Picking Colors……When your favorite color is White!!!!

It is now time to get serious about the colors of the cottage  called Maddies Beachside Cottage.The owners have left all decisions to me to select the color and fabrics and furniture. There is one large pecan tree on the property and shades and trees are always a consideration when selecting colors.

The ocean is 1/2 block away ( the "information hut" I designed for the city of Tybee) is close by

location! location! location!

 I had thought about bright and Happy colors…………………….

accents against a white cottage

Definitely a funky outdoor space

My colors

my newest color "beachy keen green"

or maybe a new mix of something  more goldish and flamingo coral

                                                      HOWEVER……..

My  personal favorite color is WHITE!!! I love it's simple calm unassuming nature…………...

MOTHER NATURES  AMAZING WHITE SHADES!!

White interiors most of all!!! ( RICHARD  JOHNSON PHOTO)

So My thoughts are many and my decision is still up in the air…or still in the paint can!!!
One large tree(with no leaves) a parking lot to the left and right of this  historic little cottage.
What is a girl to do??

 ANY
THOUGHTS???

There is a new and wonderful tin roof on the cottage.

Thinking Colors,Barstools, Fabrics and Porches…..The Next step...

It is now time to begin the fun part of my job. Give the cottage and new happy personality by selecting the colors  furnishings and fabrics.
The first thing you will see when you open the front door is the back of the barstools….a good place to begin.
Here are a few of my other projects with bar stools front and center. It isn't that I am such a hugh fan of them but in small space it makes for  a good conversation location  and additional seating.

A Richard Leo Johnson photograph

a Richard Leo Johnson photograph

I created a slipcover  for a boring brown upholstered bar stool.

a Richard Leo Johnson photo of my tiny Fish Camp Cottage..

"99 Steps to the Beach Cottage"

Fun, Happy extra seating  

Bohemian Cottage vintage bar stools

outdoor bar at Tween Waters Cottage

Palm Cottage

Doc Holiday Cottage www.tybeecottages.com

 I try never to repeat things so tomorrow the fun begins. I will share it all right here with you…"the good the bad and the ugly ". It will evolve into a Happy Cottage by the ocean. Stay tuned…..

Sunday Morning Warm and Colorful "Ponderings"

 

It is cold and very windy at the beach today. The sun is warm but the wind on the beach makes for sand in your eyes and a fast exit. Island Life in the winter months are my favorite. Quiet, simple and chilly. More treasures seem to wash up on the beach..or maybe  just less treasure hunters out there at this time of year. Right?

To back track a bit from last August, I will share in pictures, what I have been doing all that time. One of my favorite projects, was Sundew Cottage. This cottage is available as a rental. Please contact Tybee Cottages  for more info. The Jane Coslick custom colors worked out great on this wonderful magical place. Sea Buiscuit and Tybee turquoise and Melon made a bright and cheery statement. The Cottage was featured on the  Cottage tour in December and the homeowner order the most wonderful garland to hang for the tour.

Jane Coslick Cottage colors.
(if you want to know more about my custom cottage colors.. email me at janecoslick@gmail.com)

                                             the colors in a beautiful handmade garland

TODAY...
I am going to share a bench story  (not a beach story)…the life of a designer is not always perfect..but it is never dull.  I expose clients to new ideas, colors, patterns and furniture. Everyone has a "comfort zone" and keeping them from staying to far in that zone is the hard part.  I remind them, "It is not life or death..it is about what makes you happy when you walk thru your door at the end of the day.

                                   Many lives of a BLUE BENCH……………….

mother nature  gives us treasure every day.

The Blue Bench …..  I purchased it for its uniqueness . I added it to a  hall way of a clients house. It was not really functional ( narrow seat) but it added a great punch of color to an otherwise dull  space.  the client wanted to stay totally neutral however, so we took the bench out of her house (My assistant Anna and I were secretly hopping she would not like it so we could have it for our own use.) We used it for My Jane Coslick  Holiday Cottage Tour in December on one of the porches in a wonderful old Tybee Raised Cottage. A true family beach house full of laughter, wet bathing suits, and sandy toes. All the porches are over 12 feet wide and  they surround the side of the amazing and well loved cottage.

  NEXT STOP….

bright blue

After styling the house for the tour, the bench once again had no special deserving spot due to a major renovation that was beginning soon at the cottage.  The floors at "99 Steps to the beach" cottage had blue floors so that was not the place for the wonderful bench. (I did not have the heart to repaint it )..so the "pondering" began. I was working on converting a client's twin bed room into a queen  bed room. A great painting by Blanche Nettles Powers was the center focus of the room as was a funky hand painted chandelier. In my search for a queen headboard, I happened to stop by  my storage unit looking for a treasure   to use in the room and there sat the funky little bench…Long story short…. It became my headboard of choice!!!

after

It wasn't the perfect width but  in the over all look of the room.. it had all the interesting elements that I had in mind. PS We took the bottom  part of the bench and put it in game room for the overflow of guest watching a pool tournament .

 Happy Colors.Happy Sunday!!

Happy 4th On The 5th …..from Sundew Cottage

When I complete a cottage renovation I am sad and I am glad.  Hundreds and hundred of hours have gone into the project by the contractor, carpenters, painters,plumbers ,electrician,  landscapers, the pools installer, the home owner and little 'ole me. 

I eat, sleep, dream and spend countless hours pondering every inch of space and what is the best way to use it for the client and the cottage.

Every client is different.  Every project is different.The client's personal taste and their long range goal for their cottage are always different . I can see the big picture from the first meeting and so seeing it come into reality ….No words can express the joy and satisfaction !!!  

Sundew Cottage is a mix of the clients favorite things and her favorite art and the  addittion of great fabrics, colors, furniture and bed linens.  The Cottage is "the sum of all parts". My client loves to cook and she has stocked the kitchen  to perfection…( My only domestic quality is ...I live in a house)
 She has had a wonderful time doing this  and that makes me so happy.

Sundew Cottage

We have not finished the picket fence, the arbor. the window box, the shutters and  the outdoor shower. We are still tweaking the wonderful porch  and the rest of the landscaping and picket fence will  be up soon

I used my colors of sea biscuit  Tybee turquoise and melon  because of the outdoor pillow my client fell in love with and purchased from Frontgate.

the great porch dining area

the pillows and  some of the vintage wicker

7'x30 feet..  

Happy Colors!!!!

more Frontgate chairs and wonder piece of art/furniture that was a gift to my client ..REAL Sea glass…..

the table top

porch time….Tybee Style 

inside the living room

the tiny space is working out fine

everything seem much larger because the ceiling is so nice and high. I painted the bracing white  and added the great BarnLight radial wave sconces in the kitchen space

what once was the washer/dryer is now a linen closet with a funky orange( Tybee tan)  screen door.

I guess you can tell by now that fabric is a unifying factor in the open floor plan .

How wonderful is the chandelier!!!! more beach glass...

a view from the top of the stairs.. 

more glorious beach glass…...

stairs to the master bedroom

 To be continued…….

My computer is moving to slow for some reason…the  dining area and bedrooms in my next post…

Happy July 5th

Introducing SUNDEW Cottage…..

The paint isn't dry ( honestly) but I  had to share a few images of this amazing cottage. The porch floor  paint ( Tybee Turquoise) isn't dry and the exterior fence and landscaping and pool area aren't ready but  here are a few images Anna took today.( SO glad Anna is back helping me this summer while school is out)

 More  photo and the interesting story about SUNDEW……..