T-Minus One Month

Things are really starting to come together at the beach house. We still have a lot of details to finish and need a few more decor items. We are officially 1 month out from our first renters, so it is pedal to the metal time! Here are a few pictures from our recent work trip.

Like I said before, the siding and windows were just installed. I hadn't seen it in person until last week. It was stunning! So many folks have given us their compliments and thumbs-ups. It is a total transformation, that's for sure. Here's the deck/game room side (we are still waiting to install buy pick out outdoor lights).

This is a shot of the other side of the house. One day I might show you pictures of the rotten wood/windows that came out. Maybe not. It was pretty gross. Needless to say, we were glad we made the decision to do this work (especially after our window guy said that  a few years ago there had been a class action lawsuit over our exact old windows for leaking/rotting).

Below is one of my favorite elements: The life rings in the "Knot Room." Super cute, right? And that crab pillow I got on Etsy? Perfect.

I'm also pretty tickled by the vintage badminton rackets on the staircase (they came out of a camper we bought years ago):

Adirondack chairs and garden stools are ready and waiting on the deck:

Lots of hooks right inside the kitchen door for all the towels, hoodies, hats, baseball gloves (lol!), beach bags, etc.:

Dining room table and chairs got a nice fresh coat of bright aqua paint:

And although we pretty much worked through the sunsets, we were up at the crack of dawn and got to see some very beautiful sunrises:



I can't wait to show you some of the other rooms as they are coming together. I've got some cool tips and some minor flops I also want to share. Priority right now, however, is to "git 'er done!" (And reapply the Icy Hot to my aching muscles!)

~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!