An Old House with a Fresh New Look

When I saw this house, which is listed on the JJ Locations website as a place production companies can rent to film in, I was surprised to learn that it's in Greater London. It may be an old, four-story Georgian home, but it has a fresh and light feeling to it.







The Swedish Gustavian furniture gives it a romantic look, despite all of the stark white, don't you think? This is beautiful to me, so I'm linking up to Melissa's Beautiful Life party.

I'm also joining Hooked on Fridays, the blog party that celebrates the things that make us happy. This house is what I'm hooked on today. Visit Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is sharing!

An Easy, Breezy 1850s Guest House

When House Beautiful featured this 1850s guest house recently, I thought it looked like it could easily be found near the ocean. I was surprised to read that it's actually on a 180-acre farm in Round Top, Texas. It just has that easy, breezy charm of a cottage by the beach.

The unpretentious central hallway has a big wicker basket to stash your boots in. The wood floors were painted with a checkerboard pattern to make the small space look larger:


Who wouldn't have sweet dreams in a serene little bedroom like this?


The bathroom console was found at an antiques fair:

The living room:


Love the big porch swing--and the big porch!

A rustic gazebo on the property looks like a great place for family gatherings:


Check out House Beautiful for the rest of the beautiful photos of this guest house and read an interesting interview with its designer, Ginger Barber.

I'm linking this up to the Hooked on Fridays party I'm hosting over at my other blog today because I'm hooked on this guest house! Something else that makes me happy: my Grandma Hazel, who turns 93 today. I posted one of my favorite old photos of her on my Facebook page from the 1940s, if you want to see it. :-)

A House with a View on Rosemary Beach

As I was searching the beachfront real estate listings in the Destin, Florida area, I came across this house on the Gulf (Rosemary Beach, near the house with the famous red kitchen I showed you recently). Not only does it have an amazing view of the water, but look at this lovely little courtyard:

The porch and the view may be my favorite part of the house--and what makes it worth $4.95 million, I imagine:

You can get more information about this beach house and see more photos here.

Some Beach House Lighting for Lampapalooza

The Nester is having a "Lampapalooza" blog party today, and everyone is showing, well, lamps and lighting! Here are a few examples of pretty beach house lighting that caught my eye this week:

These two turquoise lamps from a room in Southern Accents really "pop," don't they? I think they pull the whole room together. Here's another pretty blue lamp in a bedroom featured on HGTV.com. Really like the beachy blues in this room, and how the lampshade kind of coordinates with the bedding:

Speaking of a lampshade that goes with the bedding--check out this cheery yellow and aqua bedroom from James Solomon's portfolio (which I originally found at House of Turquoise):


Head over to Nester's to see the lamps and lighting everyone else is showing today for Lampapalooza (do you know how many times I had to check to see if I was spelling that right?).

Oh, and I've got a post on my other blog I'm entering in the party, too--an example of what not to light an old French cottage with (click right here to see that).

Pretty Beach Cottage in Pink

Welcome to Françoise O'Neill's little pink cottage, which she made into a sweet little haven for herself. She turned the enclosed front porch into a cozy home office:


And decorated her living room with thrift-store finds:

But my personal favorite is her white and pink kitchen:

To see the rest of the photos and read more about O'Neill's little pink cottage, visit Coastal Living.

P.S. If you love screened porches, check out the one I'm featuring over at Hooked on Houses today.

An Easy, Breezy East Hampton Cottage

Here's where I wish I was hanging out over the Memorial Day weekend. I'm in desperate need of a vacation right now, so this cottage near the beach in East Hampton, New York, really appeals to me.


Linda at Lime in the Coconut got me hooked on designer Tom Scheerer's work, and I spent a lot of time oohing and ahhing over his portfolio yesterday (when I should've been working).

I like how relaxed and unpretentious this home appears. Like it's ready for me to move right in. First thing I'd do? Take a nap in this bed:



You can see the rest of the photos of this cottage on Tom Scheerer's website.

P.S. I hope all of my readers in the States are having a nice three-day weekend. As I was whining--er, explaining--on my Facebook page yesterday, I'm working all weekend to meet a project deadline. But I did manage to take some time off Sunday to go to a baseball game with my family, which was fun, and Monday we'll have lunch at my parents' place. What are you doing with your holiday?

"Something's Gotta Give:" My Dream House in the Hamptons

Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson were great, too, but the real star of the 2003 romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give" was this beautiful beach house in the Hamptons.

Set photos via Architectural Digest.

If you love this house as much as I do, check out my post about it today over at Hooked on Houses. There are tons of photos from every room of the house for you to drool over. :-)

Just Add Water

I loved this article in the Washington Post about a couple that doesn't live anywhere near the ocean, but created a "beach house" for themselves anyway. Lauren and Kevin Russell, the talented couple behind the furniture company Russell & Mackenna, gave their Severna Park, Maryland a fun and fresh beach vibe.

Thanks to Jeanette for sending me the link to this article! Click here to read more and see the slideshow of their home.

{This beach house-without-a-beach has me hooked! Hop over to the Hooked on Fridays party I'm throwing at my other blog to see what's making everyone else happy this week!}