| Please tell us about a spot in your house that makes you very happy/proud Private Comment
I love the Sitting Room at the cottage — it has an old squashy sofa that has our history with it, it is my little sanctuary at about 8 p.m., I sit with some books or magazines and a drink ... turn the lamps on and light lots of candles, have some supper and put my feet up. I have an old meat safe from England in there and a vintage trunk from Hungary ... lovely old vintage furniture with character and wearing that old faded patina. |
| Your favorite style and colors Private Comment
I would describe my style as casual and coastal but this has evolved actually from more cottagey and country — so I think there is a healthy mix of all those looks in the cottage and because I change it around quite often and love to play. I think it is quite often a case of which mood I am in as to which look is foremost. Obviously though, being by the sea, the coastal theme is usually paramount as it lends itself to our surroundings so perfectly. Although I love to decorate with white, I find this is a perfect neutral for colour! My favourite way to add colour is with heaps of flowers around the cottage and with piles of books. I have recently found myself adding more soft blues and greys to the cottage, but I think I'll always mainly love soft mushroom and putty with a healthy dose of white! |
| Best tip for the remodeling beginner Private Comment
My best tip is to think outside the box on everything you do. Our motto here at the Beach Cottage is "The Power of Paint." When we've been unable to afford to replace something, we have spent a few dollars on a can of paint and had a go, with some amazing results. For example we painted the front door. We hated it, but didn't have the money or expertise to replace it ourselves. But now it looks great. We painted some old concrete steps with paving paint in a neutral dark gray and they look as good as new. We zapped an old blue summer house in a slick of white and it looks like we just went out and bought it! Technology in the painting world has moved on heaps in the last few years according to our local paint shop, which means things like tile paint and concrete paint actually do what they say on the can. We painted over our bathroom tiles a year ago, from pink to putty and they are still going strong. |
| Please tell us about your first meeting with your house to be Private Comment
The first time we viewed the cottage it was not only a fixer-upper, it was filthy and didn't exactly smell too good! However right away we knew it could be the one, we had been actively house hunting and rather than the actual cottage, it's location, 5 minutes from the beach, it's large plot on a quiet street and a few old features meant we knew it could be the one. So at that first meeting with the Beach Cottage we looked past the horrors — looked up to the ceilings which were in good condition and fairly high, loved the old sashed windows and sneakily pulled up layers of carpet and linoleum to check out the wood floors. These were some of our main criteria because we knew with these we could work with the country-coastal look I love so much and not a big budget to create a laid back relaxed home a few minutes drive from one of the best beaches in Sydney. |
| "Being by the sea, the coastal theme is usually paramount as it lends itself to our surroundings so perfectly." Private Comment
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| Your next house project Private Comment
Our next house project? Wow, there is a very long list! We are about to embark on cladding for the front of the house, a deck to the front and a new roof. We also have French doors to the back to add and would like to replace some of the windows...oh and replace the family bathroom. The list goes on. |
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