Very Very Vicky

Saying Goodbye to The Sassy Seagull!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 03:29:00 +0000

The Sassy Seagull now belongs to a new family! We loved the cottage so much but felt it was time to let go and allow a new family to enjoy it.

I just realized that I didn't share pictures of all of the Sassy Seagull rooms on this blog. So I'm going to change that right now. Here is Sassy...

FRONT EXTERIOR

LIVING ROOM

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

I love the old boards that we salvaged from another part of the cottage and used to clad the peninsula counter.

BUNK ROOM

The kids are crazy about having their own reading lights in each bunk!

FRONT MASTER BEDROOM

The oyster shell chandelier is my favorite thing in this room!

FRONT MASTER BATHROOM

The clawfoot tub was original to the house.

BACK MASTER BEDROOM

BACK BATHROOM

UTILITY ROOM

OUTDOOR BACKYARD AND SIDE YARD

Tybee folks love their outdoor showers!

And that is The Sassy Seagull! I loved having a hand in bringing it back to life and wanted to share it with you one more time!

These Are The Good Old Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:00:00 +0000

We went for a vacation to Doc Holiday cottage recently with some of our family members. Before everyone arrived I walked through to take some updated pictures since I recently fluffed the cottage with new pillows, etc. My eye landed on this window art by the late Leonard Miller that designer Jane Coslick commissioned as a gift to us when we completed work on our first Tybee cottage, Coral Cottage.

The sentiment on the window speaks of special places. Special moments in time. As I studied it I realized that our family was getting ready to create some special moments together and now, weeks later, they are cherished memories.

Our family has been going to Tybee Island (Savannah, Georgia's beach) for four generations! We have a rogue's gallery of pictures at Doc Holiday cottage. There are photos of our grandparents...

Husband's grandparents on top right and my grandmother on bottom right with me and my sisters.

Photos of my husband and I as children with our parents...

Top row: My parents, me and my mom, me with my two sisters

Bottom picture: My husband, about 1 year old, with his parents by the pier

Then there are wonderful pictures of our family--our four kids and their beautiful families.

There's even a picture of our very first stay at Doc Holiday in which some of the grandchildren were packed up and excited for a day on the beach! We stopped for a quick photo to commemorate the occasion...

There are more grandchildren now--even one more to come in September. The oldest boy in the photo above just got his driver's license! Time certainly doesn't stand still! Those were the good old days--but these are the good old days too.

Tybee vacation 2019

Our family takes sandcastle building very seriously.

This is a reminder to all of us--especially to me.... Make great memories with your loved ones! Make them as often as possible. Plan for them in the future. One day they will be treasures that we can enjoy whenever we want just by remembering.

This photo of us with Jordan, Sarah, and grand puppy, Rafael was taken at The Sassy Seagull, our other cottage that is just down the street from Doc Holiday.

Ready to make your own magical "good old days"? Need a place to make them happen? There are still a few summer weeks left for rentals at our cottages, Doc Holiday and Sassy Seagull. You can find available weeks here:

Doc Holiday cottage information available at https://www.tybeecottages.com/booking/doc-holiday-cottage-at-304-second-avenue/1008-76786

Sassy Seagull cottage information available at

https://www.tybeecottages.com/booking/sassy-seagull-at-809-second-avenue/1008-133756

Doc Holiday Is Stylin' In Cottage Style Magazine!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 03:45:00 +0000

Today I got an exciting text message from Jane Coslick, a designer and historical preservationist who collaborated with me to restore Doc Holiday, our family's cottage at Tybee Island....

The exciting news was that Doc Holiday is one of the cottages featured in Cottage Style magazine's Fall/Winter 2018 issue!

This is the cover of the magazine (not our cottage)

The photoshoot took place over three years ago and I had begun to wonder if the pictures would ever make it to publication. And finally they did!

When I heard the news I asked my husband to stop at Publix on his way home and pick up a copy for me. I hardly dared believe it was true until I saw for myself...

And then there it was...

There are several other pages in the feature that I'm not showing but I couldn't be happier with the beautiful layout and the wonderful article that accompanied it! Lots of talented people were involved to make it all happen.

I know I come across as kinda starry-eyed and not exactly chill. But y'all. I can't help myself. I'm excited! We had the A Team working on this project and I love it when a plan comes together!

Kid Stuff at Sassy Seagull!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 18:00:00 +0000

There is something magical about being a kid at the beach. Times of hanging out with cousins or friends having fun. Sleepovers. Resting by playing board games or reading a good book after a long day of riding the waves and building sand castles. Ice cream outings in the evenings after supper. Simple pleasures.

I wanted to design a room at the Sassy Seagull cottage just for kids. There was one tiny bedroom in the cottage that seemed like just the spot. Here are the "before" photos...

There was a closet in the wall that adjoins the front master bathroom. I decided to steal it for the master bedroom/bathroom side and close up the wall on the bunk room side. There will be hooks and drawers for storage in the bunk room instead.

Part of the floor had to be pulled up because there was some rotting and there were also some foundation issues under the house needing repair.

And then we had to steal a few inches in order to widen the next door bathroom to fit all the fixtures back in. Those few inches made a tiny room even tinier and I had to rework the arrangement of the bunks. But it will be functional and cozy.

Once the wall was framed out and the plumbing and electrical were completed the walls were clad in paneling to match the rest of the room.

Then the floors were sanded and stained and the room was painted.

Finally the the light fixtures were installed. I love to give each bunkmate his or her own reading light with their own on/off switch. It gives them a measure of control over their personal space and kids seem to love it! I found a fixture at Lowes that has a grille over the cover that helps give it a nautical look.

I loved this starfish flushmount light at Shades of Light and thought it would be perfect for the ceiling!

Now all we need for this bunk room is bunk beds! I'll save that for my next post! Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Sassy Seagull on The Tybee Tour of Homes!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 20:08:00 +0000

Wow! It's been a long while since I've posted. Now that spring is here I am thrilled to think about tuning up our Tybee cottages for beach season! I'm also super-excited to announce that our cottage, The Sassy Seagull is going to be on the

Tybee Tour of Homes on May 5, 2018!

We've been working hard to make it a fun time filled with lots of inspiration and great ideas for all of the tour patrons. We hope that you will come for a great day of touring and having lunch at Tybee! Click here for details about the tour, tickets and such...

My last post was a wrap up with pretty pictures of the vintage clawfoot tub bathroom reno at Sassy Seagull cottage. If you missed it and want to catch up, there is a link below plus a few "blast from the past" posts at The Sassy Seagull...

Clawfoot Tub Bathroom

Beach-y Master Bedroom

Quirky Little Kitchen

From Dive to Dining Room

Living Room--Welcome In!

I'll be back soon with some all new pictures and posts!

Where's My Rubber Ducky?

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 12:00:00 +0000

This is the story of how we got here...

...when we started out here...

You can see more "before" pictures and read about my plan for this room in my last post.

Aaaaand...here's what happened.

We stole the closet space from the bedroom next door that was jutting into the bathroom.

Once the linoleum flooring was removed we discovered some rotting and decided to go with tile instead of refinishing the floor. Floor and Decor had some great choices of floor tile with a classic vintage vibe. This basketweave one for $2.99 per square foot...

This hexagonal tile for $2.57...

And last but not least, this selection for $2.39. I liked all three choices so I went with the least expensive one. No need to spend unnecessarily. Here is the winner...

And I went with a gray grout color to accentuate the design.

The plumbing needed to be reworked so we took a few inches from the next door bedroom to make a bit more space for the tub and to allow paneling to be installed to match the rest of the room.

When we rebuilt the closet for the master bathroom to use we made it a little less deep and a little less wide to allow more room for a larger vanity.

I found some goodies at Home Depot. This vanity was a bargain considering it came with a cultured marble top and sink.

And when I saw this brushed nickel beauty I knew I had found my vanity light...

The faucet and drain on the old tub had seen better days.

Sandpiper Supply, a plumbing supply store in Savannah, was where I found this Moen line of fixtures. The style, Brantford, was high quality but at one of their lower price points. I thought it had a lot of bang for the buck!

And the star of the show, the clawfoot tub was spruced up so it could show off. The outside was sanded, smoothed out with some Bondo, and then painted with Benjamin Moore's 2044-60 "Crystal Clear". Then I found Mike's Bathtub and Tile Refinishing on Angie's List and had Mike resurface the inside surface of the tub.

And y'all. Just look at this...

Yeh. I love the way it turned out! The shower curtain came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

I found an oyster shell mirror on eBay. And we even had room to squeeze in little built-in shelves to hold towels in between the vanity and the closet.

And one other thing...Check out the towel hooks. This was made out of repurposed wood. I found it at a flea market in Nashville.

So happy with this bathroom!

Now where did I put my rubber ducky? I need a good soak...

Making A Plan!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 03:13:00 +0000

In my last post I showed you the first of two master bedrooms at The Sassy Seagull. In this post you'll get to see the adjoining bathroom. Before.

This is what we saw when we set eyes on the room...

The room was on the small side and very dated but it had one feature that we were excited about! How about that old clawfoot bathtub!?! Yay! Here it is once the occupant's possessions were gone...

So here was the plan I came up with for this room:

1. Remove the old linoleum flooring. If there is a wood floor in good condition underneath, sand and refinish it. If not, tile the floor with something appropriate to the age of the house that has timeless appeal.

2. Get new fixtures for the tub since the ones on there currently are kinda grungy.

See what I mean?

3. Remove the sink and vanity as well as the wall cabinet above the toilet. Replace with a larger new vanity and new sink. Put some paneling on that wall that matches the other walls.

4. Take the closet space from the kid's bunk room next door and use it instead for the master bathroom/bedroom. It bumps into the room already (see where the wall hooks are)

but it doesn't need to be quite so deep or wide--allowing more room for a larger vanity.

5. Get new vanity lights, an overhead vent/light, and find a gorgeous beach-y mirror and a cool towel bar or towel hooks.

Sooo...that's the plan. I'll show you how it went down in my next post! Thanks for

stopping by!

A Beach-y Master Bedroom!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 23:54:00 +0000

Thanks so much to many friends who have asked how our Tybee cottages came through when Hurricane Irma blew in recently! I appreciate your concern and am so grateful to report that both Doc Holiday Cottage and The Sassy Seagull are doing great! We feel so blessed that they were not damaged by flood waters or high winds.

It's been a little while since I shared what we did to make Sassy Seagull live up to her name. Let's get back to it, okay?

Today--the Front Master Bedroom! Here's a peek taken while standing in the living room...can't wait to show you more!

This is what the room looked like before renovations began. Not sure why that square of paneling was left unpainted.

The walls and trim were painted the same color with Martha Stewart's MSL 8002 "Glass of Milk" in a semi-gloss finish. And I decided to have the painted floors sanded, stained and finished with satin polyurethane.

I wanted a medium brown colored stain--not too red and not too black.

And the winner was Minwax Provincial 211...

I selected a chandelier made with oyster shells to give a beach-y vibe to the room. It is available on several websites but I found the best price on Wayfair. It is gorgeous but only has one 60 watt bulb so it needed to be located in a room where we could supplement with lighting from lamps.

Finally came furniture and accessories....I went with a metal "iron" bed since I needed to place the king size bed in front of windows and didn't want to block the light any more than necessary. I only used a headboard because adding a footboard would take up space visually and make the room appear smaller.

The bedding and lamps came from Home Goods and the striped orange pillows as well as the fish pillow came from Amazon.

The chair was a family hand-me-down and the nightstands were flea market finds. Michael's was the source for the chair side table. After these photos were taken I purchased a chest of drawers painted in a greenish blue.

And that's the front master bedroom at The Sassy Seagull!

Now We're Cooking!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Last week I posted about all of the crazy quirks in the kitchen at Sassy Seagull and how we planned to remodel it. Let me pick up where we left off...

I chose basic white shaker cabinets--a style that suits this little cottage--simple

and timeless.

I found these knobs and pulls at Home Depot. I liked the aged, galvanized look and felt it had the feel I was trying to capture in this vintage cottage.

I used Wilsonart laminate countertops in Designer White...not fancy or luxurious (which fits in with with the down home feel of these quaint old Tybee cottages) but

very budget-friendly!

Once these elements were in place we stained the floors, installed the sink and the appliances, and painted the walls with Martha Stewart Living's

"Glass of Milk" in semi-gloss. I also had some pretty blue penny tiles installed as a backsplash.

Here's a closeup of the tile...

SomerTile FXLMPML Retro Penni Matte Light Porcelain Floor and Wall Tile

Last but not least, we had some leftover boards that were ripped down from some of the walls in the cottage to allow for wiring and plumbing to be updated so we decided to salvage them and reuse them by cladding the peninsula with them. They add such a fun touch to the room! And they were free!

So here's the kitchen...

I used curtains in the window that pick up the orange of the stools. They are not pictured here because they were installed after I took these photos. This is the fabric...

P. Kaufmann Indoor/Outdoor Coral Splendor Stripe fabric

A few more photos...

And that's how we went from this...

To this...

A Quirky Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Have you ever played "What's Wrong With This Picture?" Well, take a look at these "before" photos of the kitchen at Sassy Seagull cottage and let's play!

What's wrong with this kitchen?

Some of the things that stand out to me are (1) the countertop and cabinet end at a window (2) there is a electrical panel box next to the upper cabinet which violates code and (3) the overall look says "tired".

Here's another view of the room...What else do you see?

At first I wondered if an appliance was missing at the end of the counter to the right of the sink but then I realized there was a gap there because of the closet door. And although it is not obvious from these photos, the floors were buckling and we suspected (correctly) that there were structural issues to deal with.

So these were on our to-do list:

(1) Gut the kitchen

(2) Repair the structural issues to shore up the floor joists.

(3)Relocate the electrical panel to the new laundry/utility room.

(4) Close up the window on the left side of the room so the base and upper cabinets could run all the way across to the wall. This was a tough call but having cabinets won out. We compensated by replacing the center window with a slightly larger one.

(5) Replace the flooring with wood floors and clad the walls with paneling to match the rest of the house.

(6) Add pulldown attic stairs so that access could be available to the attic for storage and for servicing the systems such as HVAC, wiring, plumbing. The stairs were added in the walkway that goes through the periphery of the kitchen and not in the work area. You can see just a bit of them in the ceiling on the right.

(7) Close up one of the closets on the right side of the wall so that the counter and cabinets can run all the way across without obstruction. As the next photos show, the lost closet space was recovered on the living room side of the wall as a built-in bookshelf.

Looking from kitchen side through to the living room before the wall is closed up.

The roughed-in bookshelf

The finished bookshelf in the living room.

(8) Turn one of the other closets into a built-in pantry/storage area with shelving.

(9) Add a peninsula for additional workspace, storage, and seating. Here's a not-to-scale hand drawing of the plan.

Next week I'll show you how it all turned out!

Airing Our Laundry

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 19:20:00 +0000

Sassy Seagull Cottage started out with a very large enclosed front porch--21.5 feet wide and 9 feet deep! We knew that we were going to use it as a dining room but didn't need 21.5 to fit in a generously-sized table and chairs.

So we decided to section off a portion to put in a laundry room/utility room housing the water heater, panel box, owner's closet and of course, a washer and dryer.

Here it is "before"....

The dividing wall was going to be where that nautical light on the wall

in the photo above is.

We ran into some structural issues once demo began that resulted in some unexpected work and expense but we were able to raise the roof line in that area and it made things feel more spacious inside the laundry room once the wall went up.

Normally I want as many big windows as possible but we had to remove a window in order to fit in a washer, dryer, and closet for the water heater. I felt the need for these things outweighed keeping that window. To compensate we added a new, larger window that faces the front yard (it's only framed out in the photo below).

After this came wiring and plumbing...

Insulation and window....

Tile on the floor and walls....

Last but not least the walls were taped and mudded, and trim was added. We painted the walls with Sherwin Williams "Buoyant Blue". Since we had a little extra space after the washer and dryer were installed the carpenters built me a unit with shelves to give extra storage.

Facing the washer and dryer is a lockable owner's closet where we can store personal items when the house is being rented out. The big double window let in lots of light.

And that's the laundry room!

Ta Da--the Dining Room at Sassy Seagull!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Last week's blog post was about how we turned the "dive" of an old front porch at Sassy Seagull into a dining room. It was so long that I decided to save the "after" photos for another post.

So without further delay, please enjoy....

The table was gifted to us by Meghan (my daughter) and her husband Tom. The aqua metal chairs are from Overstock. Since I saved everywhere else in the room, the capiz shell chandelier was a little bit of a splurge--even with the 30% off sale online at Neiman Marcus--but chandeliers add a lot of bling and I thought it was well worth it.

From Dive to Dining Room!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000

I gave you a little peek at the dining room in the Sassy Seagull in my last post.

It started out as a front porch that was eventually enclosed. When we purchased the cottage it looked like this...

It was a long room--21.5 feet long by 9 feet wide. The former occupants used the space for a dining area/office/overflow sleeping. There was a single door--the former front door--that lead into the living room.

We decided to divided this space into two rooms--a dining space and a laundry/utility room. We also decided to remove the door and open the wall up with a wide cased opening to the living room. Once we had a plan it was time to get started!

We opened up the wall between the living and dining rooms. And the floor was opened up to check out an uneven area.

Then (sad face emoji) we found termite damage to the porch foundation. It had to be rebuilt so this happened...

When the porch/dining room/laundry room was rebuilt we raised the roof line a bit to give us a higher ceiling. We had found wood beneath the linoleum and it was able to be reused.

Next came insulation, larger windows...

...and paneling for the walls that matched the rest of the house.

The floors were refinished and the walls were painted. Voila!

Ready for a pretty chandelier and furniture! I'll save that for the next post. Y'all come back!

Sassy Surfboard Coffee Table!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000

I found a fun little piece of furniture for the Sassy Seagull one day when I was killing time waiting to pick up a granddaughter from her skating party. I was bumming around a nearby store and came across this mid-century modern coffee table.

With its long oval top it reminded me of a surfboard and I thought it might be a fun piece if we painted it.

I'm not the most talented when it comes to drawing but I found an idea on Pinterest that I liked and thought would be doable.

I was thrilled when my husband decided to take on the project of painting and striping the table....

I wish I had taken pictures of the entire process but I didn't think to do it in time. Henry sanded the table all over and then he used a tack cloth to clean it up. The paint contained a built-in primer. However I decided after he put the first coat on that I preferred the background to be white--so he repeated the process and painted two coats of white semi-gloss paint. (Such a patient man--thanks honey!)

Once the paint dried for 24 hours Henry used FrogTape for delicate surfaces--the yellow one--to mark off the stripes. Once he measured and was satisfied that the lines were exactly where he wanted, he painted the stripes with blue. We used a sample pot of Behr P460-1u called "Morning Sky" for the stripes.

Behr P460-1u "Morning Sky"

Last step was a topcoat of glossy clear coat that is intended for use on painted surfaces. We felt it would make it look like a shiny surfboard and add durability to the

top of the table.

Here it is!

Good job Henry!

Come On In!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000

The Sassy Seagull is ready for guests!

Come on in friends!

As you step inside the front door the first room is the living room...

I thought it would be interesting to show you the room from different angles 1) before we touched it, 2) then after we worked on it, and then finally 3) after we furnished it. Okay?
Here we go...

Before...

Next...

We stripped, sanded, stained and sealed the floors, added a built-in bookshelf, new fan, and put some tile around the fireplace opening. And by "we" I mean Catskill Builders, our contracting company at Tybee Island, who carried out my husband and my ideas.

Now...

I still need to style the bookshelf but it will have to wait until there are no guests staying in the cottage. I'm thinking some books, a large basket to hold games, etc.

And again, Before

Next...

Now...

And one last angle...Before

The previous owner added a new front door (the one on the left that we are currently using as the front door) when they enclosed their front porch. They also kept their original front door (the one on the right in the above picture) that was their passage door to their enclosed porch. Whew! Is that clear?

We decided to remove the door on the right and open the wall up a bit to give the room more light and to help it relate better to the living room as seen next...

And finally...

Just a few more pretties...

How do you like the "surfboard coffee table"? I'll have to show you its transformation in another blog post. Come on down to Tybee and we'll have a visit!

Welcome Y'all!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Sassy Seagull! We welcomed our first guests this weekend and I hope they are having a blast enjoying some Tybee Time! I want The Sassy Seagull to be appealing from the very first glance and when I found this artwork on Etsy I knew it had to go on the front porch...

The artist, Jackie Byrd, makes wonderful pallet art from her home in Athens, GA. Her shop is called ThatCraftyByrd--one word. I ordered the sign in a custom size and here it is at the entrance to the cottage...

Can't wait to invite you in!

Welcome Y'all!

The Magic of Paint!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 19:27:00 +0000

Paint is such a magical thing! It transforms buildings like a blanket of snow transforms and beautifies a less-than-perfect landscape. In my last post I shared my ponderings over selecting paint for the exterior of The Sassy Seagull.

Well....wave the magic paintbrush and voila!

All of the paint colors are from Benjamin Moore. This is the palette I finally settled on...

The shutters are "Limelight" aka 2025-40.

The siding is "Amelia Island Blue" aka 2044-40.

And the exterior doors are "Pink Peach" aka 2009-40.

Here's a little "before and after" for you...

BEFORE

AFTER

My contracting company for The Sassy Seagull has been working hard to finish up the job and I've been working hard to make it pretty inside. In my next posts I'll show you how things are shaping up!

Cheerful Coastal Colors!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 22 May 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Now that the siding is installed at the Sassy Seagull cottage I am excited--and maybe a little scared--to pick colors for the exterior. Paint is one thing that has a tremendous impact on the look and feel of the home and I want to stay on budget by getting it right

the first time.

I want the colors to feel bright, cheerful, and coastal so I started by going to a couple of paint stores and picking out my favorite paint chips that met that criteria.

There were soooo many options and as you can imagine it was a little overwhelming. My husband requested that I pick something for the siding color that is blue or blue-ish so I chose a periwinkle blue color from Benjamin Moore that we both liked called "Blue Lapis".

I bought a sample and it was tried it in a small place before committing.

It looks lighter than the paint chip in the bright sunshine but we loved it! Unfortunately our neighbors had loved it too and it turned out to be the same color as a nearby cottage that had a tall vine-covered fence in front obscuring the view of their home. So I went back to the drawing board and played with some more colors...

I need three colors--one each for siding, shutters, and doors as well as white. I also want to paint the floor of the front porch a light to medium gray and use blue on the ceiling of the front porch.

So after more samples, more trials on the shed behind the cottage...

L to R: Benjamin Moore Limelight, Poolside Blue, Pink Peach, Amelia Island Blue and Limelight

I chose "Amelia Island Blue" over "Poolside Blue" for the siding, "Limelight" for the shutters, and "Pink Peach" for the doors. It's gonna be bright and happy y'all! The painters are working right now and, hopefully, I'll have pictures for you soon!

Who's "Siding" With Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 18 May 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Sorry about the awful pun y'all! I'm just giddy because we've made so much

progress lately.

The Sassy Seagull has been slowly but surely getting an overhaul! A few weeks ago the foundation work was completed and all brand new electrical and plumbing was roughed in. Some rooms received new windows and and the carpenters built my front porch and back steps. Then. Finally. It was time to begin closing up the walls!

First came insulation and a moisture barrier that wraps around the house to keep that good ole air-conditioning inside from leaking out...

Then the crew put up Hardie siding. It's made of cement so it is flame retardant.

Paint is next!

Raising The Roof!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Sun, 14 May 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Things have been moving along at The Sassy Seagull! Last time you had a peek at the cottage we had just torn the old front wall down to replace rotting boards and to shore up the foundation. While we were at it we decided to "raise the roof" by giving it

a steeper pitch.

Because of the changes we made it was necessary to put a new roof on the front. We really wanted a metal roof and decided to go ahead and replace all of the roof thanks to a great quote we got from Ace Roofing!

The guys came and measured...

Took the old roof tiles off...

And before too long it we had a gorgeous metal roof!

Bright Ideas!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 12:00:00 +0000

The electricians from Russell Electric have finished their rough-in at the Sassy Seagull! They left a little tongue-in-cheek note on the panel box for the inspector...

And sure enough--as expected, we passed the inspection!

In a few weeks they will come back to put up the light fixtures....sooo I need to get busy and choose light fixtures so they will be here when we're ready to go.

The biggie is the dining room chandelier... It will be prominent and it needs to be something special. I'm willing to spend a bit more for it (if necessary) and cut somewhere else. Here are a few of the candidates...

How do you like this big, beautiful oyster shell chandelier? It would be stunning
if it is not too big...

Source

I love that big oyster shell chandelier but this is a nice smaller oyster shell chandelier...

Source

Along the lines of using coastal materials, check out this driftwood chandelier...

Source

I am crazy over this boho style chandelier! I have seen it in person and fear it might be too large for my room but isn't it amazing?

Source

Here's another wonderful rustic beaded chandelier that is a good scale for the cottage...

Source: Wayfair

And last but not least is this fabulous capiz shell chandelier--one of my favorites.

Isn't it fantastic?

Source

I've got to choose soon. Which one(s) do you like the best?

Name That Cottage!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 13:00:00 +0000

I am a mama x 4 and each time my husband and I were expecting we spent a lot of time considering various names and trying to select just the right ones for our precious babies.

I've been doing the same sort of thing with our beach cottage--trying to pick a name that is special and will reflect the personality I hope it will have. These are some of the names I considered...

Smooth Sailing

Beach Bliss

Tickled Pink

Barefoot Bungalow

Isle Dream

Lollygaggin'

Sea-esta

Each of these had its merits but didn't make the cut. There was one other name that I kept coming back to that finally won out. It uses the word "sassy" which used to be a bad thing when I was growing up--meaning rude and disrespectful.

Source

But in modern times sassy can also mean lively, bold, and full of spirit...

Source

...all that with a touch of quirky.

Source

That's the kind of sassy I am aiming for.

And the winner of the "Name That Cottage contest" is....The Sassy Seagull !!!

Favorite Things!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Look at this face...

Source

This is our granddaughter Piper who is celebrating her third birthday today! And yes, she is quite the character who keeps us all on our toes and frequently in stitches with her

lively personality.

Saturday we celebrated her at a "Piper's Favorite Things" birthday party. Her mama did a photo shoot featuring Piper and some her most favorite things and created a beautiful invitation...

Source

Couldn't resist sharing this little lady on her special day. Piper, you're one of my favorite things, sweet girl! Happy Birthday!

Junk In The Trunk

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 14:00:00 +0000

I was shopping on Craig's List recently for a lingerie chest to use in one of the beach cottage master bedrooms. There is only one spot in that room for drawer space and it is not very wide. I came across several options but one really caught my attention....

It was the right size, color and price! What's not to like? So I decided to go for it--literally! My husband and I needed to go to Athens, GA to pick it up at a store called Junk in the Trunk.

While we were in the store we took a look around at all their other treasures. These were a few of our favorites...

And last but not least this chest of drawers which we purchased for the bunk room...

I love the scalloped design along the back of the top...

Somehow we managed to squeeze both of these items in the back of our minivan and bring them home. That, my friends, was a successful shopping trip!

Turning The Corner!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky) — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 14:00:00 +0000

We're turning the corner y'all! For months we've been doing demolition and discovery of all the problems at the beach cottage and now we are in the business of putting things back together with all the mechanical aspects of the job.

I know. It's not so exciting for some to read about the plumbing, wiring, etc. but it is exciting to me because I know that this little beach cottage is going to be functional as well as beautiful! And I'm using this time to begin shopping for the good stuff such as lighting, flooring, paint colors, etc.

This week I made a trip to Floor and Decor in Savannah to pick out tile for the laundry room! The plumber needs to install the water heater and water pan in a laundry room closet and he can't finish until the floor is installed. Here's what "spoke" to me...

I liked this porcelain tile marble lookalike called "Grand Calcutta" in 12x12 inch size. It had a matte finish.

There was also a nice ceramic tile in a polished marble look called "Crystal White". At one third the cost of the porcelain tile it was very tempting....

And there was a solid white porcelain tile called Moondance White in 13x13 inch size that was very nice....

After speaking to a customer service person I learned that the porcelain would be a better choice for a room that would have heavy appliances in it because it is more durable and over time less likely to crack with all the weight on it.

I decided to go with the Grand Calcutta tile because I like the way marble looks and although this tile is faux marble I think it will give me the desired effect

on the budget I have to work with.

As I was working my way through the store I noticed this display with real Carrera marble and I liked the grout they used--Mapei 77 Frost Keracolor sanded grout.

I am using the same color in unsanded grout. It has a smoother texture I think will make it easier to clean. Here's a photo of the sample against the Grand Calcutta tile...

The tile is supposed to be laid this weekend but they will not grout it right away. I can't wait to see it! After all these weeks of tearing down, it feels good to finally be putting things back together again!