Seaside Summer Decorating

For todays post I am inspired by the beautiful PEI summer scenery and our island beach vibe.  

I also thought I would share some of the creative accessories and tablescape displays we've put together in the store this week.  And a sneak peek at a cottage we recently finished. 

I took some holiday time last week as the weather here has been absolutely fabulous. This is an image I took while heading to a job site in the New London area.  A beautiful summer day... with gorgeous views.... Ahhh .... NICE

A beautiful cottage entry and deck ... white trim, cedar shingles and colourful adirondack chairs.

North Shore Cottage project random pictures .... creating the mood with a beautiful table setting.  Anita and I put this together using accessories from the shop.  The table is a custom solid pine harvest table that we had made especially for this project.

The side table/console is also another custom pine piece.  And the lovely Lupins, well we picked those growing wild at the side of the road. 

A view of one of the bedrooms.  White painted furniture and wicker chairs ooze cottage charm.

Cocktail table accessories include fav mag "Style at Home" and a glass container full of shells.

Summer on PEI...

means beaches and beachcombing for shells, sea glass and driftwood. Perfect accessories for the cottage, the home or a spa bathroom.

LOVE creating displays with our selection of shells, sand, rope and coastal inspired accessories from the shop, Moving Designz Home & Cottage.  This painted wooden bowl arrangement was made by Anita last summer for one of our design projects.

We also coiled a length of rope, available at any hardware store for about .69 per foot, inside a tall glass vase and added a few tiny starfish.  My point is seaside works in homes and/or cottages for a warm summery feel.

On Tuesday,  Ashley made us delicious cappucinos ... from our wonderful espresso machine.  We all love it as do most of our clients.  And Ashley makes the best coffee ever :) 

With our caffiene highs fully cranked up we started playing with the in store displays... ( BTW Anita is on a much deserved holiday this week:)

Our first tablescape ... in the front window.

A close up view.  You have no idea how much fun it is setting up these displays.

This is one little corner of the shop.  We have starfish in 4 sizes, multi-colours and even silver.  Sand, and about every type of shell you can think of, we have in stock. 

Our second table scape.  All blues, silvers and whites.

A close up of the center piece.  Creating vignettes in glass vessels is something I love to do and now Anita and Ashley are hooked.

Our lovely fish dishes... complete the tablescape.

 

Tablescape three... the caffiene really does have a kick :) 

 

Close up... this time it was creams, navy and grey shells. 

 

We also made up a number of "Ready to Go" out the door arrangements.

This centerpiece sits on our sales counter, Ashley actually made this early in the summer.  It's very pretty!

Looking from the outside in... while I'm at it I must show you the shops window boxes.

 

 

I planted these myself, I usually get the greenhouses to do these for me.  However they are never as full and nice as when I take the time and do them myself.  I'm loving the pink and white!

 

Shot of the beach in downtown Summerside at low tide.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!

Susan

More Projects... Completed and in Progress

For todays post I thought I would share some images of a couple of the projects we've been working on over the summer and finishing up during these last couple of weeks.

First up a major laundry room and bathroom renovation. I posted progress pictures of this project a few weeks ago. Both of these rooms are now 100% complete and we're waiting for a few more things to finish off the house in the diningroom, livingroom and kitchen. I'll post those rooms later this month.

Thursday, Anita and I spent all day at Mary's house applying finishing touches to her laundry/powder room. Below is the original laundry/powder room. It is a small space at only 8' X 9' so we had to make every inch count. The room was in need of additional storage and updating as it is the only washroom on the main floor of her home.




View 1 before the renovation. This is the original wall of appliances with open storage.

View 2 after the renovation. Our solution was to have 2 sets of closets built to enclose this wall. A small coat closet on the left and a double laundry center closet on the right. Now all of the laundry equipment and cleaning supplies are conveniently hidden and well organized.

And behind those custom built double doors a newly organized laundry center with shelves attached to the inside of the double doors . Now there is plenty of room for organized storage of cleaning supplies. The interior shelving has storage for laundry baskets and a rail to hang dry clothing.

View 2 before the renovation. The original location of the main plumbing fixtures.

View 2 after the renovation. The new plumbing fixtures are now moved to the wall opposite the laundry closet. The scope of work involved new tile flooring, new built-ins closets, a new set of stacking appliances, installing wainscotting, new toilet, new vanity with matching storage cabinets, new faucets, new lighting and a new paint scheme.

The artwork is an original painting of the homes exterior. It's a very pretty house.

Let's look at the upstairs washroom renovation.

View 1 before the renovation. Everything was removed so we could start fresh.

View 2 after the renovation. This room has completely changed. Here we added another new marble topped vanity, new faucets, new wainscotting, new built in storage under the eave, new lighting, new wall colour, new tub with double shower heads, new shower tiles, new artwork, new towel racks, new window treatments and a shower curtain. The only last detail missing is the shelf for the top of the built in cabinets. Our carpenter will have this last element painted and installed next week.

On to another project. I was at this house yesterday with my installer to hang up the beautiful silk draperies. This room has undergone a major change as you will see.

View 1 before the new furnishings, the original livingroom. This client desired a new updated look for her livingroom.

Here is Bruce up the ladder starting to install the drapery hardware. This is the in between shot that I couldn't resist taking.

... and a couple of hours later the room was looking pretty good!

Although not completely finished the room has undergone a remarkable turn around. We're waiting for the back ordered lamps and the large piece of artwork that will be placed over the sofa. Back orders are annoying but usually worth the wait to get the perfect piece.

View 2 the diningroom before.

View 2 the diningroom after. I love the clean new look of this large open space. I particularly love the new modern diningroom light fixture. We are the exclusive dealers on PEI for this line of Canadian made lighting. In fact every piece of furniture and all of the accessories including the area rug is from Moving Designz Home & Cottage. I've been hoarding the area rug back in our warehouse for months waiting for just the perfect project and it looks WOW in this room.

Next up... I was in Western PEI late last week to review progress on another bathroom renovation.

I took the following pictures while getting lost on the way to my clients home... Getting lost wasn't so bad as I got to see some spectacular scenery. PEI is a very windy place to live but the wind does have its advantages when its energy is harnessed with these giant wind turbines.

There about 54 of these giant beasts dotting the landscape in the Cape Wolfe area.

And on the other side of the road is the fabulous picturesque PEI coastline.

When I finally found the house... here is the bathroom I am working on. Still under construction this room was once a guest bedroom. Soon it will be a luxurious master bathroom complete with a custom vanity, storage cabinets, a large jetted soaking tub and a flat screen television mounted at the foot of the tub.

Stay tuned for the completion of this room and other projects we have on the go.

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful long weekend!

Susan