I like green at the beach.

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Today's post at the House of Turquoise blog made me think of your carriage house, esp the second photo. I recall you have a fondness for pillows, and that beachy Anthro vibe too. The designer is Jane Coslick, and it might be worth searching her website for some of her other projects if you like this sort of lighthearted approach. For a whole house, it might be too much, but for a carriage house it could be lovely.

I would also search House of Turquoise for "beach house", which turned up this house, which is lovely to look at; I think I could live there alone, without any messy beachgoing family!

PS Wilma F is perfect.

My first thought was either brown or plum but then I realized that you are a fan of Michael Redd. .I would love to see your homage to him. Please give it a try in your carriage house. Even if you regret it, you will not have to see it daily.

So many ways to go with this. Here are just few suggestion.

Foggy Maine

Chuch painting

Gray tones

Teal

Pastel

Sand tones

Lavender and gray

Pine (though this shot is from NJ, I thought the colors stunning and more interesting than your typical maine woods brown/green colors)

Rocky coast

Strictly summer sunshine

For something unique but airy and beachy, I'd go with gray based lavenders with champagne accents and lots of reclaimed or drift wood furniture and accents.

I know you mentioned MCM design as a possibility and I like the way Amy Lau has carried that off in this Bridgehampton house. The architecture says cottage to me while the furnishings are hip and the yellow and aqua combo work well with both beach and a MCM feel.

http://www.centralinteriordesign.com/9609/beautiful-beach-house-by-amy-lau-design.html/amy-lau-design-beach-house-bridgehampton-modern-living-room-new-york

I think you should do it like this.....Kirsties maine house so I can live vicariously through you. :)

I would do vibrant and colorful...although that isn't "you", from what I know of you! But it would be a departure from the main home, and your other homes. I want to say Lilly Pulitzer-esque.

I love Scandinavian beach houses, i.e. lots of white, light wood, either pastels, gray, or even black.

Or like the old "cabins" on Swedish islands. many are old on the outside but very contemporary on the inside.

1 BR 1 BA Swedish Villa

Check out Amber Interiors. I like the rooms she does with vintage orientals and Turkish kilims. DD2 has ordered several kilims via TurkishKilim storefront on ebay.

LOL, Allison, I just did a doubletake. I am on another tab looking at Amber Tours, a Delhi-based tour operator!

Thanks everyone for sharing your favorites. Some really different ideas. I have a contender in mind (my DD does actually) but more than a few of these are making me reconsider! They are all so gorgeous.

You seem to be able to elucidate what you 'don't' want ("I don't really want blue and white, or anything ikat , or anything moroccan, or coral/navy/white"), perhaps you could do that for what you do want.

If you think about it as a carriage guest house, not a beach house, it may be easier.

Lucky, you make a good point, it could go either way. But I do think many guests might rather fancy themselves at the beach.

What I do want? Hmm. Let me think about that!

Lucky, I have a pretty clear idea of what I want functionally, but the decor is really wide open. I guess the best way to describe it is brainstorming?

It was easy to list the "no's" because they are all recent projects. Other than that I have no "no's".

The "wants" that I can list are totally subjective. I do want it to feel summery and or beachy, since that is when it will be used. Probably more feminine than masculine, since my female guests are more into design. Other than that I want it to be stylish, a bit unexpected, and 5-star.

"I have a contender in mind (my DD does actually) but more than a few of these are making me reconsider! They are all so gorgeous."

MtnRd, please share about your contender!

Well, I was looking at the Miles Redd thread, and my 12yo DD was looking over my shoulder when the porch photo came up. She mentioned how nice the black and white looks with green, and I told her it was a classic combo. So then I showed her black and white stripes with emerald green, a la Dorothy Draper. Of course she said "that's very Kate Spade". LOL

So now we are thinking Black and white stripes somewhere, with a lot of white, a lot of bamboo and sisal and rope, and some emerald and malachite thrown in. Nosoccer's first photo is similar in palette, if not mood. Maybe a bit of banana leaf as homage to Palm Beach. (see photos below for some inspirations we found). The b/w stripes would be cabana-stripe style, which, along with sisal and things in that family, would be the nod to the beach. Nosoccer's first photo is similar in palette, if not mood.

We would continue the b/w on the second floor rooms and full bath, but switch out the green for a color unique to each room.

OTOH, I really like the soft green, and in particular with the yellow striped chairs above that CRL posted. I also thought Annie and Tibb's pale lavender and driftwood is neat and really different. I like JLC's MIL's pale pink. This could be the place to sate my chintz fantasies (but that require a lot of fabric and everything custom), I also think all white and cream could be very interesting to do, if one were doctrinaire. Lastly, just last night I recalled that I have a valuable rug in storage that won't work anywhere else in either house. (12x19). It is not at all beachy but it is garden/sunroomy, sort of, and I saw something similar in a post on "Downton Abbey decor".

Here are the inspiration photos for our b/w/sisal-bamboo-wicker-rope/emerald scheme.

Here's one of my faves...I love the green and white fabric on the chairs!

Yes! Great room, and I love the armchairs! If I were to do this scheme though, it would not be lime, it would be emerald-y. I think it is that tone that makes it a bit retro and also less expected. kwim?

Yes!!! Love the emerald/black/white scheme. I have the banana leaf print curtains in my dining room. Wanted the wallpaper but budget didn't allow. One day!! It's so funny b/c I was going to suggest Greenbriar to you but didn't think it beachy enough. Do it!!

I really like the idea of b&w for each room with a different accent color. Malachite sounds fab, and I love aqua with b&w...but then again, any color goes with b&w....even lavender....

Annie, that was what my DD was suggesting, too, for the twin bedded room in the guesthouse, lavender with black and white. That was actually her nursery I did for her before she was born. It was a garden theme with window boxes and shutters (both inside), pale apple green walls, black and white gingham crib bedding with lavender blankets, white and lavender trellis rug.

Just thinking, both bedrooms can use that classic black and white hotel bedding ( with a border) , bamboo blinds, white painted wood floor, and then I can go crazy w throw pillows and throws. That will keep me from having to do a ton of custom stuff. Ooh, and the full bath can be b/w, with the (freestanding ) tub in bright aqua!

I love this black and green bathroom, but I don't know if it can compare to an aqua tub:

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And black and white painted checkerboard floors would be fun to include somewhere.

I like that your daughter is taking an interest. What about Black and White photographs from the time the main house was built?

Oh, JLC, I've always loved that look, too! I def want b/w checkerboard, maybe in the bathroom.

Emmarene, Yes both my DD enjoy this stuff. Yup on the Black and White photos, except I am totally stealing Mustang's idea! (sshhh, do not tell!) I want to get old b/w of places my family and or DH's family vacationed when we were kids. Mat them on white and use tortoise shell frames.

Oh uhh did I mention I don't yet have a budget, a timeline, a permit or anything but draft plans from a GC? LOL

"Oh uhh did I mention I don't yet have a budget, a timeline, a permit or anything but draft plans from a GC?" Well, at the pace you seem to get things done, we expect your first guests will be staying by June :)

Lol, you are so like my dear friend who will think of an idea in the middle of the night...and the contractor is at her house at 9 the next morning! I so admire you people...I definitely suffer from decision paralysis. It took me 2 years to choose a rug for my dining room! :)

I love your black/white idea! Somehow, those luscious chairs that crl posted must be included, maybe green instead of yellow? I want to sit in those chairs!

Nine, yeah, those chairs are da bomb. I can't figure out exactly what they did; I am guessing they are not new.

The chairs were what drew me to that picture. I'd kind of guess they are old frames with new cushions/upholstery? That and the yellow with the green. But you could easily do different colors.

MtnRedRedux, just wanted to thank you for this thread... we moved to Florida in '13 and are getting ready to start the buy/build process to put down roots after renting to get our bearings. Decorating feels a little overwhelming, as we sold things in our move since we were going to a partially furnished place - so it feels like starting from scratch. I want it to have character, but also have some uniqueness and not look like everything else down here - so this thread has been a big help to get me thinking. I look forward to seeing/reading what you decide and how your project goes. Thanks again!

How fun, BldgHope, please keep us apprised. Glad to hear my verbose ramblings may have some utility!

CRL, the thing is, chair ergonomics can be tricky. So i wonder if they actually sit well with what appear to be way oversized cushions!

I've had that pic pinned and I believe the chairs are Hickory and the fabric Lee. Check the pic on Houzz...

I am still trying to put our LR together and really wanted the black, white and green since I came across a green velvet sofa on craigs. Just couldn't do it as it wasn't the perfect green. I know I know, upholstery from craigs... Besides DH has to stick his nose into all things decorative and the B,W & G is just a bit too edgy for him. I have to let him marinate with it a bit.

Mnt - you and your fun projects!!

I think you mostly can't tell whether a chair will be comfortable until you actually sit in it. And different people find different chairs comfortable