Beach Inspiration | Sea Spray Condo

I got the engineer print and gallery art prints back yesterday and I am pretty excited about how they turned out! We are headed to the beach this weekend, and I think we may be able to finally get the living room/kitchen done (minus a pair of lamps, whomp). Since we wanted to re-purpose almost everything in the spaces, it has been a bit of a challenge to figure out how to make it work all together. I think it is about time I share the inspiration for the room.

It all started with a sea foam green couch. It is beautiful, but there was literally nothing else in the space that matched it. See, this condo has been in my mom's family for over 30 years, so different people have decorated it little by little over time. In other words, it was a mis-matched beachy mess. My mom has tried to add modern touches here and there, but it really needed an overhaul.

We wanted to incorporate the couch while also infusing a subtle beach theme into the place. I think people tend to go overboard on a beach house with a "beach theme". People, hear me out. One - you are already at the beach. Less is more! Let the pretty surroundings shine. :) Two - colors alone can exude a beachy look. Soft blues and aquas, grayed wood tones, and navy accents will create a nautical feel easily. There is no need (I repeat, NO NEED) for a fish themed upholstered couch with matching chairs and coral kitchen cabinets with multi-color fish pulls. We get it; you are at a beach house. *end rant*

That being said, the inspiration here was pretty subtle and simple: creamy sailcloth fabrics, classic coastal accents, shades of seafoam and deep sea blue, and rattan accessories. We have a laundry list of things to paint this weekend, but I am hopeful we can pull it off!

Elizabeth Burns Design | Beach House Inspiration - seafoam green, aqua, and white

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with me on the whole beach theme?

Cheap Artwork - Engineer Print | Sea Spray Condo

Last weekend was spent with family celebrating birthdays, new puppies, and baby excitement (my brother and sister-in-law), so I am a bit behind on projects (and posting!). Last night I finally got around to ordering art for the beach condo. Since this is a rental, spending a lot on nice artwork is probably not the best idea. One renter could have one too many margaritas and knock down our beautiful new artwork. Hey, you never know.

We have all seen by now the budget-conscious art called engineer prints. I have never tried them for artwork (we used them in design school), but knew this could be a great option for the beach. We have this pretty awful canvas reproduction that depicts a beach scene. It looks like it could be straight out of a doctor's office in 1992. The colors are just bad. And since this was a cheap reproduction purchased long ago, I don't feel too bad if we cover it. So that is our plan - cover up this dated beast with a black and white photo I took of the Beaufort waterfront. It is kind of perfect since the canvas is 3' x 4' and that is the exact size of one of the engineer prints. Winning.

Exhibit A.

Beach Condo

And here is the photograph I plan on using instead (minus the text overlay).

Elizabeth Burns Design | Beach Engineer Print

I hope it turns out okay! The good news is, if I screw it up, it only cost about $7. I will let you know how it goes. :)

Another art project I am working on is a gallery wall. Once I have these printed and make sure everything goes according to plan and worth your while, I will share details.

Have you ever tried to create engineer print artwork? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. :)

[Actual] Floorplan | Myrtle House

One afternoon the last time we were at the Myrtle House, Brian and I mapped out a floor plan that is actually to scale (imagine that). It is hard to plan when you don't know exactly how big everything is, so a realistic floor plan is vital. Of course, everything is smaller than I thought it was in my head, and there are doors places where I need them not to be. Whomp. Next up is to get this baby digitized so that we can start moving stuff around. :) Any program recommendations? I don't have AutoCAD or Sketchup on my computer right now...

EB Loves Old Houses | Myrtle House Floor Plan

Dining Room Inspiration | Myrtle House

I am sure you all are sick of me going on and on about how excited I am to have a dining room, but I couldn't resist throwing in one more inspiration board about this room.

What would the world of design do without Pinterest? This handy tool has helped me narrow down the look I am going for: neutral with a hint of blue, French-inspired, with a gigantic crystal chandelier and rustic accents. Here are my favorite inspiring dining rooms. I hope one day our's looks as good as any of these. :)

Elizabeth Burns Design | Dining Room Inspiration

one / two / three / four

Bar Stools ... Finally | Sea Spray Condo

We *finally* found bar stools last night that will work in the condo. In this hunt, we were up against some specific obstacles.

  1. I needed three stools, which is kind of hard to find
  2. I wanted to match the back design of the dining chairs we also bought on Craigslist
  3. They needed to be counter height

The greatest part is that they were the below the budget at $60 for the set. Score. Not a perfect match to the chairs we have, but close enough!

EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Condo Dining Chairs
EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Bar Stools

I painted the above chairs in the Mellow Spring (shown below) and plan on painting the stools to match. We went with this color because it matches the existing couch perfectly and helped to make the space more cohesive. Now it is on to the fun part of accenting with more color! Here are my favorites from Valspar.

EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Condo Color Scheme
EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Condo Color Scheme
EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Condo Color Scheme
EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Condo Color Scheme

Brian and I picked up these fun accessories from HomeGoods to help tie everything in. We are so close!

EB Loves Old Houses | Sea Spray Condo Beach Decor

April Goals | Budget

As a method of helping Brian and I stay on track, I am going to start posting monthly goals for us. We find ourselves traveling almost every weekend to either the Myrtle House or Sea Spray Condo recently, so having a place to post our goals will help keep us organized and accountable. :)

TASKS/BUDGET

Myrtle House

  • Remove all wood paneling (so close to having this done) - $0
  • Yard sale - $5 (materials)
  • Deliver wanted items to Brian's mom's house - $0
  • Get all of the garbage to the dump - $40 (gas)
  • Put hazardous waste material in shed until enough is collected to dump - $0

Sea Spray Condo

  • Find new bar stools (...) - $100
  • Paint new bar stools - $25
  • Order engineering print for canvas art - $8
  • Order photograph prints for gallery wall - $20
  • Paint kitchen table - $20 (paint)
  • Repair boat accessories - $5 (dowels)
  • Paint swivel chairs - $25

Luckily (I guess), manual labor is free when you do it yourself, so this month shouldn't be too expensive. The paneling is almost (finally) gone - poor Brian worked so hard on this the past weekend. His grandfather did a fan-freaking-tastic job putting this stuff up; we have had some trouble getting it down! See the pile of not even half of what we took down below. That is going to be fun trying to get to the dump!

EB Loves Old Houses | Removing Wood Paneling

We are getting so close to having the Sea Spray Condo living/kitchen done, and I can't wait to show the final before/after. :)

Happy April, friends!