beach cottage bedroom

February 19, 2016July 13, 2016 | circadee

Is it spring yet? The beach sure is lonely without you. I am counting down the days until the neighborhood is bustling again. As much as a I love a little wintertime solitude, I prefer the action that warm sunny weather brings to the sandy beaches. With that said, let’s check out a bright and cheerful beach cottage bedroom. Between starfish and vintage swimsuit art, it is just brimming with anticipation of summer!

If you are a regular around here, you probably remember that my folks bought a cute beach cottage about a year ago. We’ve been gradually making progress room by room. Each space was basically a neutral space that needed a punch of color and personality. The carpet is brand new so it wasn’t going. They also weren’t into painting as it was also recently done. The reality is that other time-consuming projects, like creating a bathroom, took priority. Basically we just pulled together a color palette and accessorized on a budget. To do that, we used a combination of salvaged pieces, vintage, second-hand finds plus new textiles and art. The color scheme is just so happy. Perfect for the beach, right?

Once upon a time, the headboard was in my bedroom. It’s a salvaged door which so happens to measure a short 60 inches – the same width as a queen bed. Years ago, I adorned it with driftwood, paint and starfish which are still fun.

Possibly my favorite part of the room are the swimsuit prints. These were very hard to find! We spotted them about a year ago at Bed, Bath & Beyond but were not ready to pull the trigger. Of course that was a mistake. Months later when we ready for art and agreed on the swimsuit prints, they were gone of course. Local stores were wiped out. Spoiler alert, after weeks of searching, I finally found them AND they were half price. Naturally, I also hoarded a set for myself because you never know when you’ll need vintage-inspired swimsuit art. These were the only two patterns available out of the original six or eight prints. Fortunately, the colors were perfect.

Those lamps are new-ish but found second-hand for mere dollars. Aren’t they perfect? The end tables are both painted in MMS milk paint, apron strings on the left & kitchen scale on the right. The kitchen scale drum table doesn’t actually belong in this room. It is one of a pair which are available for sale at West End Garage. Normally we have a coordinating chest on the right but this one looks pretty darn good there.

Let me divert your attention to the other side of the room. What was once two dusty old closets, is now a full bathroom. It is the tiniest full bathroom aptly named The Water Closet.

The closet space was the selling point on this old house but not for storing clothes. The house had all the space they were looking for in a beach cottage but just one bathroom which was a deal breaker. We stood in this very room when I had the bright idea that the side-by-side closets from adjacent bedrooms could be knocked out to make room for approximately a 30 square foot bathroom.

Now, I can’t take all of the credit. My dad is the plumber who masterminded the water closet complete with a pocket door. I will take credit for the pocket door actually. That was my idea.

To the left is the toilet and to the right is a shower stall.

Admittedly two closets were lost in the making of this full bathroom. However, we compensated with stand alone closets in each room. As it turns out an additional bathroom is strongly preferred over closet space in a beach house anyway.

Just three months until Memorial Day!

Source List

Bedroom

Bedding – Homegoods
Headboard – salvage
Tin Shelf – salvage
Night stands – vintage painted in MMSMP Apron Strings & Kitchen Scale
Lamps – estate sale finds
Curtains – thrifted
Top down shades – JCPenney
Swimsuit prints – Bed, Bath & Beyond (sold out)
Cedar Closet – vintage painted in MMSMP Artissimo

Water Closet

Towels – Homegoods
Shower Curtain – Homegoods
Tile – Home Depot ‘Noce’
Mirror – vintage
Rattan shelf – trash (no shame)
Rattan baskets – Homegoods
Plumbing – Marston Mechanical

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versatile vintage theater seats

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 | circadee

First of all, is it theater or theatre? I have always been compelled to write theatre but it turns out the American English spelling is theater. What is your preference?

My preference is most certainly vintage but we already knew that! I’ve mentioned my unofficial conquest list of must-finds which is always changing. However, vintage theater seats have always ranked high on the list. A few weeks ago I was able to mark it off because I found them!

They’re an attached pair of wood and metal seats that fold up. Not just the seat bottoms fold but the chair legs collapse like a folding chair allowing the pair to flatten for storage purposes. That function leads me to believe that these were part of a venue where the seating configuration would change frequently. The chairs were never permanent fixtures and as a result the set is not too heavy.

A coat of hemp oil brought the wood back to life and really makes them shine again. This set is available for sale at The West End Garage.

There are a number of places in the home that I can think to style vintage theater seats. I’ve compiled a list to get your wheels turning! (Please pin from original source by clicking photo.)

Entryway/Foyer

Dining Room

Kitchen

Bedroom

Which is your favorite room showcasing theater seats?

the game changer

March 31, 2015April 8, 2015 | circadee

Vintage fiends like myself always have a list of must-find items tucked away in the back of one’s mind. Perhaps it is an industrial antique scale, a factory cart coffee table, a 1940’s 2-tier plant stand (not to be specific or anything).

For me, as of late, it was a brass bed.

Not a cheap, shiny 1980’s brass bed but a high quality solid brass with a warm patina. A queen size brass bed with serious antique style which would make it vintage, of course, because queen size beds weren’t available until the 1950’s or so. And the price had to be right. After only a few months searching, the perfect piece popped up on Craigslist. The only problem was that it was over 2 hours away. This was a great deal even factoring in gas and tolls. Ryan made the trip picking up the head board, foot board and frame for my birthday. Lucky girl.

This bed was a game changer for sure. It works very well with our existing French provincial family heirloom furniture. That’s not going anywhere. However, I decided to part with the coastal salvage vibe that we had going on previously.

vintage French provincial heirloom dresser

I found a fantastic brass hued mirror that coordinated very well with the furniture and lamps. I brought in Mildred, the necklace-wearing-bust, and other vintage jewelry vessels that I’ve collected. The window seat got outfitted with more pillows because there are never enough. And we finally did something with one of our wedding pictures turning it into a canvas for above the bed. The shell lamps stayed as did the duvet with the addition of new ticking shams.

The biggest change of all is the flooring. Previously this room was outfitted with pink carpet. This winter our home has received many upgrades including new flooring throughout thanks to my patient husband who has redone almost every square foot. I floated a flat weave, natural chevron rug over the weathered-look wood floor.

This bedroom now has a sophisticated yet collected vibe featuring vintage finds and family heirlooms. Each one tells a story. Of course, it is always entertaining to look at the progress of a space. The ‘before’ picture is exactly how this room looked when we first saw the house. It gives me the heebie jeebies. The next one shows how it was last styled with a coastal salvage spin. And of course the present look. You can see that the symmetry remains the same.