Well, I didn't make it here over the weekend, sorry about that, wanted to show you a ride on a tinny I recently took too. Never mind, I spent some lovely time with the Beach Cottage Kiddos *and I spent the whole morning finding treasures on Saturday (including old vintage typewriter, been after one for ages) and the whole afternoon in the garage painting things with my new Beachy White.
There is something peculiarly relaxing to me about spending time painting, about opening the tin, stirring it all up, and smoothing the cool mixture over unloved things. It makes for a gratifyingly simple way, for me, to forget about the stresses of stuff, a Saturday arvo doing-my-hobby kinda thing…
Now, what I neglected to tell you the other day, when showing you the Pie Safe, is that I not only mixed up a Beach Cottage White, I also took along with me to the Paint Shop, a pebble that little Mr BC had found on the beach in just the right grey
(… I have to say that at this stage of my Painting career, the Paint Shop Guy knows me by now and sorta grimaces nicely when he sees me coming…and he had already matched the piece of vintage linen when tada now I pulled out the pebble… he smiled to himself…I decided to ignore the thoughts clearly running through his brain (along the lines, I believe, of, thanks be I don't live with this woman) tried to engage him a little Paint Conversation and asked him what other people brought in for him to match. He said most people stick to the colour cards. Hmmm. It was then I decided to shut up. )
So I left there, clutching my paint cans and wondered just what I would actually paint with this new pebble grey? And my thoughts turned to an old ladder, propped up in the garage for a long time, needing a little help to get it looking good.
You see, a while ago I'd seen in a Frenchy boutique a lovely old vintage ladder painted grey, very rustic and leaned up against the wall holding magazines, various ephemera and the odd shell or two, and it was for sale for $350.
The trouble is though, I don't have a shop, I am not, as you know, a Boutique Owner and shop decor and home decor are not the same thing are they? Yes, of course you can borrow and adapt the styling…but there is often a problem with this style-stealing though, it is plagued with the unreal… I mean it's all very well a vintage grey painted ladder displaying magazines in a shop, but a tatty old getting-very-packed cottage?
But, I decided to go ahead for the love of my craft … from the very start of doing-up the Beach Cottage and logging it here, I've wanted to try things I loved looking at, have a go at adapting things to get the authentic Coastal Vintage Chic I wanted and slot these finds and this whole look into in a working home with three kids, a budget and all the things that go with that. An anthology of things I've tried, a log of the journey, different looks and different phases..
So with all that in mind, I opened that tin of Pebble, pulled over the sad old ladder, and not worrying about where it would go, or rolling eyes from males, or private smiles from Paint Shop Guy's or getting-very-full-cottages and ploughed on, in the spirit of endeavour to see how my own Grey Vintage Beach Cottage Ladder would turn out.
And here it is, the first layer painted white, the Beach Cottage Authentic Pebble Grey on top and heavily distressed by my fair hands.
I've popped it by the old chair for now and I love how it turned out.
I don't know how long it'll be staying though…
…it may well have to find a new Cottage to take it in…
The grey is absolutely perfect. And once again the little stylist has added the piece de resistance. It looks gorgeous.
Your paint shop guy is way too grumpy, you should come to see Joe at my Bunnings he is lovely and never rolls his eyes at my weird requests:)
Cute ladder..love the pebble gray. I have an old ladder like that, it is in my bathroom by my clawfoot tub/shower with white towels hanging on it.Hope you can keep it, but I know exactly what you mean by having a small cottage with alot of treasures.My bungalow is 980sf (1923) with a hubby, three kids and two dogs..hugh and treasures! Thanks for sharing and love little boys in shorts and uggs..soo cute.
Terri
Love the ladder Sarah! Great colour:) I think our paint guys must be related, mine runs when he sees me coming;) Love those cute little shorts and uggies too, very sweet! Thanks for sharing. Have a lovely day ~ Tina
That grey is beautiful and the distressing is lovely. I’m a complete sucker for greys. Also I didn’t even know you could have anything colour-matched. I’ll be sure to annoy my local paintshop now with all sorts of little obscurities I find!
Hi Sarah! I have been hooked on grey for a while and the ladder looks great with a new coat! I’m glad you have a “paint guy” story…I always have David (My personal paint guy {ha}) mix my paint and refuse to let anyone else working behind the counter do it!
Michelle
Oh, just because he does not have a creative bone in his body, it does not give the paint man the right to make you feel crazy! I love the way the ladder turned out and I think if you did not follow through with all your creative ideas we would all be bored! Happy Valentines Day!
I’ve got similar shoes in a slip on clog I’ve worn out time to time with my bermuda shorts. Ok, maybe to the mail box. That sort of awesome hasn’t quite caught on here yet. I’m working on it though, I’m working on it.
G’day my sweet friend!
LOVE the ladder and the color! I am on the hunt for a ladder to hang my quilts but cannot find one. ONe day…..I’ll find what Im looking for.
UNtil then, lusting after yours!
Have a great week!
HUGS from Bloggeritaville!
Leigh
Looking good! I know you didn’t say a word about those, but those prints next to the ladder are looking pretty good too!
And I so would do that too, take a pebble to the paint shop (that guy is starting to give me that look too, must be in their job description).
Looks great!! Wish I had that pebble when we were looking for a grey paint for our office in our house near the beach we just bought!! Grey is not easy to get the way you want…it can be too blue as we have found out!!
Patti
I know what you mean about the magazines…it could end up looking contrived and more like a stylists prop. Ladders always look kinda right with a towel or two hung over in the bathroom though. Or maybe a guest bedroom.
Your Pebble gray is perfect, and Little Mr. BC stylist seems to have his Mother’s eye. I too, have a little cottage 900 sq. feet, but I am looking for a ladder. A couple of the rooms here are painted the yellow from the inside of a shell, but that is only because I couldn’t take the clouds at sunset into the paint guy. And no, I didn’t tell him the color needed to match the clouds!! lol
Looks Great Sarah! I can’t believe the one you saw shopping was 350.00 WOW! If anyone saw the house where I got mine, they would have given me a medal for bravery. Talk about a spooky yard! That’s what I love most about what we do, the stories that go with them.Well, it seems like you’ve found another talent in mixing paint colors! Love the shade.Love the prints too. I’m after some with little pudgy birds. O and you son is a boy after my own heart. I wear my uggs anywhere and everywhere, no matter the season. It seems you had a really great weekend and I’m so glad you took some time for you! <3
Sarah–You do the most interesting things with your found treasures. I am much too conventional to think outside the box like you do. That’s why I love coming to visit. I do like the grey–adds the perfect accent to your white. The flower prints are lovely. And since I didn’t win the giveaway I will have to consider getting my own subscribtion to coastal living.
Have a Marvelous Monday!
Megan
Thanks for the give-away, Sarah! I’ll email my address. The grey is perfect on the ladder. What do people who stick to color cards know about being creative? Give me a stone or shell or favorite old shirt to match any day!. Hedy (mothergoose59)
Sarah–
Lovely color and the ugg boy is stealin’ my heart!
I used to have a paint guy. He was an elderly gentleman who worked in a small paint shop in our former town. I’d drive the extra distance just to see him. He was always delighted by my requests (so it seemed to me, although…) He would use a hair dryer on the paint before showing me the sample.
I’d say a little more or less intense, a little grayer or deeper, whatever vision I had.
He ALWAYS got it and always seemed just tickled pink about the whole thing.
Eventually we moved and he no longer was there.:(
20 years later—I still MISS him!
annie
I love the grey. The ladder is perfect. I am looking for an old wooden ladder. Will run across one this spring I am sure. Have a great day Sarah, we are having another mini blizzard today, expecting around 8 to 10 more inches. I love snow but ’bout had enough.
I lOvE iT!!!! That pebble grey is a perfect beach cottage color…it is my favorite out of all your greys…I think you might end up painting many things in this color.
And that starfish is the perfect added touch. Your son in his UGGs makes me smile…he’s adorable.
one of my favourite sayings which i think applies to you……
people turn to you because you give voice to dreams, notice little things, and make otherwise impossible imaginings appear real, you are a rare bird who thinks the world is beautiful enough to try to figure it out, who has the courage to dive into your wild mind and go swimming there, you are someone who still believes in cloud watching, people watching, day dreaming, tomorrow, favourite colours, silver clouds, dandelions, and sorrow, be sacred, be cool, be wild, go far….words do more than plant miracle seeds, with you writing them they can change the world…….
As always your pictures are fabulous Sarah!! I just get so inspired with each post you make. Now if only the checkbook would keep up with my dreams!! Thank you once again for brightening my day. You blog is always Pure Bliss for me!!
Oooh I have an old ladder – 2 actually, as it was once one big ladder with a hinge in the middle, but the hinge rusted off, so now it’s 2. I can’t decide if I should paint it because whoever owned it was a messy painter like myself and there are lots of splatters of some fabulous beachy colors on it. But I’m just not sure where to put them. Still searching for a use, but now I might have to paint one of them!
Omg Sarah
it is as if you READ my mind! the rooms you describe i would swear it is like my children are living with you part time.. people will come in and see the cottage styled house and say o how cute or its so quaint etc and then when i lead them up stairs i say remember i am not responsible for the room on the right and the left at the top of the stairs!!! my children have their own”style” so i simplyy will say if you kids wanna live like piglets please keep the door to the pig pen shut!!! lol
my son too stashes drink bottles gatorade and monster and all those drinks avid skateboarders and bmxers like.. my daughter i swear her whole ward robe is on the floor I do let them have the style they want in their rooms i always felt that builds character down the line my mom always let us kids growing up paint our rooms or even doddle murals on the wall and i think thats where all this creativity started with me! i always keep in the back of my mind that one day all too soon those rooms will not be messy anymore and cluttered with the likes of them and sadly i will yearn for it and really nmiss it! sometimes that is what reminds me not to be such a neat nick!!
have a g’day! i hope to soon have my blog up and running!
kim@ the Bella Buca cottage
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 …]
Beach Cottage ladies, we have some vintage linen and some wood/twig washed up on the beach today here in Beach Cottage Land….don’t say I don’t keep you entertained now will you . Come on in. So, yep I have posted about colanders on this blog, about things sourced from the side of the road, about [...]
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
… from the very start of doing-up the Beach Cottage and logging it here, I've wanted to try things I loved looking at, have a go at adapting things to get the authentic Coastal Vintage Chic I wanted and slot these finds and this whole look into in a working home with three kids, a budget and all the things that go with that. An anthology of things I've tried, a log of the journey, different looks and different phases..
Love the gray color for the ladder. Looks terrific.
The grey is absolutely perfect. And once again the little stylist has added the piece de resistance. It looks gorgeous.
Your paint shop guy is way too grumpy, you should come to see Joe at my Bunnings he is lovely and never rolls his eyes at my weird requests:)
The ladder looks gorgeous!!! The gray is perfect. You have a great eye.
Cute ladder..love the pebble gray. I have an old ladder like that, it is in my bathroom by my clawfoot tub/shower with white towels hanging on it.Hope you can keep it, but I know exactly what you mean by having a small cottage with alot of treasures.My bungalow is 980sf (1923) with a hubby, three kids and two dogs..hugh and treasures! Thanks for sharing and love little boys in shorts and uggs..soo cute.
Terri
I love how the ladder turned out!
Lovely! Where are those gorgeous flower prints from?
Love the ladder Sarah! Great colour:) I think our paint guys must be related, mine runs when he sees me coming;) Love those cute little shorts and uggies too, very sweet! Thanks for sharing. Have a lovely day ~ Tina
I love the pebble grey that Mr. BC found, it’s perfect! And your little stylist has found a winner once again with his perfect starfish accoutrement!
Glad you had a nice little blog-free weekend!
Kat
Can you stop by and help me paint …….. love the gray !!!
That grey is beautiful and the distressing is lovely. I’m a complete sucker for greys. Also I didn’t even know you could have anything colour-matched. I’ll be sure to annoy my local paintshop now with all sorts of little obscurities I find!
Hi Sarah! I have been hooked on grey for a while and the ladder looks great with a new coat! I’m glad you have a “paint guy” story…I always have David (My personal paint guy {ha}) mix my paint and refuse to let anyone else working behind the counter do it!
Michelle
Oh, just because he does not have a creative bone in his body, it does not give the paint man the right to make you feel crazy! I love the way the ladder turned out and I think if you did not follow through with all your creative ideas we would all be bored! Happy Valentines Day!
I’ve got similar shoes in a slip on clog I’ve worn out time to time with my bermuda shorts. Ok, maybe to the mail box. That sort of awesome hasn’t quite caught on here yet. I’m working on it though, I’m working on it.
I’m a sucker for this distressed ladder. I love it ALMOST as much as I love your towel ladder! Bee-you-tee-ful!!!
I noticed the pictures on the wall…I have done the same with with my ‘Notebook’ 2010 Calendar! They look so lovely next to your beautiful ladder!
Oh if only I had a cottage for the ladder to come home to!
Ha! did have a chuckle over the paint guy commentary. I know those eye rolls too too well dont you worry. Ladder looks fabbo as expected!
alicia
Your exchange with the paint guy reminded me of that great scene in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse. So funny, and it hits close to home!
Oh, I’ve seen that same look on the paint guy’s face! Love the color you painted the ladder! laurie
G’day my sweet friend!
LOVE the ladder and the color! I am on the hunt for a ladder to hang my quilts but cannot find one. ONe day…..I’ll find what Im looking for.
UNtil then, lusting after yours!
Have a great week!
HUGS from Bloggeritaville!
Leigh
Fantastic! It looks absolutely great!
I think I will definitely start looking for a ladder, because that looks so nice.
Love the ladder and the grey! Been looking for an old ladder myself for a while but they are not that easy to find… Well done.
Looking good! I know you didn’t say a word about those, but those prints next to the ladder are looking pretty good too!
And I so would do that too, take a pebble to the paint shop (that guy is starting to give me that look too, must be in their job description).
Looks great!! Wish I had that pebble when we were looking for a grey paint for our office in our house near the beach we just bought!! Grey is not easy to get the way you want…it can be too blue as we have found out!!
Patti
very good. love the ladder. I have a couple skulking in “THE SHED”. You have inspired me to get them out and show them some tender loving care!
You did a great job with the ladder Sarah! Makes me want to go and get mine out of the garage and create something similar!
xx
Loving the little Mr BC stylists work.
The ladder looks perfect sitting there
Alison
Well, I love it.
I love it. Looks like it all works great together.
Linda
I love the way it all works together so well. good job! Linda
I know what you mean about the magazines…it could end up looking contrived and more like a stylists prop. Ladders always look kinda right with a towel or two hung over in the bathroom though. Or maybe a guest bedroom.
Your Pebble gray is perfect, and Little Mr. BC stylist seems to have his Mother’s eye. I too, have a little cottage 900 sq. feet, but I am looking for a ladder. A couple of the rooms here are painted the yellow from the inside of a shell, but that is only because I couldn’t take the clouds at sunset into the paint guy. And no, I didn’t tell him the color needed to match the clouds!! lol
Looks Great Sarah! I can’t believe the one you saw shopping was 350.00 WOW! If anyone saw the house where I got mine, they would have given me a medal for bravery. Talk about a spooky yard! That’s what I love most about what we do, the stories that go with them.Well, it seems like you’ve found another talent in mixing paint colors! Love the shade.Love the prints too. I’m after some with little pudgy birds. O and you son is a boy after my own heart. I wear my uggs anywhere and everywhere, no matter the season. It seems you had a really great weekend and I’m so glad you took some time for you! <3
Beautiful! Now I think I need a ladder in my bathroom to hold towels or something!
Sarah–You do the most interesting things with your found treasures. I am much too conventional to think outside the box like you do. That’s why I love coming to visit. I do like the grey–adds the perfect accent to your white. The flower prints are lovely. And since I didn’t win the giveaway I will have to consider getting my own subscribtion to coastal living.
Have a Marvelous Monday!
Megan
That is my favorite of your grays so far!
Thanks for the give-away, Sarah! I’ll email my address. The grey is perfect on the ladder. What do people who stick to color cards know about being creative? Give me a stone or shell or favorite old shirt to match any day!. Hedy (mothergoose59)
LOVE IT!!! Very nice shade…and I like the ladder there!
Loving that….serious love….
Sarah–
Lovely color and the ugg boy is stealin’ my heart!
I used to have a paint guy. He was an elderly gentleman who worked in a small paint shop in our former town. I’d drive the extra distance just to see him. He was always delighted by my requests (so it seemed to me, although…) He would use a hair dryer on the paint before showing me the sample.
I’d say a little more or less intense, a little grayer or deeper, whatever vision I had.
He ALWAYS got it and always seemed just tickled pink about the whole thing.
Eventually we moved and he no longer was there.:(
20 years later—I still MISS him!
annie
I love the grey. The ladder is perfect. I am looking for an old wooden ladder. Will run across one this spring I am sure. Have a great day Sarah, we are having another mini blizzard today, expecting around 8 to 10 more inches. I love snow but ’bout had enough.
I lOvE iT!!!! That pebble grey is a perfect beach cottage color…it is my favorite out of all your greys…I think you might end up painting many things in this color.
And that starfish is the perfect added touch. Your son in his UGGs makes me smile…he’s adorable.
Lovin the ladder!
Smiles,
rachel
one of my favourite sayings which i think applies to you……
people turn to you because you give voice to dreams, notice little things, and make otherwise impossible imaginings appear real, you are a rare bird who thinks the world is beautiful enough to try to figure it out, who has the courage to dive into your wild mind and go swimming there, you are someone who still believes in cloud watching, people watching, day dreaming, tomorrow, favourite colours, silver clouds, dandelions, and sorrow, be sacred, be cool, be wild, go far….words do more than plant miracle seeds, with you writing them they can change the world…….
Love the ladder, Sarah. Everything is looking great!
As always your pictures are fabulous Sarah!! I just get so inspired with each post you make. Now if only the checkbook would keep up with my dreams!!
Thank you once again for brightening my day. You blog is always Pure Bliss for me!!
Sally
xoxoxo
Oooh I have an old ladder – 2 actually, as it was once one big ladder with a hinge in the middle, but the hinge rusted off, so now it’s 2. I can’t decide if I should paint it because whoever owned it was a messy painter like myself and there are lots of splatters of some fabulous beachy colors on it. But I’m just not sure where to put them. Still searching for a use, but now I might have to paint one of them!
Since I am a painter… I so wish I could find a cute ladder and incorporate it in my home somewhere! That looks great!
Authentic pebble…LOVE that!
m ^..^
Omg Sarah
it is as if you READ my mind! the rooms you describe i would swear it is like my children are living with you part time.. people will come in and see the cottage styled house and say o how cute or its so quaint etc and then when i lead them up stairs i say remember i am not responsible for the room on the right and the left at the top of the stairs!!! my children have their own”style” so i simplyy will say if you kids wanna live like piglets please keep the door to the pig pen shut!!! lol
my son too stashes drink bottles gatorade and monster and all those drinks avid skateboarders and bmxers like.. my daughter i swear her whole ward robe is on the floor I do let them have the style they want in their rooms i always felt that builds character down the line my mom always let us kids growing up paint our rooms or even doddle murals on the wall and i think thats where all this creativity started with me! i always keep in the back of my mind that one day all too soon those rooms will not be messy anymore and cluttered with the likes of them and sadly i will yearn for it and really nmiss it! sometimes that is what reminds me not to be such a neat nick!!
have a g’day! i hope to soon have my blog up and running!
kim@ the Bella Buca cottage