"Just Beachy" and the Beach House and Chapel from "The Last Song"

We're home!

It was a whirlwind of a trip, and we had an absolute blast getting to know Tybee Island. And although this was more of a work trip for us than a vacation- it was definitely one of the most enjoyable "jobs" I've ever had the pleasure of "working" on!



It all started with an invitation from a sweet couple from Atlanta. We spent four of our seven days in their newly-renovated, two-story beach house, "Just Beachy".


(Exterior of Just Beachy)

From the perfectly manicured lawn to the beautifully decorated interior- this place was such a treat to call home for a few days.
Here are some of my favorite rooms...

On the ground floor, there are two bedrooms.
Each one has a coordinating bathroom, which the detail-oriented design nerd in me loved.

The blue room has a queen-sized bed...



...and a blue bath...



Check out the awesome old bathroom door...



The orange room has two twin beds...



Isn't the coordinating shower curtain great?



There's also a den on the first floor...



My nephew and his family came down from North Carolina to visit us for a few days, and having all this extra space worked out really great!

Just off the den, there's a great big screened in porch. I sat on that metal glider and watched cats stalk squirrels one morning...



(Don't worry, they didn't catch them- but it was entertaining to watch them wiggle their little booties and pounce!)

On the other side of the downstairs den, there's a laundry room. Kevin and I have a hard enough time forcing ourselves to do laundry at home, but for people who are into wearing clean clothes every day, I can see where this room would come in handy...


(Love that butcher block countertop!)

Upstairs, there are three more bedrooms, two more bathrooms, another den, a kitchen, and a dining room. We spent most of our time upstairs. Wait, scratch that. We spent most of our time running around the island shooting photos and videos of everything in sight, but when we were "at home", we definitely spent most of our time right here...


(Upstairs Den)

(Kitchen/Dining)

The natural light that floods this area of the house is incredible.
It made me feel so alive!
Next time we visit, I'm gonna sling open all the doors and snack on cheese and wine while I paint something colorful to remind me of the way that place made me feel forever. It was so inspiring!
Just Beachy has two brand new, ginormous flat screen TV's (and another smaller one in the master bedroom)- but I could've gone without turning either one of them on the whole time we stayed there.
It's that kind of place.
Simply magical.

The upstairs bedrooms are just down the hall from the living areas.



Here are a couple photos of the pretty Master Bedroom and Bath...









We ate supper at restaurants and friends houses most of the trip, but we did cook at Just Beachy one night. They've got a brand new grill and we were happy to break it in for them...


(Steaks from the IGA grocery store a few blocks up the street)

One of my favorite parts of the trip was riding bike.
There are three adult bikes at Just Beachy, and I called dibs on the yellow one the second I saw it.
It was love at first sight.



I rode that thing all over the island while we stayed there.
It had the most comfortable seat, and if I lived on Tybee, I'd probably never drive a car again!

The traffic was a little heavier than normal while we were there (because of Spring Break), but on Tybee pedestrians have the right of way, and riding around town on that bicycle made getting from one place to another a breeze.

Shortly after we arrived at Just Beachy, I took the bike out for a quick ride around the neighborhood and I was so surprised to find the chapel from the movie "The Last Song" sitting just two blocks down the street from it.



They only shot the left side of the chapel in the movie...



...so they didn't even have to finish siding the right side...


(white painted plywood covers most of the right side)

My new friend Jane called her friend Stacye (who now owns the chapel) and she and her husband took us inside...



Because it's a movie set, and not a real chapel, it's not wired for electricity and it doesn't have running water- but Stayce and her husband are going to move it to another location soon and renovate it so that it can be used as a real chapel in the future.

The $35,000 stained glass window they used at the back of the church in the movie was removed by Disney once shooting wrapped, and the hole it once filled is now covered with plywood- but Stayce and her husband plan to replace it with something beautiful once the chapel is moved to its permanent location.



She showed me the blueprints of what they have planned, and man-oh-man is it going to be spectacular. The perfect location for anyone looking for an enchanted little chapel to get married in.





They were able to salvage a bunch of the pews they used in the movie, but there are still some that need to be refinished...



Stacye said they'll be good as new once they're done with them!

For more information about the chapel, you can visit Stayce's website: The Chapel on Tybee Island or her Facebook page.

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Jane also took us by the house from "The Last Song" (it's also just a few blocks down the road)...

We didn't see the inside of the house, but it was fun to kick it paparazzi-style and shoot video and photos of the exterior...





(If you haven't seen the movie yet- you should definitely check it out. Great story, great scenery- you'll dig it.)

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Before we left the island yesterday, we ate breakfast at a place called "Sugar Shack"...







It was excellent and we loved it.
I had a ham and cheese croissant, and the ham must have been honey-baked because it was so sweet and delicious. I think they must have dipped the inside of each half of my croissant in egg before they threw it on the grill too. Mmmmm! I'm going to have to give that a try sometime!

Kevin enjoyed pancakes, a side of bacon and a tall glass of O.J...




(The "bus bird" cleaning the table next to ours)

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While I get caught up on some design work today, Kevin is busy proofing the photos we took of some of the cottages Jane has renovated. I look forward to blogging about the time we spent with her, and her awesome handiwork , later this week. It was very easy to see why her designs have been featured on HGTV and in almost every magazine under the sun!


(Coastal Living- June 2009)



Happy Wednesday!



PS- Just Beachy sleeps up to 10 people, so if you're looking for a nice, big place to get away to- you can find more information about the house here: www.JustBeachyOnTybee.com


(Me and the Sea in front of the house from "The Last Song")

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