BEACH HOUSE: PART 3 - PROGRESSING NICELY

Things have been moving along steadily at the beach house.  In our last update we installed flooring - except for the kitchen and dining area as that area had to stay put for a while.  It would eventually become a very different floor plan than the original.

Now, the kitchen is nearly complete, the master bath is nearly complete, the living room has more updates and we have a new dining room.  The 2nd bathroom is complete.  There have been major changes in the yard.  Not a lot that is totally complete - but, a lot of progress.

Want to see what's been happening?

KITCHEN....

In this cottage, what passed as a kitchen was barely big enough to turn around. Shawna could stir a pot on the stove with one hand and wash dishes with the other - seriously.  Just adjacent to the tiny kitchen; however,  was a larger space with outside access to the front patio.  This was probably an addition at some point in the life of this house and was possibly used as a dining room.  Originally I thought that we could push everything in the kitchen forward to create a larger space... but it really made more sense to just switch spaces with the adjacent dining area.   One of the charms of an old beach cottage is that there is a crawl space under the house - so rerouting plumbing is a piece of cake....

I sketched out two options for the kitchen.

The first one left the front wall and entry door intact.  Shawna wasn't sure she wanted to eliminate that door to the front deck.  It wasn't my favorite option.  There were 4 doors to enter this part of the house and I felt we could do away with one of them.  It would barely be missed.

The second version - replaced the outside door with a bank of windows and placed the kitchen sink under them.  So much better to have a window at the kitchen sink, don't you agree?  This version provided a lot more counter and storage space. Another reason it was my preferred choice was it just had a better look.  Instead of seeing a wall of major appliances and cabinets at your first glance into the room (i.e., fridge, range, microwave, cabinets...) there was a pretty spectacular wall of beautiful tile, a stainless range hood and open shelving on either side.   Sort of like this picture...

Shawna agreed she could do without that extra door to the patio and she liked the 2nd plan.  We were off and running.  Well, jogging...

Okay, we drove to the tile and cabinet stores.


On Demo Day, the first thing to go, was the outside kitchen wall...

In no time at all, the wall  was up again with a bank of windows and we were ready to map out the cabinets.

which we did with tape on the floor to make sure we could make everything fit.

Meanwhile, everything else Shawna owned, including the fridge, was crowded into the living room...
A remodel is hell - don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  But it is short lived and really, really worth it...

The rest was pretty much by the book as they added recessed lighting, rewired electrical outlets, updated plumbing and framed out doors and windows.

Ready for paint...and flooring.

Then the cabinets came and were installed....and suddenly it felt very much like a kitchen...

(minus one panel...on back order..)

A coat of fresh paint - Sherwin Williams ACCESSIBLE BEIGE.  (It is now Shawna's favorite color.)

New appliances...

A big, deep farmhouse kitchen sink and wall mounted faucet.

Things were starting to look a lot like a kitchen...one you could even turn around in.

 Next, big, fat, luscious marble tile...all the way to the ceiling..

and pulls and handles on the cabinets...

When the tile was in and grouted they installed the stainless steel hood.

NOW we have a beautiful kitchen...and nearly complete...

we await the open shelves and the final touches to finish the room - 

more to come.....  

DINING ROOM...

About the same time the kitchen demo and remodel was going on, the former kitchen space was also being transformed...into the dining room and pantry.

Another outer wall was removed and rebuilt (formerly the old tiny kitchen's outer wall)...

and french doors were installed which will eventually open onto a deck or patio (yet to be built).

This former kitchen had an odd angled wall, which was walled in to create a good sized pantry...

For the pantry door, Shawna found a vintage rustic door 

and had it installed on sliding barn door hardware

The same flooring that was installed in the rest of the house was carried into these areas and sealed with satin polyurethane.  We are hoping it weathers and looks 'lived in' very quickly.  

More to come on this area, too...

When the kitchen and dining rooms were as complete as we could make them for the time being, we started on the master bathroom.

MASTER BATHROOM ...

The tub was removed and replaced with a walk-in shower.

 More of the large format marble tile was installed and a quirky round porthole window was added (salvaged).

We chose a pebble mosaic for the floor - and this room went from basic to 'charming beach' in the blink of an eye.

 Soon the vanity will be installed - but more on this room later.

LIVING ROOM

The living room ceiling had a beauty upgrade - from flat to fabulous.

Shawna found salvaged windows and replaced the small front windows with larger windows and then painted the amazing ceiling and the front door.

living room window before...

bigger window after..

front door paint before...

front door paint...after

The front door - formerly black - blends in a little more and allows the fireplace to take center stage in the room - as it should.

Speaking of which, it has gone from red brick to fresh white paint...

with a new rustic wood mantel

and a marble hearth 

before hearth picture..

BATHROOM

[Bathroom before photo...]

The 2nd bathroom was completely gutted and transformed.  It may be small but it packs a true beauty punch.

Outside of the house my green thumbed friend has made big changes.  A flagstone path is in progress and the big bad tree that decided to visit the neighbors (with its roots) is no longer standing.  Its big sister, not as bad as her brother, still offers lots of shade.

Little by little Shawna is making her beach cottage - barely livable when she first moved in - a charming, enviable home.

Stay tuned!

If you have missed the previous posts on this endeavor, you can see them here:

BEACH HOUSE - PART I
BEACH HOUSE - PART II

FAIRY TALE LIVING - THE STORYBOOK STYLE HOUSE

They are called Storybook Style homes.
[Well, the name is obvious.]
Storybook homes were a product of the early 20's
and had passed from popularity by the late 30's,
a casualty of the Great Depression.

The depression put a bit of a damper on all that quaintness
and probably the $$ it took to create them...
They originated in California, and so they have some of the best examples -
but there are storybook style homes in many parts of the country and the world.

These storybook homes are in beautiful Carmel, California
They're adorable.

The town they are located in is adorable.

The setting is magical -

ocean,
beach,
cypress trees
and fog...

like a fairy tale....

They are picturesque,

quaint, and charming.

They have cobblestone paths,

arches and arbors,
cottage gardens, 

forged iron lanterns,

Whimsical arched doorways, 

wee little chimneys that would rival Disney's best efforts

and steeply pitched gables are part of the charm.

Some have steam shaped shingles 

made to mimic thatched roofs.

Some have eyebrow windows

and exposed timbers,

others have multipaned windows overlooking cottage gardens

It seems the setting is as important as the house itself.

Los Angeles county is also home to many of these homes -
this one located in Glendale...

Away across the pond,

the British village of Blais has a few of these quaint homes...

and more - found all over the United States and other parts of the world...

This home is known as the witch's house - located in Hollywood, California.

Although it could resemble a fairy tale involving one, the name came from the owner who liked to hand out Halloween candy dressed as a witch...

The Witch's House is one of the earliest storybook buldings, built in 1921 by a Hollywood art director, originally serving as the offices for Willat Studio - a silent film studio.  It was moved to Beverly Hills in 1926, (or possibly 1934 - accounts differ).

 A real estate agent purchased it upon hearing that interested parties were going to tear it down and build something else.  He and another Hollywood art director undertook a comprehensive restoration of the home and brought it back to its former glory.

But whatever the story, these Storybook Style homes are a whimsical and charming part of history that delight the eye and warm the heart,

whether found in the US, the UK or Europe.

France

Europe

New Zealand

I look at these tiny little fairy tale cottages and the curmudgeon in me wonders...
"What if you lived in one of them and woke up one day and couldn't take another minute of 'cute'?
Or became sick to death of 'charming?'
What if you craved plain.
Unadorned.
Strait lines.
What then?
.
.
.
But I do like this place...
Still charming, but not overdone...
with a little english country garden style yard that is perfection

and inside, more classic than cute -
I could live in this kitchen without a minute's hesitation

And they lived happily ever after.....

QUESTIONS FROM READERS:



Hi,
Your blog is just Dreamy!! I love houses and design oh so much. I joke with my mom and husband I should wear a sign "will work for money to design". Doing it yourself is my main way to go as I have young kiddos and a limited budget. I just spent 4 days transforming a yucky oak kitchen with beigy-pink Formica to white painted cabinets with black painted Formica counters 😄.  

Painting oak is not very fun at all- but super rewarding

That being said I have to ask you about the exterior of our home.  We just redid the front porch as it was literally collapsing from awesome 1960s construction in Chicago.  I am trying to convince my husband that our house was born to be painted brick or washed. Would you please share with me your opinion? I truly respect it and believe you will know the right choice. Here is the exterior. Our master is in the back with terrible white vinyl siding. That's another great reason to paint it all white, then the siding will blend in a smidge better.😉

Thank you thank you for any insight you may provide. The shutters definitely need to be redone and sized properly; but I am waiting until we decide about exterior so that I don't have to change colors on new shutters. Thank you thank you!!!



First, Brava! on your kitchen repaint - looks great!  Can't wait to see it with the hardware on - you will send a photo, won't you?

So your home is what is lovingly referred to as Greek Revival.  People who wanted to emulate classic Greek architecture,

back in the day, painted  these homes white to look like white marble - It was a very formal look - a power look as you will see by the most familiar photo below...

That's right, The White House.

However, your house is not a state building or a national monument... it is a home - and so we want it to look welcoming - right?  Your new porch is beautiful and I love all the detail and the stately columns.  As far as painting the brick goes, however; I'm not seeing white as the answer.  

I fear white would blend into the porch and make it disappear and you would lose all that lovely detail you just created.  

A whitewash on the brick could work if the wash allowed the brick to show through enough to offer some contrast.  This is popular in the South - and I wish we had more brick here in Southern California just so I could do this - but alas, we dwell in stucco land...

As you can see on this partially whitewashed brick house, it mutes the common red brick and softens the look.  

Hard to find an example with your exact portico, but use your imagination a little and you will get the gist of it.

As for paint - I think that a medium beige/gray would keep the stately feel and allow the porch to shine.  

Similar to these colors...

While these examples are not Greek Revival, they do show the white against the gray and beige tones.

There doesn't have to be a lot of contrast, but enough to be noticed.

Not necessarily recommending Yellow, but I love how the architectural elements pop against the house when they are entirely different colors... just not '90's colors....

You mentioned trying to match the vinyl or aluminum siding.  

There is paint specifically designed for siding, so I wouldn't worry too much about trying to tie in to that color.  

If it is white, the portico may be enough to tie it together, as in the photo below...  

If it is a more unfortunate color, both Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore paints have a  product specifically for painting aluminum and vinyl siding.   I'm sure it comes in a wide variety of wonderful colors!   

Good luck!  So happy you enjoy decorating and reading the blog!
Best,
Claudine