Hello Lovelies,
It has been quite the whirlwind year for me. I have been managing life precariously, juggling going back to work with the airline, planning my wedding, and house hunting in Spartanburg, South Carolina, among MANY other things. To be quite honest I have been working my little tail off… As it turns out your girl is pretty high maintenance when it comes to weddings… go figure. Every time I finish a project I seem to have another idea. To be honest, I have been so non-stop busy that writing has been pretty much pushed to the back of my never-ending list. Until now.
I finally, FINALLY, found a few days in my schedule for rest and recuperation, so I flew myself right on down to the sunshine state. Yesterday, I made straight for the beach and proceeded to get burnt to an actual crisp. Typical for me I assure you. I promise I put on sunscreen but believe me… if you saw me right now you wouldn’t believe it. I am as red as a flaming hot Cheeto and quite as spicy I am sure. Just me, sitting here on my bum in a cocoon of all-natural aloe, forced to take a moment to slow down from my million miles an hour pace. So I naturally figured it may be time for another beach bungalow reveal. We are finally getting to the end of our renovation y’all, and I have to say I love this house a little bit more every time I step foot in it.
I am taking a break from social media this month, because, just as the body needs its rest, I think resting the soul is equally as important. It seems to me that the platforms that were once created for the sole purpose of keeping us together, are now pulling us apart with this endless rat race of keeping up with the Joneses. So I personally, am taking a MUCH needed break. So for those of you that stumble upon this post by sheer chance, aka “the Google”, my family and I have spent the past better part of the past two years renovating a tiny Florida bungalow. I will leave the link of the “before” post below – so you can jog your memory on all the gory details. I will also drop a “before” picture *SHUDDER of the master bedroom below. Try not to faint from undue exposure to that blue curtain panel…
The tiny beach house was bug-ridden, musty, and veering on the side of dark and dingy when we first purchased it. If you have been following this little blog of mine you have seen the transformation every step of the way – from dark and dreary to a bright, airy, little Florida jewel. If you are a first-timer… welcome to the party. The other renovation links are posted below so you can catch right on up!
The master bedroom was one of the last rooms that we finished. The house has a very small footprint, just over 600 square feet in total, so every choice had to be strategically made with size in mind. Everything was so dark when we first purchased the house, especially the bedrooms, so my first task at hand was to BRIGHTEN and LIVEN. So I chose a very light paint, Sherwin Williams Eider White (SW 7014). It is white with a hint of a dove gray to it. That immediately made a world of difference in making the room at least appear to be larger. I chose to go a little bit more neutral in this room with the main pop of color being the King-sized upholstered headboard from Birch Lane. This particular headboard is no longer available but I will put an alternative purchasing link in the photo below. Just double click! It reminded me of a burst of teal sea glass popping out of the sand. Perfect for a beach house and perfect for a good night of sleep. Again, I wanted everything to feel very bright, airy, and cottage-cozy so for bedding we went with all plain white.
It was all cosmetic in this room, and with a few coats of paint, a new flush mount Echo Bluff Hunter ceiling fan (linked in next photo), and a quick change of those dreaded almond-colored outlets, we were finished – except for the fine decor details. We started with the headboard and then worked our way around that. A King-sized bed in a tiny room doesn’t leave much room for furniture, so we had to be purposeful with our other choices to make sure to avoid overwhelming the room. Every room of our little bungalow by the sea had been graced with “something old,” an item that we had restored to its former glory, and this room was no different. We finally found a small antique dresser that would fit perfectly in our space in a Habitat Restore. We stripped and stained it, and added “new” antique knobs sourced at a local antique store. This might be my favorite piece in the entire house, probably because it was an absolute beast to restore. I smelled like paint stripper for weeks.
I always think that an antique dresser can and SHOULD be livened up with a fun mirror. The gold one I found at Target, and I immediately knew it was the one because of its striking brass and nautical feel. We have pops of brass throughout the whole house and I wanted to keep the flow going as much as possible in every room. We kept the artwork and the curtains simple and streamline to keep within our “beach cottage feel,” and we finished out the room and maximized our space with the modern bookshelf in the corner.
Finally, our master bedroom is complete, and It is the serene tropical oasis that we were hoping for. Tiny – yet still functional. Simple – yet still beautiful. Well, that’s all she wrote folks… I will have another Painted Bungalow reveal for you soon, but we are nearing the end of our Florida renovation so I suppose it will soon be time for me to find another house 😉 Until then… Stay safe ya salty mermaid.
XOXO,
