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

Help me choose: Floor Mat

OK, friends...I need a little help. I'm stuck on 2 equally cute indoor door mats for the kitchen entry.

Choice A is The Sailfish:

Choice B is The Marlin:

Leave me your choice in the comments and I'll get the one with the most votes.

Thanks!

~ Betsy, the Indecisive xoxo

P.S. They are the same price, or you know I would have gone with the less expensive one!

Progress!

We are starting to see progress on some projects that have been in the works for a while now! Which is good since we have renters coming in 6 weeks (but who's counting??).

Remember all that slipcover drama I told you about here, here, and here? And then I told you I found my dream fabric here?

Well, the slipcovers for the chairs are done and they are spectacular! Tell me what you think:

I am in love. LOVE, I tell you! 

The other big doings is the blue vinyl siding is coming down, and the taupe HardieShingle siding is going up! I love it!

I hear carpet is being installed in the bedrooms today and the new windows should be hitting the island any minute. 

The super sexy mid-century couch is almost done being rehabbed and that slipcover should be done shortly. I am very excited to see it and share it with y'all!

Yessiree....we are making some progress!

~Betsy xoxo

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

Kitchen Elements

I'm starting to pull together the main pieces of the kitchen remodel.

Granite for the counter tops has been selected:

I had the kitchen sink (I'll have to tell you the story of this sink one time...suffice to say I've had it for something approaching 20 years!). It's hard to photograph this guy--sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks green, and sometimes it looks really grey--it's looking very blue in this pic:

And this is the yummy glass tile for the back splash:

What do you think? Is it all going to work together? I sure hope so!

~ Betsy xoxo

You Done Good, Cupid

Well, hellooo gorgeous...

 

Machine washable. 100% cotton. Under $8 a yard!

 

I do believe I'm in love, y'all.

 

What's your verdict? Do we have your blessing?



Desperately Seeking Slipcovers

So, yeah.

My little rough and tumble slipcover sample I told you about here?

 

She's pretty much out of the running. Again.

(Seriously, are any of my human relationships this rocky? No.)

I did what I should have done in the first place: Gone right to the source.

I called Waverly Fabrics and asked them how "Dry Clean Only" they meant when they said, "Dry Clean Only."

Turns out they really mean it.

In fact, the fabric I picked shouldn't even be used for indoor applications, according to the rep I spoke with. They've had numerous complaints about it fading inside. It's an "occasional outdoor use" fabric.

Which is....you know.....kind of different than "indoor/outdoor."

And truly makes me wonder why such a delicate fabric is in the marketplace trying to hang with the big boys (read: Sunbrella).

I appreciate their honesty. I don't appreciate that I'm back to the drawing board.

I do have a new candidate coming soon.

A clearly marked, "Machine Washable" candidate.

I hope it doesn't smell my desperation.

That's always such a turn-off.

And I really, really, really need it to work out this time!!

What I mean to say is, "It's cool."

"Either way."

"Plenty of fish in the sea."

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go check the mailbox.

Three hours early.


~Betsy xoxo