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

Done, Done, DONE!!

It's DONE!

Done, done, done, done, dooooonnnnneeeeee!

After illness (Chris is feeling MUCH better, thankfully--that was definitely scary!), panic, and a lot of work, it is finally done .

Well, mostly.

Chris has two days of figuring out switches and HVAC stuff that is boring and not pretty and not my department.

So for all intents and purposes, it's DONE.

Wow. What a journey.

Y'all ready to see it? All of it? No more sneak peeks and carefully cropped shots to hide the mountain of construction mess lurking around the corner!

I give you the whole enchilada!

The living room:

The kitchen:

The laundry room:

The downstairs bedroom:

Downstairs bathroom:

The game room:

The stairs:

The "Green Room:"

And the "Knot Room:"

Knot tying station:

Sooooo........what do you think?? Later I will post the before pics and you can really see how different it all looks. And some other fun details. For now, my head is hitting the pillow.

Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement along the way! It has helped enormously. <3

~ Betsy xoxo

Panic

I am convinced that part of every remodeling project is an "emotional bottom." There comes that point where the project has lingered on so long, cost so much, and/or hit yet another snag that it sends the remodeler into a state of despair. 

Whether you are living in the remodel or staying at a hotel or trying to meet a deadline, I think those of us who take on these projects know this stage far too well. 

I do believe we've hit that point in this beach house remodel.

Three days ago Chris woke up at the beach house with some serious swelling on his arm. Serious. He had been complaining about a cut on his arm that wasn't healing throughout the week. It went from a pimple-sized bump to a quarter-sized bump to a softball size bump with chills, nausea, and fever in the course of 3 days.

Thank God for the Ocracoke Health Clinic. They diagnosed him with a staph infection, gave him a shot in his hiney, some 'scripts for antibiotics, and some compliments on the house. 

Meanwhile, I had been scrambling to get some last minute items that we need. After calling and calling to find out the status of the super cool barstools I bought six weeks ago, I was finally told those stools were now discontinued with an arrival date of Never. Sigh.

I will spare you the whiny details of the multiple stores I visited (in the rain....with children in tow), the 18 stores I called, and the hour (plus) drive into the city to round up some kind of replacement barstools. Suffice to say, it was a headache and a half. Double sigh.

Chris is improving, but is pretty much out of commission.

Meanwhile, we were planning to finish shopping this week, head to the house this weekend, and have everything wrapped for renters arriving the following week.

Needless to say, we are both at the breathing in a paper bag portion of the program.

I don't know how it's going to play out. We are taking things moment by moment.

We are asking ourselves (and each other) the kinds of questions I think most remodelers ask at this stage, 

"What the heck were we thinking?" 

"Is this ever going to be done?" 

"Have we made a terrible mistake?"

I'm sure we will one day look back at this time and laugh at the comedy of errors. And I'm sure the next time we find ourselves here we will be asking the same questions and feeling the same panic. I really do think it's part of the process. I just wish it didn't suck so much.

~Betsy xoxo

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