When I got a call from my friend-client and she’s also our CPA, Pam Anderson, asking me to take on a project that I had never done before, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to get started! They had purchased a beach house that they were not only going to enjoy often as a family, but they also were going to have it as rental property. That meant, the newly constructed and totally empty beach house would need to be fully furnished, accessorized and decorated for durability as well as with a comprehensive style of good ol’ beachy welcome. And where do I go to get inspiration for a beach house?
I go to the beach!
Those colors and textures … blues, greens, yellows, whites … the Anderson’s asked for their beach house to look nothing like a home-home, but they wanted that “we are living it up at the beach!” kind of look and feel!! Full on beachy!
The way the project worked was this –
Pam sent me links to photos of other completed beach houses in the same area/community of where their beach house is located and the photos showed me the flooring (first photo), and the island that is painted a warm jasper as well as the counter tops (second photo).
Can you picture it? White-washed & warm hard woods throughout the house, and the kitchen island painted Jasper (SW) and for Pam’s house, the backsplash is white subway tiles, not the ones in this photo. We also needed to select the pendant lights above the island and the lighting fixture for above the kitchen table.
If we had been able to select the backsplash, I would have gone more with a hand-painted tile of blues and neutrals.
But the white subway tiles as the backsplash does help for down the road when the house may undergo a color theme change.
So, I take what I’m initially given (wall color, flooring, tiles, countertops), and pull it all together so that there is a “song” to the space. A beachy rhyme and a rhythm that works. I STILL have not stepped foot on the property, so …
Living off each photo and the blueprint of the entire floor plan, I perked a pot of coffee and got busy online with digital decorating and furnishing.
Family Gathering Space
The first piece I selected was a sectional. Pam had already pointed me in that direction by letting me know that their family definitely wanted a sectional in the gathering space off the kitchen. I selected the Hattiesburg Sterling Reversible Sectional by Three Posts. When I am selecting upholstered furniture from Wayfair, (which was where Pam and I have purchased several furnishings for her home and office), I always use two filters: 1) 4.5-5.00 star ratings, and, 2) SW – that is a code used to let you know how the fabric can be cleaned – S stands for Solvent and W stands for Water. Some fabrics are W only, because if you apply a mild solvent to the fabric to clean it, it could damage the fabric or even strip off some of the dye. But if the cleaning code is SW, then you first start cleaning any spill or stain with water and then if the stain is still there, use a mild solvent like Norwex, Ivory dish detergent, or diluted 409.
We went with two of these blue textured WingBack Chairs by Birch Lane to be along the side of the gathering space.
Putting it all with this 7’6 x 9’6″ Destrie Hand-Braided Denim Blue Area rug.
What I love about this rug is just how it works with so many different finishes – dark stained, white, metals…it will bring the sofa and the wing backs together, with …
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One of these 18” H x 18” W x 18” D Angelique End Table with Storage will be one end table on the side of the sectional. Can’t you just see some big cozy blankets folded up and stored inside…super softies for watching some Christmas Hallmark movies? Cuteness!
The other end table is the Katahdin Wood End Table by Look Peak – I wanted to go with warm stained end tables because the floors are so white, and the coffee table I went with is all distressed oak white. But this cute little round end table also gives an introduction to what is going in the kitchen breakfast nook (on top of those white distressed floors) – I’ll show you that in just a bit…hang on.
The Denning Storage Coffee Table with the dark wicker baskets is the coffee table, because it will be so practical and you can never have enough storage! 🙂
And the last main piece of furniture for the gathering space is the Mcdonnell 60″ TV Stand.
Now, I know what you may be thinking…”Lisa, the pieces look rather dark, not white bright and beachy.” Well, this is what we need to keep in mind…the walls are white, the upper kitchen cabinets are white, all the trim is white, the granite is a very light white with small veins of gray marbling through,, and on top of aallll that . . . . . the floors are WHITE! Heavy white washed! Other than the painted island and lower cabinets, we needed other pieces in the room to give some color, “weight” and contrast, I chose furniture pieces that still looked beachy, but would help anchor the space. AND I didn’t want to go SO light and bright and white because it is going to be a rental property. I wanted to select pieces that I felt could “wear” well.
Now, to pull it all together in that same gathering space, we are adding all these beachy accessories – one thing Pam mentioned to me was that she wanted the house to look beachy – to see nautical decor throughout the entire beach house.
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Breakfast Nook
Pam asked for a dining set that could seat six so we went with the Mosca-Hooper 6 Piece Solid Wood Dining Set. We will accessorize once we get to the beach house and begin having some fun decorating!
Master Bedroom
For the Master Bedroom, I went with more whites / neutrals. The bedding you see in the photo is not what I selected because they already have their bedding. But I wanted the Master to have a more grown up, clean and fresh feel. (Not sure I’ll be tossing the sea horse pillow on the bed or not, but I just think he’s the cutest little thing!) But after we get to the beach house, and we start accessorizing, adding pillows and throws to the bed and chaise, it will all just work! We got 2 of the lamps for the two bedside tables. IF this were there personal home, I would not have gone with the “set” in the furnishings, but instead would have broken it all up with other unique pieces. However, with this being a rental property, I just wanted to keep some of the look streamlined.
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Guest Room #1
This room I call the “Oar Oasis” — because the headboard is made entirely of oars, and it directed me for the rest of the space – Pam even asked for the headboard to be either oars or surfboards. This is the Annika Slat Headboard by Breakwater Bay.
I wanted the two pieces (bedside table and dresser w/out the mirror) to look like drift wood, and these pieces from Lowenstein gave that look!
This blue glass lamp will be sitting right on top of the night stand.
The Gaines Natural Area Rug is going in both additional bedrooms….so durable and pretty for both bedrooms!
The Shailene Armchair will go in the 1st Guest room with the oar headboard, blue glass lamp and the Lowenstein furniture. Yes, there will be a pretty little pillow in this chair that will make the blue glass lamp and painting all work together.
Because this little oar Emig End table will be right beside the blue chair, I will be taking my chalk paint to the beach house to faux paint it Annie Sloan Pure White, distress it a little to let some of the blue show through.
2nd Guest Room
All the bedding has already been selected, but this room will have the Ginne Hand-Woven Flat Weave area rug. No bedside table, only a dresser that will be in the same Beiden brand as the bunk bed.
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Go to Pottery Barn Kids to see the Beiden Bunk full bunk bed.
This is another great rug for the kitchen breakfast area is the Ginnie Hand-Woven Flatweave Natural Area Rug
Outdoor Patio and a Few Other Fun Things for the House
The small all wood table can go next to the chaise or bedside the bunk bed, or even in the bathroom next to the soaker tub.
With the oar headboard, we needed a good sturdy queen bed frame and this one will extend to a king size or a adjust to a twin. Under all the rugs, you need a good quality carpet pad.
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The kitchen needed barstools and a nice long runner for down the island, so we went with the Cape Elizabeth Natural Area Rug.
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No beach house is complete until it has a sea gull!! He is just perfect for the Anderson’s BH, and to have a few more accessories, we have the Wesham 2 piece table vase set and the Willa Orb Sculpture.
So, here are the main “bones” to this beach house project for the Anderson family….and when Pam and I go to their BH around the first of December to finish pulling it all together, decorating, and literally bringing fresh life into the walls of this very special get-away, I will post photos then of the house completed!! And probably a few of us as we relax for a bit and put our feet up!
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