So hello, here we are again, in my tatty little cottage on Sydney's beaches talking about all things white, vintagey, beachy, coastal. I aim to please ;-)
Thanks for all who guessed in the impromptu giveaway posts today…too funny…yeah I am a wicked old teasing Beach Cottage Witch….I really enjoyed this, that'd be my warped sense of British humour coming through…some great comments, love you gals thank you…
…errrrm BUT what I didn't expect were the emails protesting that this giveaway was a little bit leaning towards those of us in the Lucky Country cos a lot of you were asleep. Well, I must just point out here, that Down Under, we often miss out when we are snoozing but I have decided to extend this giveaway to include this Reveal Post…but it won't last all week like usual, giveaway will close when the next post goes up ;-)
So yep as many of you guessed a nautical inspired coat rack, actually inspired by a shop round here where they wanted $400 for one of these…as is my usual fashion I set about making my own and was hoping to utilize those knobs from last week, alas they weren't rocking it on the oar at all.
Now, this actually all started though sometime last week, when I happened to get into a conversation
about style and styling, who has it, who doesn't have it, who wants it and who thinks they have style 'cos they can head to the nearest trendy homewares store with a big price tag and chuck a few thousand dollars at it.
It got me to thinking alot about it. A throwaway comment from a wannabe with just a tad too much casheroony on her hands led me on a mission.
So, having been thinking about the state of my hallway and it's general grubbiness from those pesky BC kiddos coming and going I decided to put myself up for a challenge…a budget makeover for a very small space…it's amazing what a lack of being able to throw money around can do for ones 'style', cough cough.
~~~~~~
There is no getting away from it, I have one seriously tiny entrance hall. Not that I am moaning (as if you would hear such a thing from me).
But no fear fellow beach cottagers, there ain't nothing white paint, beadboard, vintage things and knobs can't fix!
This is one of those makeovers that you start on a rainy weekend, when you are already in the midst of a bathroom makeover that is taking the longest time e v e r. When your cottage is such a tip that you feel a burglar must have ransacked through in the night without your knowing, when your husband is so up to his eyes in business that you have to offer him things to crack his face into a smile, when your teenager has exams and you really should be playing Perfect Beach Cottage Mum, floating about in white linen, dolling out comfort food and aiding revision notes. When you are suffering a pretty sore head courtesy of a night at lg's.
Yup when you have all that on your plate, you announce to the family that there is some serious need of some serious hallway kerb appeal…you declare that we are gonna sweep the decks of all the old, paste on some beadboard for a nautical vibe, we will add vintage oars for a coastal twist and slather everything in a pure zap of white for a wash of pure.
The design brief for the Stylist Extraordinaire intiated from, my friends, problems when we enter our little cottage….it was getting um rather packed, was to get rid of some of the furniture and free up some of the precious space. So this new minimilist me with a vintage twist would mean the Beach Cottage hallway would be free of too much paraphernalia from treasure hunting trips so we will be able to walk in without dodging a vintage cupboard, we will not need to shimmy around various beach baskets hung for decor but with no real purpose in life and we will not need a deft little twist as we walk into the breakfast room to avoid the leaning vintage ladder.
That was the plan…a tiny hallway that we could walk through, a front door that spoke softly in dulcet tones of glossy black, hints of an old house by the sea, a glut of knobs, a dab of Frenchy chic, a dash of laid-back whitewashed beach…
Halfway through the weekend, with a 1970's amber glass panelled front door halfway through its transformation, a wooden floor splatted with spills of white paint, wallpaper that had come unstuck, no roast dinner to be seen, school uniforms not washed and husband's mumbling, I had to give myself a stern talking to. Along the lines of get your act together lady.
Hours of white paint brush in hand later, a cleaned up floor, a whitewashed oar, and freshly painted beadboard walls and I was one very happy beach vintage loving girl.
And we all know what happens in Beach Cottage Land when Mrs BC is happy!
Stop by tomorrow for Part II (what's on the other side)
Let me know what you think, c'mon Lurker Babes you know you wanna!
comment to win the Beach Cottage Care Package
white treasures, vintage finds and of course a shell decor ball
hooks : IKEA Lillholmnet $18 for 2
oar : garage sale $5 for 2
white paint : Dulux White on White $50
beadboard wallpaper : Graham and Brown (not in Aus) $50
mirror : thrifted
white paint on mirror : Dulux whisper white sample pot
stylist : free
gaffer : free
painter & decorator : free
TOTAL COST OF MAKEOVER : PRICELESS
shared atShabby Nest and Romantic Home & Miss Mustard Seed
Oh, I love it! Absolutely beautiful! I can’t believe you got two oars for 5 bucks! My living room is decorated in a beach theme and I am so inspired now to start looking for an old oar to mount on the wall under my favorite ocean painting. Thanks for the idea :)
Corinna
http://www.myscrapbooklife.com
Love it!! I was right and I am so glad! It looks beautiful!
So, why does Australia have no beadboard wallpaper? seems odd to me. Glad you were able to get some smuggled in. ;) Looks great!!
Mirror was my fist guess, closely followed by clock… maybe it was good that I didn’t guess right away…
Care packages are always good. :)
WOW!!! Love the entryway!!! Every single thing about it is awesome!! Love that you made a thrifty oar project, too, and that mirror is beautiful!! Can’t wait to see the other side!
Thanks so much!!
Michele R.(CA)
Luvkittysgiveaways at Gmail dot com
Butterfly Whispers
very nice, and perfect in your house!! I would have loved to see a ‘before’ picture:)
I just love it…the whole thing that you’ve done…oops..I mean supervised. Fantastic. Those BCs of yours are absolutely amazing. They deserve spoiling. Thank you once again, not just for the decor but the way you entertain us all.
I live 30 minutes from the Ocean & 30 Minutes from the White Mountains in NH. I have been so inspired by your ideas. kimberlywayne63@gmail.com Thank you, Kimberly Wayne
that’s my girl!! I had no idea that was wallpaper until you said it in your tally at the end. AMAZING!!! Please come do the same at my place. Or if not you, I suppose your Care Package will be a close second. ;-)
Life with The BC Family looks fun.
Such a great makeover. Think that saying on ads on TV about arthritis (I think) that says ‘use it or lose it’ really should apply to everything in our homes too. The Beach Cottage is looking fabulous
Alison
I am constantly amazed and inspired by your ability to create the beachy cottage decor on a budget. Your British sense of humor makes me laugh out loud! I have a feelin’ that the BC men just aim to please because you are just so darn adorable. Just received my first two rolls of the beadboard wallpaper (it’s awesome!) so it was fun to see what you did with your entry. Am presently eyeing a big ball of rope on my table and planning to learn how to make the monkey’s fist knot; and I love the idea of hanging it on a white painted oar. Thanks for the inspiration you bring to all of us who love the look and feel of cottage living!
Dear Sarah, So lovely, as always. I also have that floor rug – we both bought it at a posh northern beaches boutique, right ;)
Mmmm….looks amazing! :) Love what you did with the oar…and if you ever want to unload that lovely mirror…please send it my way! ;)
Smiles,
Rachel
LOVE the oar’s, mirror looks great on the opposite side!
Awesome….you do realise that I think I need to kidnap you so you can tell me what to do with my 1980′s brick delight lol (at least it’s at the beach..lol!)
Ok I wasn’t totally off, but I guess I didn’t guess right either. But it was worth it. It looks great. Just too bad you didn’t post a proper before foto, just for effect. But I guess that is against Beach Cottage Etiquette “no ugly foto’s on beautiful BC blog”. Tell mr BC and the BC kiddos: they did a great job, and so did you Mrs Style on a budget.
Love the simplicity of the new hall way. Our hall way is small in comparision to “traditional colonial” style homes, stairs going directly up to the second floor, you have to squish up against a doorway to the living room or go up on the stairs when closing the door after company has come in. Also, the outside entrance has no overhang so everyone gets wet when it is raining. We have tile to compensate for the muck that comes in. I am actually working on a transformation for the walls. We have tried benches with arms and storage and benches with no arms and very simple (just be carefull when you sit down since it will tip over on the ends), little tables with cute things that eventually “everyone” runs into and things fly across the floor. We have just picked up a thrifty vintage side bar or “buffet” that may work we will just have to try it. It is amazing how difficult it can be to find the right look to greet your guests and all that enter your home! Thank you for the reveal!
Oh my…..now THAT is an entry worth coming home to!!!
Am totally loving this look, the use of the oar is totally genius and the mirror is just gorgeous.
You got it going on Sarah that’s for sure, fits in with the rest of the beach cottage beautifully
you are clever..looks fab! love the mirror too!
Sarah am just loving the coat hooks on the oar idea, now that is the cutest beachy but practical thing!
Yay, I guessed the right answer… Your entry looks fantastic.
My hubby made me a gorgeous coat rack with 7 little black boards for each day of the week. We are very blessed to have hubby’s that can do things like that.
Love your blog and find it so inspiring. xx
Absolutely fabulous!!! I love it Sarah! Style is oozing out of that hallway my friend! Very Beach Cottage. Enjoy!! Have a great Wednesday ~ Tina xx
Love the white on white!!! We just added white beadboard to our tiny master bath and it went from being a dingy old place to a light and airy room I actually can’t wait to spend some time in.
As always i love your style. Looks great.
You are inspirational!!
We have real T & J at our place which is a beach shack in the making….just need some “Sarah” energy to get things going.
We are thinking of an outdoor kitchen..all friends are rolling eyes!
Put my name in the hat!!1
Totally gorgeous ! Loving the oar as a rack, so fantastic !
Kate
Okay. I’m a lurker, and can’t even remember if I have commented here before….but I just adore your Beach Cottage style! Your pictures are pure eye-candy. Thanks for adding beauty to this world!
Kathy F.
First of all, I have to say that it makes me sick (in a good way!) that you found not one but two of those beautiful oars for 5 bucks. I dream of that sort of find. It’s up there with the perfect aqua blue vintage fan I’d love to discover in a dusty thirft store for a few dollars.
Needless to say, I LOVE your new entryway so much!
Preeety good idea, girlie. Gotta say I’m lovin’ it….as usual. You never cease to amaze me with your creative ideas. Now if I could only get my child to hang wallpaper. ha ha
i love this look.
love.love.love
It looks great. Just hope the emptines doesn’t become an invitation for the dumping of school bags, etc. teheehee. Decorating on a tinsy-winsy budget can be a lot more effective than a huge one don’t you think and nobody else will ever have one just the same and after all that is why some people need to spend so much on ‘exclusive’ items. I did a complet (doona cover and all) makeover in my oldest daughter’s room for just $120 or so. I would love to see the big magazines use tiny amounts like that for their ‘budget makeovers’. I am sure they simply couldn’t. Cherrie
Loving it Sarah ! Good job . I know what you mean re the money side of decorating . I so hope I win!!
It looks so wonderful!!! You are the BEST!!!
As I have said before…you ROCK!! I am continually amazed that there is someone else in this world who likes white as much as I do…I am so inspired by you. I have a times been afraid to paint everything white because, you know, that is just not what you do. Most people I know have dark red/green/yellow or some other “Tuscan” color. Yikes!! I always wonder what people think when they come into my house with all my white!! I LOVE your blog, style, and writing…You give me inspiration and motivation!!!
Looks beautiful! I just bought a pair of old oars last night, but mine were $11 each. So jealous of your $5 finds!
What a novel idea….it looks fabulous – what a clever little team the BC’s are…
I particularly loved the photo of Mr. BC complete with beer in his back pocket, it tells me he has certainly settled in to ‘Aussie Living’….
Just Gorgeous!
I’m inspired to do and declutter my entry!
Sarah you are just too clever. It looks perfect.
it turned out wonderful! i love it all! and i would love to win your fab giveaway! thanks for the chance!
I’ve been missing your DIYs. So glad to see your newest project. :) The entry looks great!
I love your hallway makeover…been keepin’ an eye out for those oars myself! Love the beadboard wallpaper…..sooooo beachy! :D
Such lovely photos. Thanks for a second chance on the giveaway.
Sarah, as usual your makeover is just fabulous. I wish you could come and transform my house!!!
Suzyq
Sarah.. it is absolutely gorgeous!! Love, love, love all that white! A job well done!! How clever of you to add your hooks on the oar!!
XO-Lara
Oh Sarah, it is absolutely gorgeous. Just love it!
This is definitely one of my favourite posts and definitely my favourite idea of how to turn old into new and cool. Nice job!
Loving the white Sarah
Di
Your hallway looks beach-ingly (okay I know that is not a word) amazing! You have so many wonderful ideas that I am running out of adjectives! Thanks for the continued inspiration.
Hi Sarah, looks fantastic, loving the beadboard effect wallpaper. You have a great catch in Mr BC.
Can not wait to see the front door. Hallway rocks.
Love, love, love it!! Isn’t beadboard wallpaper AMAZING!