Please come in for a short tour of our summer cottage living room. This year we are featuring seashells, ladybugs, and birdhouses! Oh, and a little bit of thrift shopping bragging too.
This summer cottage living room has a light touch. Rest assured there will be a tidal wave of color coming in the fall. But for now, keeping the living and dining rooms light and airy is perfect.
I showed this little grouping in January, with a smaller table holding this pothos plant.
A few months later, I realized this spot between the chairs really needed a bigger table, so I spent some time searching on FB Marketplace. I don’t know how long it took me to realize I already HAD a beautiful, mahogany tilt table from my Grandmother that would fit perfectly.
And yes, this is the same pothos plant. I potted it and then put the pot in this footed bowl from a thrift shop. I thought it was a bit pricey, but still it came home with me. It looks like a soup tureen that somehow got separated from its ladle and lid. No matter; it’s a perfect bowl for this summer cottage living room.
I do have a pretty robust collection of shells, and many of them have come from thrift shops over the years. (Sorry if you wanted to hear an amazing story of finding these gigantic shells on the beaches of Bali. I’m actually not even sure where Bali is…)
This table stood at the entry way into the living room in the San Diego house, and held a French flower bucket filled with hydrangeas, as well as family pictures. And clearly, it’s very happy here in its new home in NE Indiana.
Let’s see what’s going on over here on the coffee table and couch. A seashell on a stick (wish I could find more) combined with a few plants in containers. I stole this wicker tray from the discount shelf of a thrift shop. (I mean, I paid for it, but it was in the SALE section of a consignment store, if you can imagine that!)
These pillow covers that I sewed using a Waverly hydrangea print really enhance this summer cottage living room feel. I totally embarrassed myself doing a happy dance in the aisle at JoAnn’s when I found it.
On the couch, you also might have noticed this charming needlepoint pillow of a birdhouse. I bought it (among other things) from my friend Jeanne who has an eBay store called fun2find525. Pop on over and take a look at her eBay store; it’s filled with a charming inventory of jewelry, purses, pillows, books, kitchenware and lots of other fun treasures and collectibles!
Speaking of pillows, let’s swing back to these two charmers. I do talk all the time about how I love to sew pillow covers. But for this summer cottage living room, I indulged a little and bought these two pillow covers. I found them on Amazon, and had them filed in my “Pillow Cover” wish list. (Not to be confused with any of the other 21 wish lists I have with Amazon.) Here is the link for the ladybug pillow, and here is the link for the magnolia pillow.
On the dining table, some hydrangeas arranged in a tin container. A very summery cottage look.
Many years ago, I painted my collection of these tall candleholders a vanilla white because that’s what worked best against the gold walls in Red Shutter Cottage.
But since the walls in the Dupont house are a warm white (SW Cotton White), all my ‘vanilla’ candleholders now look a little yellow-y. Guess I’ll have to march them all back out to the garage for a new coat of spray paint.
The runner came from Home Goods. It was a package deal of 2 runners: the green buffalo check and the white and green farmhouse-style runner on the coffee table. (We finally got a Home Goods here a little over a year ago!)
As promised, here is where I do a little thrift shopping bragging. This shelf with a mirror in the china hutch (Facebook Marketplace find) is a delight to decorate for each season.
For this summer cottage living room, we have a thrift shop tray that I painted a light blue, a garage sale chippy candleholder, a thrift shop birdhouse (also painted), and a thrift shop urn-like plant holder.
The greenery in the birdcage is from Piper Classics and the faux greenery in the urn plant holder is from Amazon.
On the glass-top table behind the dining table, is my little indoor garden. These windows face south, and my potted ivy plants just thrive.
Even though ivy comes and goes on the trend meter, I’m always been drawn to their droopy, twisty branches that wander where they want.
I’m climbing up on my soap box and saying it again. It can take years, but if you collect what speaks to your heart, it will 100% all come together. The urn-like plant holder is a recent purchase here in Fort Wayne. But the other pieces sitting on the light blue tray came from San Diego and I’ve had them for literally 7 or 8 years. Now, your taste may change over that time span. Mine hasn’t, but my aesthetic has. More and more, I find myself leaning in towards simple, easy and elegant. Do the words elegant and cottage go together? In my world, yes, they do!
But don’t just listen to me! I have several experts (okay, a couple of experts) that support my argument, (I mean, opinion) about following your heart.
From Barbara at Mantel and Table; this is from her post about her work with Habitat for Humanity:
We are so lucky! Most of us have not only mantels and tables – we have homes. We decorate them to reflect our personalities. Inside their walls, we create happiness, security, and contentment for our families, and extend gracious welcome to our friends.
From Cindy at County Road 407, from her post: 5 Places to Add a Pop of Color When You Love Neutrals
You are free no matter what age or stage in life – you do you. If you like the quirky or unconventional, buy it or make it. Want to add a plaid wallpaper somewhere? That sounds fun! Maybe you want everything to look like it came straight out of your favorite 19th century English film? You can do that too, but girl, don’t do that to the bathrooms. I have to put my foot down there.
Please do visit these blogs: Mantel and Table has beautiful table settings and inspirational mantel displays. County Road 407 shares fun DIY’s, has a weekly link party, and ALSO shares a monthly Pinterest challenge that I always enjoy.
Happy summer from our home to yours~
Kristine
I am linking to these Link Parties:
Tuesday Turn About My Family Thyme // Eclectic Red Barn – Wonderful Wednesday // French Ethereal – Share Your Style // Our Hopeful Home – Vintage Charm // Follow the Yellow Brick Home – Thursday Favorite Things // County Road 407 – Farmhouse Friday //
Hi Kristine – this is all so lovely and pastel and fresh. I love the combination of farmhouse and beachiness. It’s great that a lot of your nicknacks transitioned well from one home to the other. We’ve had some painting done in our living areas and I’ve been moving things around on our sideboards as we’ve repositioned the furniture when the painter finished. It’s been fun changing things around a little. We don’t decorate for the seasons in Australia, so I find it interesting watching others do it where it’s more “normal”. BTW Bali is off the coast of Western Australia and is a favourite tourist destination for a lot of Aussies.
Leanne, it sounds like you have been doing a lot of home updates, between your kitchen and painting done in your living areas. And changing things up and moving them around must make it feel like its almost a new home! I’m glad you like the mix of beach and cottage; I wanted a light, easy feel for summer. And thank you for pointing the way to Bali! You made me laugh out loud when I read that!
Elegant and homey. Beautiful and comfortable! Love it!
Thank you Nancy! We just had a big storm pass through here…we never know what to expect with the weather!!
Love your home and your decorations style!
Thank you Teri! I appreciate you stopping by!
So much pretty to see, Kristine, but that topless soup tureen is my favorite. Its shape and color are fabulous and its unconventional use is the best. I agree, go with what you love and it will look divine together! Happy Summer!
I’m a little embarrassed to admit I have been collecting those tureens whenever I come across one. It’ll be fun to get creative with them in the fall and Christmas. Thank you for stopping by, and for your kind words.
Your home looks lovely all decorated for Summer! I love that little white birdcage and that tureen with the pothos in it is just gorgeous!! Happy Summer!
Thank you Rachel! I almost walked right past the birdcage the first time; the finish was horrible. But then I realized a little session with a can a spray paint would fix that right up! That tureen is one of 3; I seemed to have developed a tiny little obsession with them! Thank you for stopping by!
Very nice. Love all the plants and those pillows are so fun.
Thank you Cindy! Indoor gardening is fun and easy; it’s pulling weeds in the outdoor garden that is no fun! Those are actually the first pillow covers I have bought in years; but I think they add to the summer feel! Thank you for stopping by!
Great post Kristine! I want to go thrifting with you next time – you find such excellent treasures! And thanks for the shout out. Habitat for Humanity is such a fabulous organization!
Thanks for this dose of inspiration, and Happy Summer to you and yours, my friend!
Well…first of all, Fort Wayne is drowning in thrift shops; I still cannot believe how many there are! One in particular, though is a particularly well stocked and I am literally there once a week! I really enjoyed exploring your blog, and when I read your story about Habitat for Humanity, I just thought your words were so spot on that I wanted to share them. Thank you for always being so encouraging! Happy Summer right back to you!