A BED ROOM...a room the size of a bed

Ponder this space....Recycled plantation shutters $10.00 from the thrift store. My cowgirl hat waiting to escape to Colorado(on my head).A yummy turquoise wood floor. A vintage Carlton Varney chintz slipcover on my chair that has had at least 9 lives.( the black and off white tiger stripe fabric ( Coastal Living Magazine Jan. 09). Two 30"euro made from my favorite chenille palm tree show curtains . An inviting Bellamy painting of a path at Fort Pulaski. A ,not really straight, bark cloth animal print coverlet made from a Ralph Lauren fabricc . A great old chair painted "Tybee tan"( from the http://www.janecoslickcottagecollection.com . A wonderful galvanized light that I love love love . This is one of the guest rooms at my cottage .It could have been a closet ,but I thought this was so much more fun and a great place to spend the night or afternoon reading a good book.

If you think you do not have enough room in your house. ....... .. THINK AGAIN!!!

The Dining Room by Workhorse Images

I love love love how this reflective image shows the essence of the dining room! It is a surprising mix of the old.. the new .. the funky.. and the blue . I shopped high and low for unique and eclectic pieces for this room.

Bill Bennett of http://www.workhorseimages.com/ took this photograph of the dining room. He has a special gift of seeing things in a unique manner.

Beautiful shutter headboard

These shutters came from Brunswick Georgia. I was so thrilled to find them and could not wait to get home and make them into a grand headboard for that wonderful project. My client kepts asking "what are you going to do with those junky old shutters". He and the builder made so much fun of me.... but I KNEW................over the top and a one of a kind beautiful Headboard .The builder still hasn't gotten over how amazing the other master bedroom has turned out. It is so simple but powerful. This headboard is 4 separate shutter pieces and the wood is beautiful.
You could have seen it, I know!!!

Amazing beach house for sale

My clients have decided they love living at Marabou in Steamboat Springs Colorado. They are turning in their water ski's for snow ski's. Here are a few interior photos. It feels like an old beach house inside, but it has been totally restored with all the very best material and products available.( even the door knobs are beautiful) Contact http://www.tybeerealestate,com/ 27 Taylor Street Tybee Island Georgia.

The pantry has a chandelier and the screen door on the pantry is copper screen..sea shell knob included . The Butler's pantry( still in search of the butler) has wonderful display shelves and a very special chandelier.... The laundry room is funky and"smile inducing" .My goal for this family was calm and peaceful and happiness in every corner. The storage space is over the top.. (Luscious Little cottage would fit IN the master closet) The master bedroom and bath and the view are breathe taking.

There is a wonderful salt water swimming pool , great landscaping and oodles of great views. Tybee's beautiful lighthouse is framed in the staircase window . This project was a dream come true for me and when I walk onto the "front porch of many colors" , I am still hard pressed not to smile. Richard leo Johnson took these photos when it was featured in Savannah Magazine ...."Refuge in a storm" a few years ago. http://www.atlanticarchives.com/ As usual, he took great photographs.


PS .We nicknamed it the Cottage Palace or the Palace Cottage, I cant remember which one ( notice the crown hooks by the beautiful mirror in the bedroom)
A little humor goes a long way in my business....................

Turquoise Beautiful Turquoise!!!

This is one of the ceramic garden stools that I made into a coffee table on what I named "the porch of many colors". This renovation was one of my favorite projects EVER ! I had a grand time just making a "not-so old -but -very- boring" beach house into a calm, and peaceful retreat. There was no NO budget, just a deadline of one year to totally renovated,decorate and fill the house with gorgeous and unique things. (Next post the finished product.)

I am redoing my office and I was" pondering" using the same stools on either side of the old front doors. I was trying to remember where I had purchased these and turned on the computer to search for new cowgirl boots and turquoise garden seats.........................

I was visiting Erin 's beautiful blog, House of Turquoise, and found the garden seats for sale on Everything Turquoise Decor by Color. The photo did not do the glaze and color justice so I decided to snap a photo and post it. She is having an amazing giveaway , so I wanted to share the link with everyone .Don't wait to long to sign up.I think the deadline is the 23rd of September House of Turquoise: My 30th Birthday Giveaway! Good Luck . She has some great prizes.

...And More Cottages for fun

Castway Cottage is wonderful and the owners love kitties and much as I do. We had a great time mixing the old and new to make the happiest of cottages. It can be rented through http://www.mermaidmaidcottages.com/ as can several others. When you are ready for a vacation go on line to see what they have. http://www.tybeecottages.com/ rents several of them also .

The Shrimp is one of my favorites because it was "design on a dime' but turned out fun and full of light. It only had two windows and it was so dark and dreary when my clients purchased it . The first thing I did was buy lots of windows and put them everywhere . Of course, then came the "Great White" white color from the Jane Coslick Color Collection to brighten it up. My website has this cottage on it ,I think.

This is the latest and the most " free spirited". It was a brick house with curved walls built in 1946. I did not really like it at all when I bought it but have fallen head over heels in love with how comfortable and fun it has become. You have seen several interior shots of this cottage in the blog and I promise I will show many more interiors of all of them. Anna 's students are beginning their projects so I must show as many exteriors of the cottages as possible .( My camera fell and it is in the repair shop for two weeks.) I can't wait to go to Anna's classroom and see the cottages they are making out of cardboard. We will definitely share pictures with all of you.

Cottages Cottages and more Cottages

Here are a few of the cottages I have done on Tybee Island. Names like "Southern point of View", "Splash Shack", "Sea biscuit" "Fish Camp", "Hemingway" "Palm Cottage" "Tybee Shutters" "Braun/Coleman Cottage. The really great thing.... most of them were saved from being torn down and others were new to feel old.

The Teacher Teaching The Teacher !

School has started and Anna and I are together working on a project! Anna has just introduced a new lesson to her 5th graders looking at Georgia artists. She will be teaching them about Beverly Buchanan's and Jane Coslick's Cottages/Shacks. They will create their own rendering out of card board and be inspired by the Jane Coslick's colors, "her" passion, exteriors, and charm. Students will get a chance to name their own cottage (ex. Luscious little cottage). Can't wait to see how they turn out! I will post pictures when the students finish!

More images by Richard Johnson ................

Here are more images of the project taken by Richard for Coastal Living Magazine (I have finally learned to load more that one photo on to the blog). The Master Bed Room image is also featured on http://www.mydesign.com/.

I love this outdoor shower shot. I LOVE outdoor showers and try to include one in every project even if they are not at the beach. Something fun and different.

Hanging porch beds!!! They are so popular now......If you are thinking of one, be certain the framing of the porch ceiling will accommodate and support the weight of the bed and the method of hanging is adequate. They are only as comfortable as the mattress and support pillows. I normally use a standard twin and build the bed to fit. This is a nice thick futon mattress but it can not stay out in the damp weather. The fabrics are outdoor fabrics but consideration needs to be given to the material inside the bed. Custom size mattresses are more expensive but if space is an issue,that is the way to go. A great place to take a nap....a good thing to do on Labor Day!!

I had the table made and Chris Walker (the On line store) finished it to look old. It has the 'rusty Crusty' feel but NO wobbling... .

Anna's oyster shell and driftwood chandelier makes this room. See the old sink , it came from the old beach house that sat here and was moved to the left and "re-Muddled". They didn't want anything old from the house...Lucky me and lucky several clients.!!!!

Painted concrete floors by a friend of the clients. this is actually the mud/sand room where everything gets dropped off.

Hope you have a great Labor Day!!!!

The Perfect Beach House Kitchen

This is one of my favorite projects because the goal was to have FUN...It is a summer house with amazing views. The family is wonderful and wanted this home to be light airy and kid proof!! Coastal living ran this story in June of 09. It now is featured on their great design site in the section called 50 favorite kitchens. When we were designing the kitchen we "pondered" long and hard about doing this wonderful turquoise color in such a bold manner. We were looking for major "Happiness Factor" and we got it!!!!! The old style vent and the chrome(which is an upcharge when you purchase the stove) almost make we want to cook something.

The site is called www.myhomeideas.com.

Magazines are wonderful!!!! Maybe Cottage Living will come back one day.....{ Some of the photos are actualy from Cottage Living}

Ps.. This is another photograph taken by Richard Leo Johnson of Alantic Archives.com. The man is amazing....

Good Morning

 

Hurricane Earl has missed us.The view from my bedroom this morning...Calm and Sunny... Thanks goodness!!!!