Saturday, March 5, 2011

A new beginning: a peek into the story of our beach house...

BEFORE:::...Our 800 square ft beach cottage that we purchased before we owned our year round home..we knew we wanted a beach house and if we didn't do it in that order, it never would have happened...we fixed it up ourselves and rented it out by the week in the summer for 15 years....In the meantime, we bought our home in NY (1963 ranch)  that I've been blogging about....In the early fall of 2009, it was time to stop renting and knock down the beach house so that we could rebuild our dream at the shore....These are some pics we took on the day we were emptying it out and saying goodbye to the cute little house....It was bittersweet.....so many happy memories there...but it was time to move on...









After years of my husband and I planning and drawing out how we wanted our new house to look, (it was a challenge because the lot is sooooo small) we finally bit the bullet and went for it full steam ahead....There are too many photos to show, so I think I'll start with the finished product!!!..(well almost finished)  .so many choices and decisions to be made...we had never built a house before....I wanted to get it all right!!!  I hope you enjoy and please follow along with me as I get to the decorating this summer....HOORAY!!!!









About a billion more photos to see in the coming months.....so much to do and so looking forward to summer 2011!!!

13 comments:

  1. Wow. What I would give to live in a brand new beach house. Your very lucky. Can't wait to see the inside. Thank you for the bithday wishes on my blog. I will be sure to come back often to see more.

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  2. How fun for you and your family! Mia and I have a dream of owning a beach cottage to escape the summer heat here every year! Can't wait to see the rest of you pictures. Thanks so much for stopping by our blog! We are looking forward to seeing all your projects!
    xoxo,
    Jilly and Mia
    www.meandjilly.blogspot.com

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  3. Wow, gorgeous!! I'm excited to follow along on your journey and decorating! :)

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  4. Hi! Thanks for the sweet comment on my ottoman post! Glad to have you as a new follower! It looks like we have alot in common as far as our love for decorating and DIYing. I'll definitely be following along with your adventures! Oh..and what beautiful girls you have!!!

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  5. Gorgeous beach house! And family too! Thanks for the visit.

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  6. What a dream come true! I can't wait to see all that you will do to your house!

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  7. The home looks gorgeous and your girls are beutiful!
    XO
    Kristin

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  8. How exciting! I'm following you back! Can't wait to see what you do for decor!

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  9. I can't wait to see the inside. I live a mile from Mobile Bay in Fairhhope, AL, and I LOVE all things beachy and housey... I'm following. Thanks for stopping by my blog today! :)

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  10. Wow, your new beach house looks amazing! I can't wait to see the decorating :)

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving me a nice comment about my wall cabinet. I am following you too!

    Hugs,
    Amanda

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  11. I can't wait for you to show the world the amazing job you did on your new beach house.. Having been your friend for 16 years and been in both your houses dozens of times during all your redecorating and revamping of both - whether is was a simple paining of cabinets or a full redo.. your beach house is an amazing job well done!! It is truly a dream house and you should be very proud of your planning and the final outcome!

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  12. Hi Mariaelena,

    Thanks so much for posting! I am now following your blog and I am so excited to read about your LBI beach house reno! The pictures look amazing so far and I will definitely be tuning in to see how it comes along! Although I no longer live in NJ, LBI will always have a special place in my heart. Some of my best memories of childhood were spent here with my family and friends! Enjoy!!! - Erin @ A Stillwater Story

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