanks for letting us in and sharing your great ideas with us! I just thought I’d share a remedy for sunburn with you. Aloe Vera works wonders for all burns, however, cut a ripe tomato in half and get a loved one with a sense of humour to ‘gently’ rub all over the burn…crazy I know but it works =) I know I need not tell you though ‘Prevention Is Better Than Cure.’ From a fellow Aussie, Cheers Amanda.
I love your style! I am new to blogs and just in the nick of time…you see, after 30 years of living in the middle of the Mojave Desert of CA my husband and I have bought a house in a beach community!! I am still pinching myself. We were pretty isolated as far as shopping goes for so many years…it will be so much fun to be near shops… and not too far from us are lots of thrift shops, and bargain shops.
I am beginning to decorate the house and its all such a change that I can’t figure out what to do!! We did have paneling installed on the ceiling in the living room and painted it High Gloss white…it looks great. We are also having paneling installed in our family room and we’ll paint it white, I have mostly brown furniture and I think the brown will look good with the white? Any advice? AFter 30 years of looking at desert, brown and desolate I can’t tell you how excited I am…however, I will miss my friends here but our new home is only 3 hours away and they can come visit and be blessed with a place by the beach..we are taking our time moving in so we have time to make some improvements…just no ideas!!
Love your home and everthing you do looks wonderful..thanks for the inspiration!
Patti
Love it! Love the simplicity…I was going for that look myself, but it wasn’t enough for my teens sooooo, out came more sparkle and twinkle. White, silver and beach blue is what I decorate in…except for my Tea Rose Room…I used pink this year.
Oh yeah, ispired by your last post, I made a visit to IKEA today. Bought some more white candles, paperbag brown paper, white ribbon, and the cutest little lamp for my daughter with a tiny red china paper lantern pattern shade.
I don’t have a mantel either and I am always looking for ways I can fake one.
I love the look you created here! I am going all girly and sparkly and over the top in my craft room but for the rest of the house I will tone it down. I chose red and gold years ago and would so love to change that to more neutrals and whites and silvers. But I have a budget too, so I am going to see what I can do with my current color palette.
Keep up the good work!
the decorations are simply perfect! my husband put up the pre-lit christmas tree this weekend & i didn’t decorate it because one of my cats tried to climb the tree & the other cat wants to eat the tree. i’m perfectly happy with white candles, greenery & vintage mercury glass ornaments displayed here & there. our families stopped the gift giving maddness years ago – instead we give to charities. since then it’s amazing how much more we enjoy the holidays. thanks sarah for always keeping it simple. ruby
Fabulous Sarah. No decorations here yet, I’m in Bah Humbug mode after yesterday!
Needless to say punish did come into it and there is no playstation until further notice! Mind you, it won’t make a jot of difference until next time. Not sure if it is the autism, or he just doesn’t have the will power! The jury is out on that one…
I am glad you enjoyed my blog post – I used to have some Christmas demons but I think I have finally laid them to rest, by following my own philosophy. And when you get older, the memory side of it can potentially be quite overwhelming – I try to err on the side of mindfulness.
And speaking of getting older (and I am sure that you are not nearly as old as me), when I was young I never got sunburn wherever I went, being dark-haired and not at all fair-skinned, but with advancing years, I now find that I only have to venture out into the weak Kentish sunshine to get heat rash and sunburn – perhaps your skin gets thinner? Either that or the hole in the ozone layer is now enormous.
Love the decs – you are so clever – it all looks very beautiful and stylish.
I love the leaves! You didn’t mention what they are…..I do have a Christmas tree but also something else that is probably even more beautiful. I discovered that the crape myrtles in my yard have unusual branches – I put a couple of them in a large mercury glass container and hung icicles. I’m thrilled with the effect.
I love your dollar free decor! Your leaves look wonderful and tropical-Christmassy, rather than cold-weather Christmassy, like ours. I am very impressed with how beautiful it is! Hugs, Cindy S.
Well done, Sarah. Here in the States, a lot of people are tiring of the excess and the expense of Christmas. I love the simplicity of your decorations. Beautiful.
It’s beautiful. The sparkly white and silver make it sing Christmas. I would miss evergreen touches in my home, but I often opt to decorate those bits of evergreen (including the tree) with white and silver or clear glass. Though this year I went way out there and decorated my tree all in green sparkles and green baubles. And of course, twinkling little white lights.
Your ability to play with what you have to create a mood is a gift. Enjoy your holiday ambiance!
I love it! I’m in transition from traditional reds and greens to white and silver. So, this year it will be a hodge podge of both until I have the summer to rummage sale again. (It’s snowing and hunkering down time in Vermont.)
Hi Sarah
I love your deco and the way you shopt around in nature and in your house. But what is going on.. I hear so many people who are sick of buying and buying… apart from some emaille thinghie with a scandinavian Christmas prayer on it (see my latest blogpost) I did not buy a thing….
In my way of searching the perfect inperfection I even decided to buy that one little tree that was looking a bit bent.
I LOVE the decor. The glass ball and sequin ornaments are to die for. Did you make those? If so how…
I resubscribed as soon as I came over before reading your post because I have had do many problems with FeedBurner and have lost HUNDREDS of subscribers-just gone=poof. If you subscribe to me-re subscribe as well.
Thanks so much for posting to the party. You should have seen me this morning. I was so giddy, telling my hubby that SARAH from A BEACH COTTAGE posted to my party.
Cheri
hi! i just got back from a trip to target for stocking stuffers. then i treated myself to blog-reading. i found that i had missed the post about the trip to ikea. WHAT WAS I THINKING? why didn’t i go there? i’m about to meltdown just from the nuttiness of it all. soOOO O O O tomorrow i will make the trip. how much fun can one girl have ? i can’t wait to find out! i’m still shaking my head!! jkj
Everything is just lovely! I especially like that sequence ornament. By the way, I missed you last week at my Furniture Feature Friday party. Hope to see to see you there again, soon.
Sarah, it looks beautiful! I’m reading your blog so late because someone ahemmm inspired me to paint my bathroom white! OOOO I JUST LOVE IT. I have no idea why I fought it so long? Or why I’m doing it with so much left to do before the holidays hahah.I picked up a beautiful cabinet this summer at a yard sale and of course painted it white. Tomorrow I’m hoping to put it up in the bathroom. I’m going to try and get a pic of it to you( I’ve never done pics online ) because you might be the only other person in the world who will understand. I’m determined to figure it out. <3
It’s fantastic!! Really elegant. Don’t you think the best ideas come from creativity, and not spending? You are obviously quite good at it!
Cheers, Andrea
Oh, so lovely. So peaceful, serene, and beautiful. My Christmas decor is all red-and-green. I love the reds and greens, yet your things look so very sophisticated. Good job.
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Sarah, I think we gals in the states are learning a little about thriftiness after this spastic economic year! I know I don’t indulge myself as much. I’m doing a “whatever I have on hand” Christmas myself. Great job!
Brenda
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Well G’day Beach Cottage ladies. Of course some of you guessed correctly, no flies on Beach Cottage gals are there? A Summer House window dressing, beach vintage style. One that I got very wrong. I’ll keep this short and sweet The vintage crochet patchwork curtain? Love. Pure love. But, put it this [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
You are preaching to the converted about not having a Christmas tree! I don’t have one either, but I love wreaths and bowls with ornaments. I am American and I still love how you decorated your mantle. Yes, it is simple, but it is elegant and I may even copy your idea on my own white mantle!
Oh I love use what you have decorating! It’s my favorite kind! (Well… other than maybe Ikea decorating – so glad it’s far, far away.)
We have a big tree, but keeping it simple is ALWAYS a good plan. Silver & white makes everything right.
It’s beautiful!
I love what you did Sarah. I also shopped around the house this year. Putting silver ribbons from around the house on things I already owned. Christmas only comes once a year and why spend a lot of money on it (more money for gifts from hubby). White and silver are my Christmas colors, I use them every year. I also went to Ikea for Christmas (I picked up the large paper stars, and put them in the windows). You can also count the dollar store in my Christmas shopping for decos (I spent $2.00 for tree decos and a tinsel tree). Christmas can be done cheap and elegant, as you have just shown us. Great job again.
Sarah, I love your white & silver palette! I’ve got a whole bunch of silver grouped & love it all together. You always do a great job with your vignettes & it looks beautiful. Love going around the house to see what you can find. And the natural look is so pretty anyway! Merry Christmas, friend!
Sp pretty!!
*hugs*deb
How beautifully elegant…
Sarah-I love the white and mercury glass! The combination says “holiday” to me! I’m sorry you are sunburned, but right now I might trade with you!
soooo pretty Sarah. The simplicity speaks to me
I was at IKEA today and almost picked up the silve candle holders….ended up buying the lanterns for my daughter and daughter-in-law. My kids are grown, and I still spend more money on my kids!
Anyway, love what you’ve done…festive, clean, gorgeous!
Beautiful!! I love that it’s so different from more traditional/typical Christmas decorating. Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional too — but it’s nice to see a fresh and different spin on things
Have fun decorating your cottage
Kelly
sarah, it looks super! no surprise, however!!
i don’t have a tree either. well, i call it a tree, but it is really a few branches in a large crystal vase with the glass beads in the base to help the branches stay up where i want them. i used the little balls i have and i wrapped a string of beads around the pinched in part of the vase. it coordinates with the little ball ornaments. so pretty, easy, and *free*! in the den on the mantle i put the old fake bough with little white lights up, and decorated it with pinecones (courtesy of the neighborhood trees) and some nests i had collected from the yard, and the odd votive (out of firehazard reach) and called it done. the bookshelves have their own cones and candles, and VOILA it looks like christmas. it was easy, fun, fits the mood, and looks lovely! i didn’t spend a cent and it’s bc friendly! LOVE this blog for inspiration and encouragement! jkj
I enjoy “dressing up” my home with things I already have. Sometimes I get the urge to rearrange the furniture or move the rugs around. Down here in the south (USA), we call it “fluffing.” Fluffing is using what you already have to brighten up your home. I know a lady who makes good money at fluffing. Maybe you could sell your services, too.
I love it….and I love that white flowery+looking shell…what is it exactly?
Fabulous look Sarah. I got out my ‘white’ christmas tree yesterday and to my horror it has gone all discoloured and creamy in some places. Such a dilemma – I’ve only had it 2 years. We think it has discoloured on the side that faces the window. I was just going to ditch it as I was so angry but today decided to play around with it and face the creamy discoloured side to the window one more time. So far all it has are lights as I was so disappointed when I opened the box and saw it that I just aren’t in the right frame of mind to go through the decorations I have boxed in my garage. Maybe I should just decorate my dining table and ditch the tree now!!! arghhh….
Alison
Hi Sarah,
I love having a peek into your beautiful home…Thanks for letting us in and sharing your great ideas with us! I just thought I’d share a remedy for sunburn with you. Aloe Vera works wonders for all burns, however, cut a ripe tomato in half and get a loved one with a sense of humour to ‘gently’ rub all over the burn…crazy I know but it works =) I know I need not tell you though ‘Prevention Is Better Than Cure.’ From a fellow Aussie, Cheers Amanda.
I love your style! I am new to blogs and just in the nick of time…you see, after 30 years of living in the middle of the Mojave Desert of CA my husband and I have bought a house in a beach community!! I am still pinching myself. We were pretty isolated as far as shopping goes for so many years…it will be so much fun to be near shops… and not too far from us are lots of thrift shops, and bargain shops.
I am beginning to decorate the house and its all such a change that I can’t figure out what to do!! We did have paneling installed on the ceiling in the living room and painted it High Gloss white…it looks great. We are also having paneling installed in our family room and we’ll paint it white, I have mostly brown furniture and I think the brown will look good with the white? Any advice? AFter 30 years of looking at desert, brown and desolate I can’t tell you how excited I am…however, I will miss my friends here but our new home is only 3 hours away and they can come visit and be blessed with a place by the beach..we are taking our time moving in so we have time to make some improvements…just no ideas!!
Love your home and everthing you do looks wonderful..thanks for the inspiration!
Patti
Love it! Love the simplicity…I was going for that look myself, but it wasn’t enough for my teens sooooo, out came more sparkle and twinkle. White, silver and beach blue is what I decorate in…except for my Tea Rose Room…I used pink this year.
Oh yeah, ispired by your last post, I made a visit to IKEA today. Bought some more white candles, paperbag brown paper, white ribbon, and the cutest little lamp for my daughter with a tiny red china paper lantern pattern shade.
I don’t have a mantel either and I am always looking for ways I can fake one.
I love the look you created here! I am going all girly and sparkly and over the top in my craft room but for the rest of the house I will tone it down. I chose red and gold years ago and would so love to change that to more neutrals and whites and silvers. But I have a budget too, so I am going to see what I can do with my current color palette.
Keep up the good work!
the decorations are simply perfect! my husband put up the pre-lit christmas tree this weekend & i didn’t decorate it because one of my cats tried to climb the tree & the other cat wants to eat the tree. i’m perfectly happy with white candles, greenery & vintage mercury glass ornaments displayed here & there. our families stopped the gift giving maddness years ago – instead we give to charities. since then it’s amazing how much more we enjoy the holidays. thanks sarah for always keeping it simple. ruby
Fabulous Sarah. No decorations here yet, I’m in Bah Humbug mode after yesterday!
Needless to say punish did come into it and there is no playstation until further notice! Mind you, it won’t make a jot of difference until next time. Not sure if it is the autism, or he just doesn’t have the will power! The jury is out on that one…
I am glad you enjoyed my blog post – I used to have some Christmas demons but I think I have finally laid them to rest, by following my own philosophy. And when you get older, the memory side of it can potentially be quite overwhelming – I try to err on the side of mindfulness.
And speaking of getting older (and I am sure that you are not nearly as old as me), when I was young I never got sunburn wherever I went, being dark-haired and not at all fair-skinned, but with advancing years, I now find that I only have to venture out into the weak Kentish sunshine to get heat rash and sunburn – perhaps your skin gets thinner? Either that or the hole in the ozone layer is now enormous.
Love the decs – you are so clever – it all looks very beautiful and stylish.
Pomona x
I love the leaves! You didn’t mention what they are…..I do have a Christmas tree but also something else that is probably even more beautiful. I discovered that the crape myrtles in my yard have unusual branches – I put a couple of them in a large mercury glass container and hung icicles. I’m thrilled with the effect.
Wanna know what I noticed? Your pictures keep getting better and better!
Oooh absolutely beautiful
I love your dollar free decor! Your leaves look wonderful and tropical-Christmassy, rather than cold-weather Christmassy, like ours. I am very impressed with how beautiful it is! Hugs, Cindy S.
I think you did a beautiful job! And I think it is the perfect look for a beach cottage. Kudos!
I love the white & silver, so pretty.
Love
Alison
x
Well done, Sarah. Here in the States, a lot of people are tiring of the excess and the expense of Christmas. I love the simplicity of your decorations. Beautiful.
It’s beautiful. The sparkly white and silver make it sing Christmas. I would miss evergreen touches in my home, but I often opt to decorate those bits of evergreen (including the tree) with white and silver or clear glass. Though this year I went way out there and decorated my tree all in green sparkles and green baubles. And of course, twinkling little white lights.
Your ability to play with what you have to create a mood is a gift. Enjoy your holiday ambiance!
I love it! I’m in transition from traditional reds and greens to white and silver. So, this year it will be a hodge podge of both until I have the summer to rummage sale again. (It’s snowing and hunkering down time in Vermont.)
It is exactly what I would have guessed your Christmas decorating would be. Just beautiful.
Very beach cottagey ….You did a great job.
we are getting a light sleet..not snow yet but..maybe later…it’s so cold..brrr
Hi Sarah
I love your deco and the way you shopt around in nature and in your house. But what is going on.. I hear so many people who are sick of buying and buying… apart from some emaille thinghie with a scandinavian Christmas prayer on it (see my latest blogpost) I did not buy a thing….
In my way of searching the perfect inperfection I even decided to buy that one little tree that was looking a bit bent.
I LOVE the decor. The glass ball and sequin ornaments are to die for. Did you make those? If so how…
I resubscribed as soon as I came over before reading your post because I have had do many problems with FeedBurner and have lost HUNDREDS of subscribers-just gone=poof. If you subscribe to me-re subscribe as well.
Thanks so much for posting to the party. You should have seen me this morning. I was so giddy, telling my hubby that SARAH from A BEACH COTTAGE posted to my party.
Cheri
I think it looks wonderful! Simply beautiful. I’m such a sucker for silver any time but I think with white at the holidays…well you can’t beat it!
hi! i just got back from a trip to target for stocking stuffers. then i treated myself to blog-reading. i found that i had missed the post about the trip to ikea. WHAT WAS I THINKING? why didn’t i go there? i’m about to meltdown just from the nuttiness of it all. soOOO O O O tomorrow i will make the trip. how much fun can one girl have ? i can’t wait to find out! i’m still shaking my head!! jkj
Beautiful! I’m digging out my silver, white and light blue decor this year. Haven’t used it in a few year and now I am even more inspired.
Congrats to lucky Tiffany
And fantastic display just perfect for a modern beach side Christmas
Everything is just lovely! I especially like that sequence ornament. By the way, I missed you last week at my Furniture Feature Friday party. Hope to see to see you there again, soon.
white and silver are my fave christmas combo! so sprarkly and serene. lovely job!
Sarah, it looks beautiful! I’m reading your blog so late because someone ahemmm inspired me to paint my bathroom white! OOOO I JUST LOVE IT. I have no idea why I fought it so long? Or why I’m doing it with so much left to do before the holidays hahah.I picked up a beautiful cabinet this summer at a yard sale and of course painted it white. Tomorrow I’m hoping to put it up in the bathroom. I’m going to try and get a pic of it to you( I’ve never done pics online ) because you might be the only other person in the world who will understand. I’m determined to figure it out. <3
It’s fantastic!! Really elegant. Don’t you think the best ideas come from creativity, and not spending? You are obviously quite good at it!
Cheers, Andrea
Oh, so lovely. So peaceful, serene, and beautiful. My Christmas decor is all red-and-green. I love the reds and greens, yet your things look so very sophisticated. Good job.
Very simple and elegant.
The beach sounds pretty good
about now. Ice and snow storm in the forecast for tomorrow where I live.
I just love the silver and white combo, Christmas at it’s finest!
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Gorgeous as usual Sarah! I tried so hard to keep it simple and neutral this year but no such luck. I’ve got red and green and LOTS of clutter.
A mess? No way-BEAUTIFUL!
Sarah, I think we gals in the states are learning a little about thriftiness after this spastic economic year! I know I don’t indulge myself as much. I’m doing a “whatever I have on hand” Christmas myself. Great job!
Brenda
You’ve been featured on my blog.
Cheri