I Said I Wasn't Going to Do This...

This is a rental place. An investment. I was not going to get emotionally invested in it. I'm still not. I just love to decorate. Plus, I'm really, really good at doing it on a shoestring---even working with stuff I don't particularly love.

I took all the stuff that was here and re-worked what I could live with. There's much I would love to get rid of. It's old, tired and just plain out of style. I'm calling it "beach tacky." I'm going for "beach tasteful." 

The great thing we have going for the place is some nice furniture and things to build around. It may not be my exact taste, but it all works and is perfect for the beach.

Before: This is the master bedroom. Lavender walls.

After: There's just a bit of lavender in the new bedding to make it work okay. We did not have time to do any painting.

I don't love the lamps, but Butch does, so they stay.

 Before: This is the master bath---aqua walls.

After: Victoria gave her grandpa the beach scene shadow boxes for Christmas. They are really cute. Yes, I know Butch hung the top one too close to the bottom one. I protested, but we were both so tired, I didn't force the issue. The next morning I asked him if he would like to make me happy. He said, "not particularly---what?" I mentioned these boxes again. He groaned, so I let it go. I'll fix it the next time. The towels are sage and pick up the green stripe in the shower curtain. It doesn't really go perfectly with the master bedroom, but it's the best I could do with what I was working with.

Remember, the walls in the bedroom are lavender while the walls in the master bath are aqua. We had to work with what was there. I'm happy with the results.

 Before: The second bedroom. The previous owners were "big" in to these metal sculptures.

After: All I can say is it's yellow. We wanted to keep with a tropical feel, so I was a little limited in my choices---on the cheap. Bed Bath and Beyond all the way. I'll add more red later. I hate the lamps, but Butch likes them too. He also likes the sculpture, so I left it. I'm trying to remind myself that this is "his" place. Did I ever mention that I don't actually like the beach? For someone like me, sand is insane. Plus I can't sit still. It's just hot to me. I have my one hour rule---where I'm sociable for an hour and then it's the pool. Sometimes, I can stay two hours.

Who doesn't love a pink flamingo?

Before: There are no words. Everything is just wrong with this bathroom starting with the purple walls to those funky blue towels. Even Nemo is trying to escape!

After: You can see the purple walls better here. This is the main bath, but it adjoins the 2nd bedroom. I lucked out that there is purple in the print too. Looks like Nemo got out! I re-purposed that goofy sculpture. All I can say is...it's something....but I'm not sure it's better than nothing.

Before and After: I liked these comforters the best! Perfect for kids. We replaced all of the linens, pillows and towels. These happy quilts are the only thing I kept. We made so many hauls (well, Butch did) to Good Will and the recycle center.

 This is looking in to the family room. I didn't do anything here except re-arrange and add a few little details. You can see the dining area there. That backs up to the kitchen.

 This place is only about 1000 sq. ft. so the mirror wall was a good idea.

The kitchen is really nice with plenty of room for working.

Tomorrow we'll get in to a few of the details. When we left, everything was absolutely shining. We're exhausted. When we got home, I showered and spent the rest of the day on the couch reading! We have "snow birds"arriving tomorrow for two months. They should be very happy!