Before & After Master Bedroom

I thought I would start to share the before pics and some details of the beach house renovation. 

Let's start in the downstairs master bedroom (technically, ALL the bedrooms are "master" bedrooms as they have their own private baths, but the upstairs rooms have nicknames and this one doesn't).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The first thing I wanted to change in this room (and all the rooms) was the dark wood and dark furniture. It just didn't feel beachy to me. We painted the walls Behr Aqua Pura, and all the trim Behr Ultra High Gloss White. I love the high gloss because it cleans up beautifully, and it reflects lots of light.

Another issue in this room was that there was a lot of closet space and not a whole lot of room for a dresser (or two). We decided to eliminate one of the closets and turn it into a nook with a built-in dresser. Our friend and skilled craftsman, Keith Mueller, made the dresser, we had glass cut to fit on top, and picked up some pulls at Lowes. I love it! It makes the room feel SO much bigger. Even going from a queen bed to a king bed the room still feels bigger.

Finally, we put in a low pile Stainmaster carpet in place of the existing linoleum floors. Much nicer on the feet. The coral lamp is from TJ Maxx and cost around $40. The mirror is from Lowes. The TV was in the house. The 3 pails were in Target's $1 section. And the Sunshine sign was in the $15-20 range from TJ Maxx.

Here's the other side of the room....

BEFORE:

AFTER:

One of the biggest decorating tricks I've learned over the years is to dress windows really "wide" to make them appear larger. Just by extending the curtain rod way out to the sides and putting up some sheers from Target, the window feels much more proportionate to the king bed. It also gives the room a really soft and romantic feel. There are pull-down accordion shades for privacy and darkness under the sheers. They're cordless and are barely noticeable. You can get them very reasonably at Lowes. The shark is from Home Goods. Twenty dollars, maybe?

The bedside tables were in the house and got a coat of white paint. The bed was on clearance at a local furniture shop because the headboard and footboard didn't match the side rails. No problem since we were going to paint them anyway! Those awesome lamps were a STEAL at one of my favorite local antique stores, Cabin Point Mercantile. I think they were $10 each. We rewired them, painted them an electric turquoise, and picked up some new shades at a fancy lamp store. I love them so much. They are huge and provide such a nice scale to the room. Sometimes going with a couple of really big pieces makes a small space feel bigger. One of the paradoxes of decorating.

The attached bathroom BEFORE:

AFTER:

This bathroom was updated with new toilet, flooring, paint, mirror, light, faucet, towel bars, shower head, etc. Removing the wallpaper (which I told you about HERE) and simply painting the vanity gave it a whole new look. We had quite a bit of termite and water damage in this room that had to be addressed--both in the floor and the wall under the window. 

One of the easiest ways to add interest to a bathroom is with fun shower curtains. I found this giant octopus curtain on Pinterest and was able to click through to the vendor and buy it online. It was kind of spendy....$90, I think, but well worth it. Rug and waste can are from Target. 

Lastly, the laundry room got a fresh coat of paint, some straightening, and a few strategically placed hooks to corral the necessary brooms, mops, Swiffers etc. Oh, and a mermaid to keep you company. Because, who doesn't love a mermaid?

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

(I feel compelled to point out that that outlet was covered shortly after this photo was taken and before our first renters arrived.)

So there you have it. I think Chris and I even forgot what it first looked like. Hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation!

~Betsy xoxo

P.S. Linking up at Between Naps on the Porch

Decor (and more!)

We are quickly approaching the fun part of this remodel: Decorating!

I hate construction. Which is weird, because I always want to do big remodeling projects. But, seriously, the dust, the mess, the lack of "pretty".....ugh. Not to mention it always takes waaaay longer than it's supposed to.

Decorating, on the other hand? I could endlessly move a picture 1/8 of inch to the left. Stand back. Move it a 1/16th of an inch down. Try another picture instead.

Heaven.

Don't get me wrong, there is still a LOT of construction yet--the entire exterior and all the windows will be ripped off/out next week and replaced--but, there are glimpses of decor. And I'd like to share them with you!

As I thought about this house, I tried to envision what sorts of things are important or useful to folks who are vacationing at the beach. And I thought back to our beach vacations.

One of the biggest issues I have found when renting a beach house is that there is a seemingly endless supply of wet stuff that has to be hung (beach towels, bathing suits, bath towels, wet shorts, etc.). Yet somehow the ratio of wet stuff to places to hang it is like 4:1.

In addition to a full washer and dryer and an outside clothes line, I am determined to turn that ratio around with hooks and towel bars throughout the house and garage!

Here's a peek at a few of the hooks we've assembled:

Bathroom doors should have plenty of places for towels and clothes:

Robe and towel hooks should be close by to showers (and octopi, natch):

That shower curtain rod is also a little extra. In addition to being curved, it's a double rod. So really wet stuff (like, drippy bathing suits) can hang on the inside rod to dry.

Towel bars can even have a little something extra:

We actually ran out of hooks and such. Don't worry, I'll get more! In the meantime, how about a sneak peak of the dining room hutch? A basket of barnacle-covered driftwood, two Coleman lanterns, and some giant bowls for your steamed crabs? Yes, please.

Place mats at the beach should be fun, dontcha think? (Got these cuties at a local shop, Books To Be Red.) They're vinyl, so you can wipe them off easily, too!

I also unpacked these wonderful plastic tumblers my friend Janda helped me pick out months ago from her Pampered Chef site and realized they matched the kitchen backsplash perfectly!

Like I said, still a long way to go, but we've also come a long way. And just gets more and more "eye candy" from here.

Speaking of eye candy...

There is always time to chase down a beautiful Ocracoke sunset:

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Betsy xoxo

Wallpaper: Some of the Devil's Finest Work

We are back from our Thanksgiving work trip to the house and I have (sort of) regained the use of my arms.

I love our beach house. I really do. But, like all relationships there are ups and downs and times of....well.....questioning.

I wanted to break up with our house this last week.

There. I said it.

I'm not proud of how quickly I lost patience with our relationship. I mean, the honeymoon's barely over. But it is.....over.

And here's why: Wallpaper.

Hoo boy.

In the past I've been fairly ambivalent about wallpaper. My mother used it in all our houses and it always looked great. We did have to remove it in our current house and I hear it was a nightmare. Ahem. (To be fair, our kids were young and someone had to watch them. I did do a little bit...it sucked.)

So this was my first real "one on one" with wallpaper removal. It tried to beat me. (Think: "Hey hon, how much harder would it be to just re-do the drywall?" That, apparently, was not an option. Sigh.)

First, I tackled the bathroom. And after a hard-fought battle, I won! Here's the carnage at the mid-way point:

Buoyed by that success I went after the border in the dining room. I mean, how hard could one little strip be?

Holy smokes. It was like a giant sticker that your kid puts on the car door and you just. can. not. get. off. I had to walk away and try the kitchen back splash. Thankfully, that came off like a dream:

Eventually, every last bit of wallpaper came off. And I stopped wanting to break it off with my dear, sweet house.

I also did lots and lots of powerwashing:

And my hubby took the downstairs bedroom from this (brown trim and off-white walls):

To this! Clean white trim and beautiful pale aqua walls:



(Yes, that flooring is going, too.)

Up next, the whole inside will be painted. Goodbye dark wood and paneling! Hello bright, fresh, and beachy!

And seriously, when you get to witness sunsets like this on Ocracoke Island, how can you stay mad at anything or anyone?

I still love you, house. Let's just never say the "w" word again, OK?

~Betsy xoxo

P.S. Even though it's only November, summer months are already starting to book up. Only one week is left in July, so don't put off making your reservations!