Front doors. They’re a good accessory to your house’s exterior. They’re that accent pillow kind of pop of color that makes a statement and defines your home’s aesthetic.
Personally, I’m a sucker for a bright colorful door. Especially one that’s got added character too. Dutch doors, craftsman-style you name it. Here are just a few inspirational entrances I’ve collected for our next cabin. Add a great light fixture and a fun doormat and voilà!
UPDATE! We have new windows. Like all new windows. Not a single old one is still there. Including a giant new window installed in the living room. Combine that with the opened up ceiling and I think we’ve got some good light happening inside now.
Below is a picture of the window from the outside. I had a little panicky moment when I was trying to figure out how the trim was going to work around it. I don’t want some big white flat panel dividing the triangle window with the bottom window. But then I realized that’s what fancy window molding is for! So i’m thinking a nice thick piece of molding that juts out will break up that space nicely. And while we’re at it, we might add a flower box under the window too to give the front of the house a bit more dimension. I think it’s details like this that aren’t terribly expensive that can really help with the curb appeal. And paint. LOTS of paint. More on the paint choice later…
Cash money. We don’t got it.
Well, the reality is we’ve been trying to get a construction loan for our next phase of work. I’m guessing our contractor would like to be paid in a timely fashion, so it’s best to take a break and begin the next phase of work when we’re able to. Unfortunately we’re not living in a HGTV episode. This is real life. And sometimes renovations take longer than 30 minutes. Or in our case, a year. Womp womp.
In the meantime we can just keep noodling with our cabin mood boards so when we are ready, we can ATTACK!
Like many people who are passionate about interior design, I too am obsessed with the latest craze, patterned cement tile (squeal!). My head says “No Anna, you don’t need it for the cabin.” It doesn’t really say “lake house cabin.” At least the ones I’m pining over don’t. But I just can’t help pinning them and Instragramming every patterned bathroom I see.
I’ve been avoiding this post because the idea of having to select a handful of cement tiled pretty rooms was just too daunting. I could go into the Internet abyss and find millions, but ain’t nobody got time for that. So instead, I spent an hour googling and collecting some favorites I came across. Most are not cabin-appropriate, however maybe a fun blue tile in the bathroom shower could be Tahoe-ish? Yeah? What guest would hate showering in a delightfully tiled shower I ask you??
This level of tile work is about all we could afford. The shower floor.
My favorite funky tile places to look for inspiration and also to buy these funky tiles pictured, are Cement Tile Shop and Cle Tile.
Accent pillows are my favorite way to fun-up a room. It’s a super easy way to add color and flair to a space and then super easy to change when you’re tired of it without having to spend a lot of money or time. Plus a good accent pillow just makes you smile.
I stumbled across this brand called Peking Handicraft on Wayfair.com. (And btw I love Wayfair and used it to furnish a lot of the Jack cabin). Their pillows are handmade wool hook pillows. Some are a bit cheesy looking, but a lot I found to be cute, reasonably priced (they’re handmade people!) and one, possibly 2, will definitely be going into the Julianna cabin.
There are over a 1000 of their pillows on Wayfair, but because I’m an excellent procrastinator when it comes to more important things, I took the liberty of looking through all 1062 and picking out some favorites. Not all of these are cabin-appropriate necessarily, but any of these could definitely spice up a vacation rental, or just add a pop of color to your home.
Now we just need a beach house, and for that popsicle pillow, a place in Palm Springs!
We like to think of our rentals as teeny boutique hotels. They’ll never be as fancy of course because frankly we don’t have the $$ for that. But we can at least try our best and be inspired by the best.
People like staying in boutique hotels because they have a lot of character. There are tons of details and specialties that you don’t get in a big brand hotel. Unless you’re staying at the Four Seasons, in which case you get everything, and it’s amazing. But I digress.
I’m putting together some mood boards for the Julianna cabin, and what I like to start with are just beautiful and inspiring photos of interior design. Boutique hotels are a great start. They usually are dealing with small spaces, but they make the most of them with clever design. They always have unique furniture, original artwork and quirky wallpaper. It’s those details I like to rip off emulate for our cabin.
There are a bazillion boutique hotels, but here are just a few I’ve been googling lately for inspiration:
The Halcyon House in Australia. When I discovered this place, I knew this was the look I wanted for the Julianna cabin. It’s got a nautical eclectic bohemian vibe. I love it all.
Palihouse in Santa Monica. Not nautical, but still eclectic and with some modern cabin vibes. And clearly I have a thing for wallpaper.
Hotel Covell in Los Angeles. This place is the perfect example of a boutique hotel done right. It only has 5 suites, but every one of them is designed immaculately. And we’re off to a great start, we already have a Crosley record player!
Artist Residence in London. I couldn’t stop collecting photos from this place. So many fun details. I don’t know what else to add but, yum.
I think what I’ve learned here is that I need to start scouring Craigslist for some amazing yet thrifty pieces for the Julianna cabin. And, I want to go on vacation.
“That’s one sexy carport,” said no one ever.
This is the reality we must face though. Our garage evidently was built illegally and must be converted back into a carport. It’s not too terrible. I hated the garage anyway so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.
Basically I think we should pretty much tear it down and build a new structure. Something similar to the carports below. I’m thinking the right side will have some sort of a wall. Maybe horizontal wood beams to keep privacy from the neighbor. There is a storage room in the back too that we’ll need to address later. But the question now is whether to paint it white or leave it stained. The rest of the house will be navy with white trim, so I’m thinking white. A white sexy carport.
Here is what our kitchen looked like pre-demo. Note the hideous tile and countertops. The oven placement is funky too.
This is what it looks like now after demo day. We also recently opened the ceiling. So this, photo, minus a ceiling:
Now, the Photoshop renderings. We’re replacing the left cabinets with a refrigerator and adding a full oven on the right. These aren’t the exact appliances, it’s just to get a sense of the space though. Small. There will be a bar on the right side that will house some more cabinets and a dishwasher. I like almost all of the renderings below, but only a couple I think will work best in this modern rustic nautical lake house kinda cabin. <—Yep all of those adjectives.
I’m failing at catchy post titles. I apologize. “Breakfast Nookie” came to mind but really that has nothing to do with my post. So Breakfast Nook it is.
Here it is in all its glory. LOOK at that VIEW!!
So the sliding glass door is being moved to the hallway. In its place, it’ll just be a window. I mean look at that view! A fence! Whatever, it’s sunlight.
Now what to do with this lil space. I really would like to put in a built-in bench all the way around. I think it would work? At the very least put one in along the back wall. I’d put a cute little light fixture above the table too. Here are some inspiration photos I’ve collected:
I like the last one with that dark blue wall a lot. I’m thinking about painting that space a dark blue color now.
I’m obsessing over a lot of things to put in the cabin, but one of them right now is the bathroom door. For the back bathroom I think it would be fun to add a little character to it. Something as simple as a “Poop Deck” plaque – hehe. Or something super cool like an antique door. Maybe it says something on the frosted glass window like “Office” or “Private.” I probably won’t find a door like this, but the Poop Deck plaque is on Amazon and that’s easy to install.
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