Being our first blog post here at the cabin, I thought it only appropriate to begin with introductions.
My name is Rachel. I own a residential design firm on Vashon Island. My husband is an architect in Seattle (it's that easy to get there!). We have two wonderful boys, and guard their privacy so I am sorry to say that you won't be seeing their photos on the site, but I'd be happy to share our silly stories! The four of us have two greyhounds who we love enormously, Oreo and Hilton.
My husband and I love to browse the homes on the market simply for the fun of seeing what is out there. Usually, we look at the homes in the multi-millions and fantasize about purchasing them, and what we would do with them.
Last summer, Sean sent me a photo of a sweet house on the beach, in a price bracket that I thought was just slightly out of our budget range. We weren't looking for a house though. We were happy with our sweet 1920 home with a peek-a-boo view of the water.
The sweet little beach house kept calling us back though, and finally, I went to an open house to take a look. I told myself it was out of the fun of seeing homes and explained to myself all the reasons it would not work for our family. When I realized that those reasons were false, I knew that we had to at least try.
Within a few days our house was packed up and staged and on the market. What a whirlwind! Our kids' comfortable routine was flipped upside down and we began the challenging journey of a contingent offer with an old home.
After a summer on the market, we finally were able to move into our new home in October, and with that new home came an adorable cabin. We knew we wanted to make this cabin available to vacationers. The beach front and unusually fantastic location was the perfect invitation to join us and experience the island in a very special way. So, we started with the cabin.
Our goal in updating the cabin was to create a space that felt homey and cozy. We used 100% natural linen on the bed and earthy tones with a bright white backdrop to balance the warmth with an airy, open surrounding.
Our first step to freshing things up a bit, was to paint the wood trim and molding a nice, bright white. The knotty paneling may be a bit dated, but I felt that it added warmth and charm to the cabin, and I appreciate "dated" items when used appropriately.
Painting the trim accentuates the wood paneling and gives it a fresh, updated aesthetic.
The cabin came to us with blue floors in the living area, green floors in the bedroom, and orange walls and ceiling in the bedroom. The colors were sweet and felt like a warm autumn day. We wanted something a bit more flexible and fresh- something that felt "beachy" without going the traditional blue and white route.
A warm driftwood gray on the floors and a bright white made a huge difference. Now that a couple people have stayed in the cabin and dragged things around a bit, the blue peeks through on the floor and I find it charming.
We used a zero-VOC paint in all our updating, remembering that we care about the environment, our health, and our guest's health!
We were on a tight budget after the move, so we worked to use what we already owned as much as possible. This meant our new house sat somewhat empty and the cabin was fully furnished. Kind of silly, really!
My career in interior architectural design came as an advantage in furnishing. We had some lamps that had been returned by a client, and access to additional furnishings through designer outlets.
Unlike other rentals that often have stained, old hand-me-down furniture, we were able to get quite a few fantastic furnishings and accessories into this cute space.
A cozy sleeper sofa came with the cabin and while it sleeps very well, it wasn't the prettiest sight, even after I loaded it will pillows, so I pulled out a slipcover I had and voila! Beachy and fresh. Here are some process images of it all coming together!
We are so grateful for all the help we had in getting this together, and look forward to hearing your feedback when you visit!
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