What I Love About Dausfuskie Island...

Daufuski is a world of it's own...

Island Living Daufuskie Style is wonderful.!!!!!The island is located in SC and from Tybee Island it 45 minutes by boat.  


Artist and islands..go together..........

the great pottery for sale on Daufuskie




 

not much to do but RELAX and EXPLORE ( unless you golf) 

a beautiful cemetery on the island ..I love this place!

boat life is very important when you live on an island surrounded by water..NO BRIDGE

how about a nap in a hammock on a big porch

the island drips of history at every turn

the  History of Island Life

transportation ..golf carts.. no bridges  very few cars....

green and gorgeous

one of the newer docks

waiting to sail...

Island Decor

left from the past

the mother in law suite

The shrimp boats are a coming'...............

the new dock.....

the old graves...

Old Oaks

oh yes, this is real!!!!

Love this!!!!



the latest in crab trap furniture!

To Create Outside The Box.......

  First ..Thank you for your positive and heart warming words for my kitties.............

This week I have some serious "BUDGET FLUFFING " to do . When the budget is tough, the creative juices really get a workout!
Over the years, when I restore a cottage most of the money is spent on the  plumbing ,AC/heat, electrical , paint , insulation and usually a roof. When it comes to the "fun part"...the money is limited so many of the cottages  are created "outside the box"......Using materials in unusual ways and buying things that are absolute bargains. Once I bought 12 twin bed skirts because the fabric was bright and they were practically giving them away.

I have some serious work ..design on 3 cents...so I looked thru my old images for some ideas.
Cottage design is more casual but most of the ideas can be expanded upon and used in many situations. Tybee is funky and fun.. No serious designs needed here.


taking a bed skirt that you bought on markdown.. cutting it into a no sew valance



using an odd shutter for a valance and taking a full sized double bead and making two by screwing the headboard and foot board to the wall



creating a sitting area from a old desk and odd stools



faking a headboard

a curtain rod from a bamboo rod and deer antlers



adding an odd light  fixture on a blank wall....just for interest



making a curtain rods out of tree branch



adding fun color..paint is cheaper than most things

                              (Richard Leo Johnson photography)





adding some ball fringe to anything 








making closet "doors" from a fun shower curtain

making a lamp from something

mixixng and not matching the lamps and shades to created something interesting

making pillow and slipcovers from seriouly discounted sets of sheets

creating a light fixture from white party light

close up

creating a kitchen cabinet from old shutters

I will be seriously digging into my bag of tricks and my storage unit.

A little fluffing is good for the soul..............

She's Back!!!!!

I walked and called her name and rode my bike around the neighborhood. She must have been locked in the garage of the house next door. She came running to me ..... and the other kitties were sniffing her and greeting her with open paws.
I hope she will never get locked in again. I need  to know where the hidden key is kept.
THANK YOU for all your kind and positive thoughts. Our local kitty guardian shared her photo on face book. ..THANK YOU THANK YOU one and all!!!!!!

Lost and Missed.....

Sorry I haven't added the rest of the photos from the book but I have been sad and upset about a missing kitty.
In my life, it seem that animals just show up ..My friends call me a cat magnet.(One day at the  parking garage at the mall a sweet young kitten came to me out of nowhere)
I am really an animal person and appreciate  the t shirt that says" 'The more people I meet the more I love my dog"
I help spay  and neuter dogs and kitties and feed a colony at my cottage. "Sweet  Girl" just showed up several years ago and even though she wasn't one of the "family" I could pick her up and love on her any time. When" 99 steps to the beach" was a vacation rental the guest would write love notes about the kitties and would buy them treats and new bowls every year.
If I would forget and leave the screen door and french door open "Sweet Girl" would crawl up and sleep in the middle of the bed.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS  A FERAL CAT.. ONLY ONE WHO HASN'T FOUND A BED TO SLEEP IN YET.....
I took her to the vet last week and  she had a great checkup. Sadly I forgot to tell them to microchip her and now she is missing.
I am in such a funk worrying about what may have happened to her but I promise I will get back to sharing happy things this coming week.
 PS. The "House without a home " is getting it's new beautiful spot two blocks away ..Thanks Henry and Vicky Patton for caring about saving a cottage on tybee .

 She is like me and hates to have her picture made.

waiting for tuna ..........

hiding from the camera and telling me not to take her picture!!

"Has anyone seen  Sweet Girl?"

New Cottage Style

I have three project featured in the new book by Better Homes and Gardens.

Here is one of them........

dining room
Richard leo Johnson

living room
(Richard Leo Johnson photography)

We called it the Palace Cottage for fun.....

Here are a few more photos that I have of the cottage
.


open stair well with a Bellamy oyster shell

 http://janecoslick.myshopify.com/collections/art/products/bellamys-oyster-1

what my client nick named his 'Bubba' room (a southern thing)

kitchen island

pantry door shell knob http://janecoslick.myshopify.com/collections/accessories/products/tectus-pyramis

the 2nd master bedroom

I try to help my clients improve their quality of life... the laundry room was always a mess..no one could find their things. it was a dull and boring  space......SO I tried something different and it worked..we bought the great old metal  top table  for folding clothes and I tried a bit of humor.. to brighten the space....

view of tybee  light house



a great shutter headboard( the client made so much fun of it until it was up.)

 More next  post......

The Mix Of Old And New.....RED and BLUE

The Details....

Great grandmother's lamp , a beautiful Bellamy painting in yellows, and antique typewriting table and the latest thing in pillows ( the pillows have grommets and nautical numbers)

Mixing styles, patterns and textures makes things very upbeat and interesting. A commom thread may just be having what you love around you. Design for yourself.....never just follow the trends! Trends are here to day and gone tomorrow....mix it up and it will never look dated or out of style .



windows were almost replaced by a built in giant wall of bookcases..



Natural light thru old wooden windows..the best of the best!!!!

touches of red ble and yellow

a floor lamp made from a leftover colum from my first restoration

the bedroom








a magic space for the sweetest of dreams

the throw is from Anthropologie (It is really a table cloth turned wrong side out)
the amazing stylist Elizabeth Beeler "dreamed" that one up.

Richard  Leo Johnson took some amazing photographs for Coastal Living Magazine of this amazing cottage .Elizabeth Beeler styled the shots and the Martin family allowed us in to their homes with open arms. We all worked very hard and had so much fun.
 "If it's not fun,don't do it!!!',I say.

living on the coast and eating oranges off your fruit trees....what could be better?

Anna, as usually, made the arrangements with natural plantings from the Martin's garden

bright, open and inviting spaces

                               


this was a family find from years ago before collecting was so "in"




 When working with small space the more windows there are to let the outside and the inside come together the larger the space will feel.



living outside , inside and dock side!!!!!



Me.. counting my blessing and pondering the beauty of it all.