Decorating a Hoosier Cabinet and a Twin Bed/Nightstand Update

The day we walked in to the Mess Hall, we found homeowner Pam's lovely Hoosier cabinet standing in the far corner of the kitchen...



See it back there?

I've always had a thing for Hoosier cabinets, so I was really happy to find it waiting for me to decorate!


(BEFORE)

Before we got here, Pam told me her main concern was that the place felt like a great, big mish-mash of random stuff.

But sometimes digging through all that "random stuff", and picking out the things that play nicely together, is all it takes to create a pulled together look for less.

Since the vintage kitchen table Pam brought over has a yellow top, and the bar stools she re-covered are now blue and white, I went on a treasure hunt for things that worked well with those two colors.

Here's what I found in various nooks and crannies around the house...


(AFTER)

We brought the seaside-inspired flag we made this Summer, and hung it on the wall above the cabinet.

And we left Pam some room on top of her handsome Hoosier, so that she could have fun expanding on her collection of blue & yellow goodies!
(And wouldn't a row of white ironstone pitchers look lovely too?)



"Wrangling" decor from around the house is one of my favorite things to do in the whole weird world.
I seriously have a really bad habit of breaking out into Wranglefest 2010 mode within seconds of entering someones house.

Do you do that too?

(Please tell me you do that too!)

I've found that most women are open to the idea of a quick re-fluffin', but that their hubbies sometimes get a little weirded out, what with me digging through their cabinets to see what kinda cool decor stuff they've got hiding in there and all.







Over in the "Twin Room", however, it wasn't quite as easy to pull together a fresh look for Pam without spending a liiiittle bit of cash.


(BEFORE)

She decided on a color scheme of blue and green in this room, so we went shopping for new bedding based on her inspiration colors.

We found a couple of pretty, reversible euro shams (for 50% off!) at Macy's.

One side has a colorful, floral pattern on it...



The other side is white, and has a little green detail around the edge...



The pillow case in front of it also came from Macy's (also 50% off!), and I'll have to post a closer up photo of it sometime because the pattern is TOO CUTE!

The throw blanket across the end of the bed came from TJ Maxx ($14.99), the white pick-stitch quilt on the bed came from Bed, Bath & Beyond (on clearance for $49.99) and the beige and white striped quilt was something Pam already had.

(Update: Pam got two sets of blue and white striped sheets this afternoon, and we look forward to putting those on the bed tomorrow!)

As for the rest of the stuff, we pulled the green, metal lamp in from the front porch, got the mason jar from a cabinet in the hallway, got the books from a bookcase in the living room, the flowers came from a bush in the front yard, and the shells came from a bag I found in the bottom of the Hoosier cabinet.
The suitcases were already there, and the headboard (Pottery Barn) was purchased from someone on Tybee for $75. (We got two of them so both beds will match.)

But the green lamp in the photo above was sorta just for fun (we thought it photographed well), because Pam actually got two little milk glass lamps for each bedside table in this room...





I ran the idea of adding some blue (or green) trim to the top and bottom edge of the shade by her, just to give it a little extra sumpin' sumpin'if she felt like it needed it.

(Hey Pam! I photoshopped some trim onto your lamp so you could get a visual- check it out!)



Anywho, Wranglefest 2010 will continue at the Mess Hall bright and early tomorrow morning.
We've only got three days to get the place done, and there's still LOTS of stuff to fluff!



Want more hoosier cabinet inspiration?

Liz decorated her pretty hoosier cabinet with stuff from around the house too!



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Redecorating the Enlisted Mens Mess Hall on Tybee Island, Georgia

This week is gonna be a wild one!

We're back on Tybee Island (in Georgia), and we're redecorating a cottage called "The Enlisted Mens Mess Hall".



You may remember it from the re-do we did earlier this year at Screened Inn.


Click to launch the full sized magazine


The Mess Hall is on the other side of that same building, and we'll actually be staying at Screened Inn while we work on the Mess Hall side.

It's been raining almost non-stop since we got here on Sunday afternoon, but MAN does it feel good to be back here again!



After Googling "open houses on Tybee Island", and discovering this post on our blog, a sweet gal by the name of Pam wound up buying the place from Diane (who owned it while we worked on the Screened Inn).

Shortly after closing, Pam called us up and asked if we'd come back and re-do the Mess Hall side so that the whole place would feel cohesive.

Of course we said yes, and we're so pumped about the challenge she's given us!

Pam's already brought over lots of goodies for us to work with, and she's open to shopping for any additional items we might end up needing too.
(a.k.a- a new couch, bedding, throw pillows, towels, etc.)

Should be a good time, 'cause creating "happitats" is my favorite thing to do!





Here are some photos we snapped of the place today...

When you walk in the side door (which is the door most folks use to get inside the place), you're in the living room/kitchen...







A teeny tiny hall leads you to the front bedroom...



It has two twin beds in it...







It's also got a little bathroom connected to it...



At the back at the cottage, you'll find the master bedroom and master bath...





We forgot to snap a pic of the bath though, so we'll have to blog about that one later.
(Oops!)

'Til next time,



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PS-

You can find more information about the Mess Hall here, and for all the details on Screened Inn, click here!

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The Lettered Cottage E-zine, Coming Soon To A Computer Near You!

Happy Weekend Friend!

I wanted to give you a quick heads up about what's goin' down here in Lettered Cottage Land this week.

On Monday, Kevin & I are heading back to Tybee Island to shoot the most delicious little cottage you-ever-did-see, because we are determined to put together a kick butt e-zine for you during the month of September!



(We're shooting for an October 1st release.)

We're also gonna interview the woman who owns the cottage we'll be staying at/shooting.
She's a remarkable gal and you're gonna love her!

We also plan to shoot some kick butt, crystal-clear, high def video footage of our time at the cottage too.
And since our e-zine will be interactive, we'll be able to pop all that in their too!

(Did I mention we're determined to put together a kick butt e-zine for you?)



Anywho, we're workin' hard to pack our mag full of lots of other inspiring articles, interviews and photos too- so we re-he-he-he-heally hope you like it!

By the way, if you're wondering how "re-he-he-he-heally" is pronounced, click the play button on the divShare player below and Ace Ventura will give you a demonstration...





We're not gonna have an internet connection while we're away from home, but we will be publishing three incredible makeover posts here on our blog throughout the week. So be sure to swing by and check 'em out if you're lookin' for some awesome Guest Bedroom, Mudroom or Nursery inspiration.

And if you've got a Guest Bedroom, Mudroom or Nursery re-do you'd like to share, we'd love for you to link up.
There will be a Mc-Linky-Thinga-Ma-Bob at the end of each post this week, and we'd love to see whatcha got goin' on over there in your neck of the world!

Take care,



PS-

The e-zine cover above is just a mock up I put together tonight using a photo we shot earlier this year at a cottage called "Maddie's On Jones".
(It's also on Tybee Island.)

The premiere issue of our mag will actually have a different cover because I want it to be a surprise!

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Sundial Charters & Sliver Island

As long as I live, I will never forget our trip out to Sliver Island.

It's not really called "Sliver Island"...but that's what I call it.

It's actually called Little Tybee, but because the part we explored was only about twenty five steps wide, I decided to call it Sliver Island instead.



Obviously, because it's an island, you can only reach it by boat.

And while the very thought of being able to go somewhere that was uninhabited, unattached, unplugged, and unbelievably beautiful instantly intrigued me, it also sort of scared me.

For starters, I'm kind of a worry-wart.
(Okay, I'm a full-blown worry-wart, but don't tell anyone.)

And I'm not the best swimmer either.
(When I was a child, the swim instructors at the YMCA actually handed me back to my parents and said, "Sorry. She doesn't float.")
So traveling anywhere by boat is guaranteed to raise the ol' anxiety level a couple of notches.

That being said, I knew I'd regret not going if I chickened out, so I put on my game face (or maybe I should say my "game brain"?) and hopped in Captain Rene's boat like it wasn't nothin' but a G thang.

And even though my anxiety level was initially slightly higher than normal when we pushed away from Fisherman's Walk, the trip turned out to be quite an amazing, and non-scary experience after all.



On the way out to Sliver Island, we saw TONS of dolphins. Some even came right up and under the boat! It was amazing. We saw Osprey, and their huge nest. We saw sunlight dancing on top of the waves, and lush green grasses wiggling in the wind the whole way there.


(Me and Mom, pointing at dolphins)


It was an fascinating ride, and I really did enjoy it.



Once we got out to the island, we jumped out of the boat and started scavenging for souvenirs among the sea grass and weathered bits of wood.

I immediately found the biggest sand dollar I had ever seen outside of a shell shop.
I felt like the luckiest girl in the world!



And as for the island itself, well, I will never forget standing out there on that little sliver of sand, below a sky full of swirly, silver-lined clouds- all drifting and shifting wherever the wind decided they should go. The Sea crashing on one side of me, and miles of winding salt marsh on the other.



Simply. Spectacular.

A giant tree had washed ashore, and for some reason I could not take my eyes off it.



It was truly a bizarre and beautiful sight.

Seeing it there reminded me of how unique and small we all really are.

I must have spent twenty minutes studying its gnarled roots and daydreaming about its history.



Where did it come from?
How did it end up in the Sea?
Did it float here, or did it travel along the Sea floor all this way?

I wondered if it would be there the next time I visited Sliver Island.

I wondered if I'd ever have the chance to visit Sliver Island again. (?)

I sure hope so.

It's definitely the kind of place that fills you up, and makes you think.



And any place that makes it impossible for one to stop smiling is definitely worth a temporary spell of heightened anxiety, don't ya think?









Wanna see the video we shot that day?
(Make sure you hit the "expand" button in the lower right hand corner of the player, if you want a closer view of the dolphins!)



Wanna visit Sliver Island?
Visit Captain Rene at SundialCharters.net!

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