In a Pickle

I mentioned in an earlier post that my husband and I just bought a home at the beach.  I refer to it as "our beach cottage".  It is a quaint little cottage, walking distance from the beach.  We have friends across the street and lots of other friends that are just blocks away.  We have talked about purchasing a second home for several years now, but the timing just never seemed right and neither did the price!

This house practically fell into our laps and we just couldn't turn it down!  We went to a party where my husband saw a childhood friend that now lives just a block from the (beach) house.  He told us the house was under foreclosure and insisted that we check it out.  So we did. 

Of course, when you purchase a home under foreclosure, you do so blindly.  We couldn't see the inside, all we had to go on was the cuteness of the outside and word of mouth.  But we jumped in headfirst and hoped for the best.

May I introduce to you, The Pickle Cottage:

I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!!  It's even green!

We had to have new heating and air units installed and there are a few minor repairs to make and one bathroom that needs remodeling, but other than that, it is in perfect condition!

So, now it is time for the decorating portion of the program.......

When you walk through the blue front door, you walk into the living room, which is open to the kitchen.  That's one thing that we love most about it.  We have always wanted a home that features the living room and kitchen as one big area.  It seems that everytime we have company over, everyone gathers in the kitchen.  Fortunately for us, our home home features the dining room open to the kitchen, so we have room for people to sit and converse.

The downstairs has hardwood and tile floors, which is so nice.  The kitchen has been completely updated with new cabinetry and countertops and stainless steel appliances.  There is a huge fridge, an icemaker (which made my husband jump for joy because I'm not sure he could live without one.  I'm not an ice person.), and a wine fridge (I am, however, a wine person).  Very exciting!

(That's hubs on the right, he would kill me if he knew I posted his pic!!!)

Walking through the kitchen/living area leads to a hallway.  On the right there is a bedroom (I think we are going to use it for the kid's room- they are hoping for bunk beds) and on the left there is a bathroom.

This bathroom was completely remodeled.  I'm not really sure why the previous owners chose to remodel one bathroom and not the other, but for some reason they did.  I love the checkerboard tile.  I am thinking of decorating with a pretty cornflower/cobalt blue (somewhere in between the two- I will have to scan the magazine cuttings so you can get an idea of the correct color). 

The other bathroom is strangely right beside this bathroom and they are mirror images of each other.  I think I may decorate them both the same.  Wouldn't that be neat?  So, if you are looking from the hallway, they both look the exact same, but opposite.

The staircase is in the hallway, just outside of the first bedroom.  It leads to a quaint second floor with a bedroom on each end and an open living area in the middle.  The bedrooms are a lot more spacious than we thought they would be.

There are two more bedrooms downstairs and each opens to the very large screened-in (with retractable screens- have you seen those?  They are awesome!) back porch.  It has an arched ceiling and tons of space- we want to put a huge table back there.  We saw this one at an antique shop and we love it:

It is pine and has spots on it that have been painted and then sanded over, giving it a shabby, rustic look.  We discussed having benches made instead of using chairs, but we'll see.

The back porch- each blue door leads to bedroom.

Another view of the back porch

The opposite end of the back porch

The view from the porch- I know, it's not the ocean, but who cares- you can hear it!!!

Looking onto the porch from the back yard

Now that you have acquainted yourself with the house, here are some ideas that I have for it!

A Halltree, made from an old door....

a small bench and two bedposts!  Brilliant!

Love, love, love this dresser!!!

Bedside tables- love how skinny they are!

I have always wanted a bed like this.  I think it would be perfect in one of the guest rooms.

Adore this color...

and this color....

and the simplicity of this table.  Perfect for inbetween the living room and kitchen, in case we have bar overflow at eating time.

We purchased this bed from the previous owners.  It is absolutely gorgeous and far too grand for this little cottage, but we're going to make it work because it is simply too beautiful to go to waste!!!

Well, thank you for joining me for this little tour.  Stay tuned for my next post in which I will discuss my process for recycling the unused items in our home home, which will help us to save money while furnishing and stocking our second home.  Wish me luck...