Sea Glass Cottage gets a new look!

                                      Welcome to the new Sea Glass Cottage!


I'm happy to be stopping in today to give a peek at some of the updating I've been doing around the exterior of the beach house.

I really didn't fall off the planet for all these months -- the initial "just painting the exterior" turned into a very involved rebuilding of three levels of porches (back and front), rebuilding exterior staircases to code, and then waiting for the weather to cooperate for a proper paint job. It was quite an undertaking, but very worth the effort! While all of this was going on, my family kept busy with life, even spending two weeks in London, England for a fabulous vacation.

Just in case you don't know what the original exterior looked like, it is a traditional West Indies style beach house with lots of decorative details in a pale yellow and white. All the white was beginning to look very gray and dirty and worn. When I named it Sea Glass Cottage, I knew it would have to be a shade of blue. All the lovely details were lost in a sea of white.

                                                                      ( Before )


After a really fun experience of experimenting with every shade of blue and aqua, I finally chose Benjamin Moore's Yarmouth Blue for the base, and Jamestown Blue for the porch shutters. I kept the trim and the bahama shades around the house white. The entire porch deck was rebuilt with Trex decking in a pretty blue-gray shade.

I hope you enjoy the new look!

                                         Welcome!   Come on over and sit a while!

First floor porch --fresh white adirondack chairs are decked out with ikat designs on pillows in sea glass colors of blue, teal, and aqua. Occasional tables are there for your glass of wine or iced tea.

Second floor porch -- rocking chairs to watch the water and dream as the clouds go by.....

The back staircase and outdoor shower area  is rebuilt, nice and sturdy, safe, and looks so fresh and clean!

Next on the list of to-do's, freshening up the landscaping. But that's for another day!


Thank you for visiting my new blue beach house! I'm very happy with the new look as now it feels like I put my stamp on the house and it is really "me."


  See you next time!

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Signs You Love Beach Style

I love the Country Living website -- have you visited it recently? It really is very fresh and on trend -- not at all like the old version of country living from the past.

 I came across this article there entitled, "23 Signs You Need a Beach House" and I thought it would be fun to put a little twist on this since we already have a coastal vacation home. Do I qualify as a certified coastal lover according to the quiz? Turns out I do, indeed!  Using pictures I've taken in and around Sea Glass Cottage, I'm a card-carrying member of the beach lovers club.

Are you? Take the quiz and find out! (Of course, it's all in good fun.)

1. Practically every room in your home is decorated with a blue and white color palette:

The walls in my home are painted a soft gray-blue and there are many soft blue accents throughout the cottage -- lamps, pillows, florals, candles, rugs, and other decorative accents.

 2. And a few pops of turquoise:

Throughout the cottage, I display collections of vases, bottles, and decor that reflect the beautiful colors of seaglass....  You will also see vintage stained glass windows which act as sun catchers to reflect beautiful colored glass. It's a simple DIY project -- old windows are hung on chains inside the window -- use small hooks drilled into the window frame to hang.

3. You decorate with shells:

You will find shells scattered all around the cottage in lanterns.......

and on shelves with pieces of art and decor.....

I even have a shell basket!

I took this plain, dark driftwood mirror and transformed it to fit my decorating style at Sea Glass with shells and seaglass. You can read about my DIY project here.

.........and I  definitely have a love of urns and bowls of shells in every room.




4. Starfish and Coral decorate your home.

I scatter pretty starfish and coral pieces all around the house.....here are a few starfish in my bedroom sitting area with some of my magazines.

I've tucked a starfish in my loofah sponge and soaps to make a pretty vignette in my bath area.

I love jute and have this burlap table runner and candle set out as my year 'round neutral look. 

Another quick DIY project -- A coat or two of chalk paint on a terra cotta pot, a little burlap ribbon, and hot glue the starfish (or shell).  

And, of course,  there are plenty of pretty pillows with shells, starfish, and coral.




5. You have white, slipcovered furniture.

Ummmmmm, yes! See All of the Above photos! :)

6. Flowing curtains are a must.

I love the romantic look of these sheers around the master bedroom -- they hang around the bed and over the french doors, and it's so pretty when they are blowing in the breeze!



7. Even your dishes are blue.

Yep.

My everyday dish set is white, but my coffee mugs are seaglass blue, of course!

8. You use a nautical theme in your home.

My son's vintage nautical bedroom and en-suite bath are my favorite -- so colorful and fun. A nice break from all the white and soft blue.

Another DIY project - use wood and pegs to hang nautical decor.

I enjoy adding a touch of whimsy to my decor -- in this case, wooden figurines.
9. You spell out your love of the beach with signs and decor.

This fun vintage sign on wood hangs in the family room.

...and this weathered beach sign hangs in the powder room.


10. You dream of lazy afternoons on the porch or sipping wine watching sunsets.


Oh, yes! We were given Sea Glass Wine as a gift, and now we have to have a bottle
 on hand all the time.

And here is a typical sunrise and sunset at Sea Glass Cottage:

Watching the sun rise in the east from my bedroom balcony....

And beautiful, breathtaking, colorful sunsets on the back porch.....

11. You dream of long walks on the beach.



Yes, yes, YES!

How did you do? Are you a beach loving, certified fan of all things coastal? 

I sure am! 

Thanks for playing along with me, and may all your coastal dreams come true!

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Christmas comes to Sea Glass Cottage

After what seems like forever (it actually has only been two months), I was finally able to squeeze in a quick visit to my beloved beach cottage this weekend! I had one day to spend on decorating for the holidays before I had to turn around and head back home, so I had to make the most of every minute.

The weather was gorgeous -- cool and sunny --so I threw open the doors and windows, cranked up the Darlene Love Christmas music and got to work. My family is looking forward to spending a few days at the beach house during Christmas break, (our first time ever to do this) and I'd like it to be festive for our stay.

We spend the most time in our den in the back of the cottage, so I wanted to make this room warm and cozy for watching our favorite movies. A burlap pillow cover stamped with "Merry Christmas" was my inspiration, and I added a few other pillow textures and patterns into the mix to create a cozy gathering place on the sofa.

I love playing with pillow combinations, and I always go back to my go-to formula: Solid + texture + pattern. I especially like soft stripes mixed with prints, and I love that the red print pillows aren't necessarily a Christmas pattern. The creams, taupes, golds, and maroon colors are warm and rich.

Now, I needed to add just a touch of green -- a tiny tabletop tree, jute reindeer, and a basket of cinnamon scented cones.

I downloaded this beautiful "Come Let Us Adore Him" printable and framed it for the sofa table. (Wish I would have remembered to bring my tiny creche to place by the quote -- I'll bring it on the next trip!)



Next, I moved into the kitchen/dining room/sitting room area. This is a wide open area and each space flows into the next and opens out onto the second floor balcony. I decided to stay with my love of sea glass colors (blues and aquas) for the all-white kitchen and dining room decor with a little silver for some winter sparkle.

I created a coffee/hot chocolate station on the kitchen counter and added another framed quote in sea glass colors: "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come." It's too humid at the beach to put out ingredients for the hot chocolate station, but I will add containers of candy canes and marshmallows when I'm ready to serve.

A little sparkle and winter berries for the kitchen island.

Now, for the dining area -- this is what happens when you start to run out of steam and the cool breeze is beckoning you to come sit outside and enjoy the beach.   :)

I totally didn't feel like ironing the pretty white table cloth, nor did I feel like ironing the silver chevron table runner and putting out dishes. So, I just threw the wrinkled table runner on and called it a day!  ;)

 I love the silver crystal encrusted reindeer and Christmas tree, and next time I'll go searching for my taller and more substantial candle holders. Right now, I'm calling it good enough.  ;)

The last thing on my list was to hang our Christmas stockings. Hmmmmm, no fireplace here, so what's a person to do?

I ran down to the entrance hall where we hang up our beach totes and towels. Normally, this is what it looks like:

A quick change, and now the stockings are all hung with care, ready for Santa to add a few goodies.

I hope you enjoyed this short tour as Christmas comes to the cottage -- of course, the most important part of this celebration will be when the family is here. Family is everything, and being together, sharing good times, and making memories makes me happy.

                                        It's really all I want for Christmas.

Wishing you and yours a very blessed, peaceful, love-filled Christmas!

                                    (**sigh** From a Christmas long, long, ago!)




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