Beach Cottage Dining Room

In the dining area of Connie and Chris's ocean side home is a farm type table

 that The Previous Designer (TPD) sold to my buddies.

It was one of the first things I had to fix, when I took over this decorating job.

Connie had given me pictures and specs of all the items TPD had procured for them, and I was carefully going over each piece, to make sure it would work, both aesthetically and practically.

I noticed that this table had stretchers connecting the legs at each end.

It looked something like this.....

source

Soooooooo.....

I called Connie, and asked her....

"Hey, Connie!!!!!"

"Do you actually want to be able to sit at the ends of your dining table?????"

Where upon she answered, 

in her always on top of the situation voice.....

"What do you mean?????"

Now......

I don't want to misrepresent myself.

I will admit.....

I TAKE GREAT PLEASURE....

in showing up another designer.

Especially.....

one that was hired in my stead!!!!!!!

So I tried not to crow when I pointed out that her new table 

wouldn't work!!!!!

And then.....

I had it fixed....

because that's how GREAT 

I am.....

I had the stretchers cut off and the finish patched.

So.....

now Connie and Chris can reside at the head and foot of the table.....

when they have dinner parties.....

for which Connie does the cooking.....

and Chris stands around and talks.....

and wonders why Connie thinks it's so much work to have company.....

The host and hostess chairs are from Minton-Spidell.

This is the way it was shown in their catalog...

And....

I thought....

with a little tweaking....

it could just be da bomb for a beach side home!!!!!

So,

since they are willing to do custom finishes,

I chose the white I wanted the chairs painted.

Most furniture companies want to do some type of distressed and waxed painted finish, 

but I held to my guns, and had them done in just a simple white.

They were upholstered in Sunbrella fabric for ease of maintenance.

Unfortunately, 

this color has been discontinues.

I had a white contrast welt applied to the seat cushion, 

which adds a crisp outline to the chair, and unites the white of the frame to the upholstery.

The side chairs are from Baker through their Milling Road collection.

EMPIRE SIDE CHAIR

THE MILLING ROAD COLLECTION

I was able to use one of their existing finishes, since they don't do custom.....

and covered them in some more of the coral Sunbrella fabric that 

you can't get no more!!!!!

It seems, whenever I use something, the manufacturers 

IMMEDIATELY

stop producing it.

I am the anti-trensetter!!!!

As I showed you before,

I also had the hutch painted a plain white,

uniting the look with the chairs.

Over the table TPD had had a candle chandelier hung.

This isn't electrified, but just for candles.....

Connie has been out shopping without me.....

(nasty, nasty, nasty woman.....)

and found these wonderful birds for the dining table top....

I hate that she doesn't need me for everything.....

They're pretty cooooolllllll.....

TPD had a little trouble with space planning, and scale.....

She thought there would be room for this console table at the end of the dining table up against the French doors.

If you don't want to use the chair.....

 or be able to walk by the table.....

or be able to look out to the ocean.....

or be able to 

use the room at all.....

then this would have worked.

BUT.....

since Connie and Chris are unreasonable,

and want to actually live in this room,

I moved the table to the entry way.

And flanked it with these two wicker chairs, 

which TPC had planned to use by the game table.

I felt that they didn't have the heft needed there, so moved them to here, and replaced them with the  Milling Road Regency Arm Chair.

I think they make more of a statement at the end of the room.....

With the console table in the entry,

it can hold practical things....

like this ships model!!!!!

There are no end of important uses for this thingy!!!!!

And on that note....

Latah, Gatah

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A Beach Side Cottage Kitchen

Hiya!!!!! 

From up here in Massachusetts!!!!!

Who needs palm trees when you can have dirty snow?????

Well, campers, I flew back up yesterday, and I'm now here at the beck and call of my family.....

(I love my family, I love my family, I love my family....)

I'm not great with winter, snow and cold.....

Soooooo

to offset this grey feeling, 

lets return to my friend Connie's Florida beach house.

We left off in her den,

So let's go into the kitchen area!!!!

Traditional Home Magazine 2007

That's the shot from the Magazine....

Now....here's my shot....

Now, let me crop it, for more of a magazine look.....

I'm  not going to quit my day job.....

I didn't even bother to prop it.

anyway.....

back to the decorating......

I inherited the color of the cabinets.

They were already painted by the time I was pulled in to save the day.

Connie loves the color coral.

Half the time she's even wearing it.

We used a variation of this hue in the toile of the living room I did for her in Vermont.....

Traditional Home Magazine 2004

It was a little more subdued.....

More New England.

(I'll be writing about this house soon....)

BUT THIS BE FLERIDA!!!!!

So the colors get to be more vibrant.

Stronger.....

Eye popping.

OY, OY, OY.....

To cut into the power of the pink....coral....

we wanted a white counter top.

Connie claims this solution was her idea.....

she may be right.....

she sometimes is.....

anyway....

The idea was batted around about doing a painted wood countertop.

She MAY have suggested it.

There isn't any nice white granite.

(granite doesn't come in a real white....)

Marble was too formal......

Sooooo.....Connie threw out the idea of wood!!!!!

Anyway....

I didn't see any reason not to try it!!!!!

People have painted kitchen tables.

What's the difference between a kitchen table work surface, and a kitchen counter work surface?????

There weren't young kids living in this house.

There wasn't a clueless husband living in this house....

(Chris is the one who's always cleaning up......)

(While Connie is cooking.....

he's coming along behind her.....

cleaning up.....

drives her out of her #$% mind!!!!!)

We had to beat into the builder's head, that we 

WANTED

to see the cracks between the boards.....

They've gotten bigger as time goes by.

We be lovin' the cracks!!!!!

We used a plain travertine around the sink area due to the moisture issue with wood.

Connie and I figured, if the surface got worn, it could just be repainted.

It's been over 10 years, and she hasn't had to have it touched up yet!!!!!

Rather than under cabinet lighting.....

I like to use little lamps that sit on the countertop.

These give a really nice glow at night, and are fine to work by.

The Previous Designer (TPD) had designed this kitchen with open shelves on either side of the range hood.

Connie didn't want her collection of pots to sit out.

A nice look would have been piled up copper pots on either side of the hood.

But she doesn't cook with those.

They would have just been dust catchers.

sooooooo.......

If we were going to have dust catchers.....

Let's do a collection of

FLAMINGOS!!!!!!

Let's look at some close ups...

I found these all on ebay.

They're from the 40's...

I took pity on you and didn't show all of them up close.

I'm nice that way......

I love this kitchen.

When you stand at the sink, you can look out at the beach and ocean....

Ain't life grand???!!!

Latah, Gatah

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Another Rant From Betsy

LOOK UP!!!!!

It's a bird!!!!

it's a plane!!!!!

Wait.....

I'm in my house.....

It's a smoke detector....

no, no. wait....

Is it a carbon monoxide detector?????

I DON'T KNOW!!!!

It's beeping!!!!!

HOW DO YOU GET THE COVER OFF?????

I CAN'T GET THE COVER OFF TO CHANGE THE BATTERY!!!!!

WHO DESIGNS THESE THINGS???

you're hanging sideways on a ladder,

 trying not to fall on your @$$,

with your arms straining over your head,

fiddling with a little tab....

do you push it in????

do you pull it out????

are you going to break it, and then it will beep for

 EVER AND EVER???

and while I'm venting....

why do these things give the warning  beep that the battery is low,

 in the middle of the @#$ night.

sooooo.. it wakes you up with adrenaline coursing through your veins....

AND NOW YOU'LL NEVER GET BACK TO SLEEP

 'CUZ IT SCARED THE #$% OUT OF YOU.

So you have to get up.....

in the middle of the night.....

make yourself a cup of decaf tea.....

and play a jigsaw game on the computer for an hour before you can go back to sleep.....

Thank goodness you're retired, so you can sleep late the next morning.....

Thank Goodness it's just the warning shot over the prow....

It's just beeping once every 12 or so hours.

It did it again last night, while I was watching TV....

Soooooo.....

Since I seem incapable of figuring out how to open the #$% sensor,

I have to wait for my handy man to come today and change the battery for me.

Because.....

I have been known to get a little frustrated and just yank the cover down.....

breaking the crummy safety device in my annoyance....

And then I would have to replace the whole damn thing.

Where upon it would happen all over again....

and again....

and again.

Sooooo.....

I need a tutorial on how to open a carbon monoxide sensor.

I will get it later today.

My life is very exciting.

Aren't you jealous?????

This is not my real post.

I just had to share first thing in the morning.....

I will do a decorating one later today.

if I feel like it.

I probably will.

Then again......

Later, Gator

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Florida Cottage Study

Off Connie's living room is her little den/TV room.

She doesn't want me to tell you this......

but......

the sofa is a sofa bed.....

NO YOU CAN'T STAY OVER!!!!!

She likes company almost as much as I do.

Welllll....

that's not quite fair.

She has guests all the time.

I don't .

She just likes to make me feel sorry for her.

(It's working.....)

She also has a guest room, it gets a lot more use than mine,

I will be sharing pictures of it soon.....

but.....

here's a shot of the den....

Obviously not shot by a pro.

Look at the refection in the pelican print.....

you can make out my luscious body!!!!

I covered the walls in a Brunschwig & Fils wallpaper that looks like wood grain.

It looks great.

Why have real, when you can pay for fake?????

Just look at The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills!!!!!

Sooooo.....

Here's the sleep sofa that no one sleeps on,

 that Connie made me promise I wouldn't point out was a sleep sofa.

Sooooo....

(don't trust me to keep a secret....)

along the same premise as the question

"If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, is there a noise???"

This begs the question......

"If a sleep sofa never gets slept on.....is it a sleep sofa????"

What a surprise!!!!!

We continued the nautical/bird theme into this room!!!!!

We used shell prints and birds and fish and stuff!!!!

(and turtles....)

I designed the built in that holds the TV and also has a little desk area.

I think the desk area is cute....

Connie isn't so sure.

(I tried to edit out the black lamp cord in Pic Monkey,

but the program is refusing to work in Google Chrome.

It thinks I don't have the latest version of Flash Player...

Well I do!!!! OY)

Since there is limited surface area, we (I) hung the little basket for extra paper work storage.

Across from the sofa is this comfy split reed chair.

We really lucked out in finding the pelican print that hangs behind it.

I'm not crazy about the floor lamp, but it's a left over from

The Previous Designer (TPD).

Connie refuses to get a new floor lamp, so I have graciously told her that it's not so bad.

I lie!!!!!

TPD  had also sold Connie this chair,

(She was just copying me,

 I had placed two of these in Connie's Vermont home)

anyway....

She had specified this chair in red.

Soooooo....

As I have previously stated in past posts....

I had disparate styles left over from TPD repainted in a unifying white.

Soooooo

this baby got a coat of white paint slapped on her body.....

On either side of the door leading into the living room are really fun prints of turtles.

Ones goin' to the right.....

And one be goin' to the left.....

Flanking the mirror are a collection of shell prints.

We continued this feel through ebay and local stores, accessorizing

the bookcase.

 Over the desk are a pair of shell vases from ebay that broke into multiple pieces while in transit......

Since I am a klutz  I have gotten good at repairing things I break,

 so I glued them back together for Connie, 

and I was her hero!!!!

See all the cracks????

I should touch up the paint job and then they would look perfect!!!!

Next year, I'll do that.

I have to go back up to Massachusetts.

I was supposed to go tomorrow, Thursday....

but...

we're supposed to be getting another snow storm, so I have changed my flight to Saturday.

Darn.....

Now I have to stay two extra days down here in the warm sunny weather.....

On either side of the sofa are two primitive looking wooden lamps that we scored at a local furniture store.

I think they have the perfect feel for this room.

Notice how I didn't bother to straighten the lampshade for this shot????

I am a professional blogger and am very accomplished and quite a perfectionist!!!!!

OK campers.....

I have absolutely nothing else to say about this room.....

unless I think of something....

Later, Gator

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Bird Accessories and Other Stuff

 Well campers.....

I hauled my tired old @$$ back up to Connie's house to retake the shots I had missed and screwed up.

To refresh your memories.....

This is the outside of her beach abode....

Now I actually have a picture of the front door to show the purple that I chose for her!!!!!

Here's the way it looks, if she knows you're coming, and leaves the door open.

('course, if she knows it's me....she may just lock it up.....)

We be lovin' this purple!!!!!

It's a very subtle color, just like my personality!!!!!

Now......

let me show you a better shot of her bar.....

(why do all my clients drink?????) 

Above the bar is a print of a some kind of sea bird.....
the bar flanks one side of the door into the den.....
on the opposite side I hung another bird print..

I like doing themed collections.
It allows me to be a hunter gatherer!!!!
I hunt for stuff.....
and then I gather it up!!!!!
bring it back to the house and hang it... or arrange it...
 or do 
SOMETHING
with it!!!!!

This is one of the reasons I love ebay....

I can be hunter without getting off my @$$.....

Just me and my ipad.....

shoppin'.....

spending other people's money!!!!!

Sooooo.....

with that in mind.....

let me show you some of the birds I found for Connie!!!

I spread them all over her home....

This is the table to the right of the sofa.....

These guys are just hangin' out and chillin'.....

I didn't want the table to the left to feel left out....

even if it was to the left....

(get it?????)

So I placed this WONDERFUL chalk ware bird on it's surface.

I love this guy and have something similar in my home.

I found her's and mine the same year, and haven't seen any like them since!!!

To get off topic for a sec...

The movers broke this table over 10 years ago, when Chris and Connie moved in to this home.

She's been after me ever since to get it fixed.

I am useless, 

and SHE finally found someone to do it.

Here's a shot of the broken edge...

Now....

in my defense.....

She and I HAVE been looking for a replacement table.

BUT

we haven't been able to find one we liked as much as what she had,

 if it just wasn't broken.....

Sooooo.....

this year.....

she found a guy who repaired it!!!!!

She took it to him, and he cut the top down to a smaller width, hiding the broken ends!

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?????

I'M A SMARTY.....

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE

 TO COME UP WITH THIS SOLUTION!

Here's what it looks like now.

I liked it better with the longer overhang,

but what I like the most is......

not having to look for a table any longer!!!!

Just watch...

now that it's been fixed I'm going to find the perfect piece.

Back to the collections.

Last week I showed the ducks Connie had.

I didn't have a decent shot of the little striped guy that 

I love.....

so now I have lots of shots to make you look at share with you guys!!!!

Here's the duck on the entry table.....

Notice how his sweater is the 

absolutely perfect 

color that matches the coral accents of the living/dining/kitchen!!!

Here's a close up of his sweater, because I am losing my mind.....

Here he is hanging out with his iron buddy.....

And here he is.....

where Connie makes him sit.....

all alone in the entry.....

On the table in the entry, 

across from the poor little duck,

sits a model ship 

continuing the nautical theme that runs throughout the downstairs.

And to finish off the tour of the living room

(at least for today.....)

is the coffee table, with 

A BIRD ON IT!!!!!

This is a cool table,

 the ends can extend out, 

for when you have a party.....

If you have a party....

Connie does sometimes.....

She actually entertains.

Her husband makes her.

He LIKES people!!!!

Go figure.

So here I am at 7:52 on a Saturday night, 

whooping it up on my computer.

Have a good weekend,

what's left of it.....

Later, Gator

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