There is something about spending time in an old cottage that makes you want to fill it with old things. Beautiful old things. Like English ironstone and blue transferware and comfortably worn quilts. In the case of an old beach cottage then there are also things like vintage Pendleton blankets, old fishing creels and historic seaside photos. I have found myself keeping an eye out for “beach cottage” items in my travels. Now…I will admit it…I am a longtime fan of…
Well….We sure had a lot of yellow beadboard happening in the cottage last summer! All the beadboard wainscoting in the party room and in the front entry was painted yellow. I’m sure it was great, once upon a time, but it was time for a fresh coat of something new. The color inspiration came from all of that blue-green-grey slate on the party room floor. After scattering a bunch of paint chip samples around, and wandering by at different times of…
One cannot write about our town of Gearhart without talking about the elk. What a bunch of characters! This big herd of Roosevelt elk, who normally live in the Coast Range, have decided to make their home in the little beach town of Gearhart, Oregon. Here they are hanging out in our yard…waiting for the ball game to start. And here they are having a little lunch in the front yard. That big bull is going to town on that ivy…
Okay everybody…I know this is what you have been waiting for….the garage! Ah…But it is not an ordinary garage – it is a true carriage house. I think it is at least as old as the actual cottage. And that makes it very wonderful in my book. I have determined from old pictures that it was originally located further east on the grounds of the old camp. Back in the day, buildings were moved around quite often. I actually have just discovered that there was…
The kitchen is one of the really fun rooms in this cottage – as kitchens should be! It’s big and has lots of storage and the major updates have been done. There is a newer fridge, dishwasher, gas stove and best of all – a garbage disposal – which is a rare thing down at the coast for some reason. The original 1920’s cabinets have been painted a soft green. The little cutout cabinet doors with the white curtains under the sink are…
Yes…we have a main floor bathroom. Forgot to mention that the other day. It is located next to the stairs between the dining room and the little hall to the bedrooms. Next to the bathroom door is an old-school, floor to ceiling, built-in linen cabinet. How cool is that? The bathroom has been nicely updated with white tile on the walls and green tile on the floor and newer fixtures. Just needs a new shower curtain and a cute rug. Now…
A big white wall in a big square room. The old fir floors were lighter in the middle where a rectangular rug used to be. Painted white woodwork casements around all the doorways – really nice! There is a step down into the new addition all across the south side of the room. When you walk in the front door you look right through the living room into the dining room at that big, white wall. A big focal point…
The very first room to get new paint was the living room. Those very white walls were calling out, “Please paint me a nice warm grey to go with the fireplace grout.” Finding a nice warm grey took a few tries. This room has west facing windows all across the front and a ton of light comes in. The first grey sample ended up looking brownish and so did the second. Trust me – it looked brown/grey. “Warm Grey” was not grey on these…
Now to the fun part – Paint colors! You knew that was coming up next – right? When the previous owner bought this cottage over twenty-five years ago, things were apparently a tad bit rough about the edges. It seems that all of the walls on the main floor, some of the woodwork, and who knows what-all-else had been painted a bright shade of yellow. That yellow was covering up a previous shade of robin’s egg blue – and not doing a great…
Ivy! – A pretty green creeper found growing anywhere and everywhere that it can. Ivy looks lovely on old brick buildings, along northeastern river banks, and climbing up the sides of English cottages. Ivy loves to grow in cool damp climates like England and New England….and along the Oregon coast. Shell’s Cottage must be ivy heaven. There was ivy growing all around the house, the carriage house, and around the trees. There was ivy growing over the fences, under the house and actually through the wall under one…