Coronado beach house tour

i recently helped a friend decorate her new beach house. it’s the perfect Coronado vacation rental, don’t you think?

it’s a cute 3 bedroom waterfront condo in the heart of coronado that breathes so well.  open the windows and the breeze just whips through the entire home.

this was a fun project despite the blood, sweat and tears that ensued.  🙂 but i think it was all worth it. how can you be grumpy with this view?

take a peek into the master bedroom down this long hall…

as you step into the master bedroom, you’re greeted with a white cloud. a perfect king-sized bed with fluffy linens and pillows. the bed flanked by white and blue shabby chic nightstands that i bought from a friend.

when a friend offhandedly mentions that her grandma’s furniture is collecting dust, you arrive at her doorstep with your truck and offer to buy it.  you buy all of it. and then you paint it. and you don’t tell grandma.

because grandma may want it back after you’ve painted it.  i mean, how cute are those nightstands and dresser? they work well with the plank board bed our awesome designer Erica Bryen picked for us.  i used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White and Louis Blue + clear wax.

so yes, this room is a blend of hand-me-downs and designer-picked beauties.

and here’s another little secret.  those are Ikea curtains with some very fancy navy blue linen fabric sewn to the bottom 18″. these windows posed a challenge b/c a street runs below this 2nd story room. to allow the amazing natural light into the room, i selected cell shades that open from the top and bottom.  that way, there’s privacy and light and air from open windows that can flow into the house.

the chair was another grandma find, which was once covered in a really sad dark brown and maroon floral print.  i couldn’t stop sneezing after sitting in it for 10 seconds. grandma definitely had a cat! the chair’s striped fabric and starfish pillows were custom made.  the anchor pillows were amazon finds.

oh, and the mirror was a freebie from a neighbor!

this next room just makes me happy since i got the bed for $30 on Craigslist! it was a dark walnut color, but i wanted it to have a beachy ethereal feel. i started with ASCP Pure White, then used a very watery Louis Blue wash which i quickly wiped off.  i just wanted a hint of blue…like a wisp of the ocean.

but really, the water in california is usually brown-ish.  shhhh…don’t tell anyone!

oh, and i still need to paint the mirror…oh, the mirrors in this house!  they all need to be painted…

the best part of this room is the Restoration Hardware dresser which i painted to look more like Restoration Hardware.  i suppose it was an early 2000s piece which was dark brown. i’ll blog a full tutorial on it as people seem to really want to know how to achieve the weathered, distressed Restoration Hardware wood look.

i picked up the cute skinny nightstands at an adorable shabby chic store in Laguna called Cottage Furnishings.  those cost more than the bed, dresser, lamps and mirror combined. but they were so cute.

and they just begged to be in this room.  begged.

the third bedroom is so sweet. i found a woman on Craiglist marketing her husband’s pallet furniture. he’s a Marine and in his spare time, he makes furniture. and these cute pieces just had such a neat story.

the dresser is an As-Is Ikea piece.  nothing wrong with it.  80% off.  yes, please.

the tin metal wall pieces started out dark brown. two coast of very watery Annie Sloan Pure White, followed up with a watery custom blue wash on the raised parts of the metal and they give the room just the right pop of color.

hey look…another mirror that needs to be painted….i’m thinking either white or navy blue.  what do you think?

the house offers two large dining areas. and the weather in Coronado is warm enough to eat al fresco pretty much year round.

i picked up this Amish-made dining table from a neighbor. it’s incredibly sturdy, which is perfect for the amount of traffic this house will get. i just couldn’t bring myself to paint it.  it’s so pretty and well-built, and i kept thinking of those amazing Amish hand-building these chairs. i felt that the honey oak contrasted nicely against the walls. i could be wrong.

the mirror is from a consignment store.  good grief, this mirror needs to be painted, too. i thought it would work, but now i’m thinking it’s….well, it’s too granny.  i don’t know. it seems to work with the table, though.

 

the front entry was nearly impossible to shoot.  while i’m no pro photographer, something tells me you don’t want to see the person taking the picture in the mirror, do ya? so my awesome photographer pal Jimmy Cheng worked his magic to capture the essence here. in fact, he captured the real essence of the entire house.  he’s amazing.

i bought the real sea fans, coral, and shells online. you know they’re real when they’re stinky like wet seaweed. so you leave them out in the sun for a few days and the smell eventually dissipates.

those who know me know that i hoard bits of scrap wood. i’m getting better people…but you see, things like this cute nautical coat rack wouldn’t get built if i didn’t have scrap wood laying about.  i bought the anchors at Cottage Furnishings in Laguna, hand sawed the wood, and painted it.  i distressed with sandpaper. happy happy!

 

the kitchen has two entries and i think those are Ikea cabinets. nothing fancy. all very functional.

the two bar stools are Annie Sloan Duck Egg, distressed a lot, and two coats of clear wax. they work well in the small counter area.

i picked up a few wire baskets at Home Goods. the white shells looks so great inside them and against the weathered wood, which reminds me of a boardwalk.

and here’s another coat rack i made. each room has a beefy DIY coat/towel rack. i’d hate for people to hang their towels on the patio railing and block the stunning view!

let’s enjoy that view for a moment…

ah….

 

thanks for joining me on this tour.  it’s been a fun summer and i hope y’all have a safe Labor Day weekend!