L.A. Based Designer Vanessa de Vargas - A Hollywood Regency meets Palm Beach Makeover for Her Home

Vanessa de Vargas is an L.A. based interior designer who has fantastic taste.

Her sense of aesthetics is right down my alley with her emphasis on using

vintage furniture and accessories.  She gave her home a makeover which I

have to say looks fabulous.

I adore Chesterfield sofas and I love what she did with her living room. The

style of her home makes me want to dub it as Hollywood Regency meets Palm

Beach cottage style.  Super chic and love how all the different styles of furniture

and textures are blended together. 

The white washed floors give the home a cottage feel.  Vanessa has touches

of Asian accessories throughout as well.  She really is so good at blending

different styles together.  This kitchen nook is the perfect example, French

styled chairs with a midcentury modern styled dining table, an Asian lamp

with a couple of Asian panels on the wall and a contemporary black and

white rug.  Definitely eclecticism at it's best.

Vanessa also redesigned her entrance way and had 

a pair of dressers painted in this super bold green.

This was the bedroom before.

But I gotta say I absolutely adore the way it looks now even better.

She painted her end tables white and chic cottage by the ocean.  Love

it!  Especially the hue she painted the room and her lamps are to die for.

A super clever user of a mirror to bounce off more light is the

long mirror used right next to her lamps in the corner.

Waterside Cottages

This isn't exactly to the style of Vanessa's home, but I do

really love this book on Waterside Cottages.  The images

in this book are great ideas for anyone who wants to feel

like they're in a cottage by the sea. 

I hope you enjoyed Vanessa's home as much as I do and

that you were able to glean some ideas from her design.

Any favorite ideas or items from her home?  Would love

to hear your thoughts.

Photos from Lonny Magazine

A Chic and Gorgeous Seaside Cottage Renovation

Moving from the "Sound" side house from the earlier post this week,

I thought I would show a very different kind of waterside home.

Jill Johnson is a designer who lives in Manhattan Beach, California.

The house was redone on the inside and outside from scratch - and

as you can see above - with fantastic results for a 1800 sq ft home

where every crook and cranny was put to good use.

I really adore the kitchen and how she used accessories to add a

splash of color (greens and blues.)

Can you believe this was the kitchen before? 

The kitchen was a complete teardown.

A closer look at the details of the kitchen - white cabinets

with luxurious marble and nickel pulls.  Green and blue dishes

and accessories litter the kitchen.

As I mentioned before, the house is only 1800 sq feet and so

every space there was, nooks and drawers were built in

including this sofa across from the kitchen.

The original exterior of the house.

After exterior renovations...Now that's what I call

a Major upgrade on the curb appeal of this home. 

The new window shutters, wood shingle siding and

 brickwork all make a huge difference including

opening up the car port space.

Here is Jill Johnson hanging out at the front door of her home.

A before shot of the master bedroom.

This is what her bedroom looks like now.  Absolutely

divine isn't it?  I adore the colors she used and love her

taste in furniture and fixtures.

A fun living room with lots of different prints.

Her baby's bedroom with a "To die for Armoire" in a

shade of Robin Egg Blue.

What a fun and cozy dining room.  I'm a huge fan of gray and so

I find it cool how she painted the table gray to match the wallpaper

and fabric on the chairs.

Did I mention that I love this woman's taste in furniture?  Right

down my alley with all of the Hollywood Regency references

with the faux bamboo furniture.

So what do you think?  It's sort of like a cottage with a chic and

sophisticated edge to it.  What's your favorite room or thing from

the house?

Photos from Coastal Living

Real Estate Stalking - Lakeside Cottage on an Island in Washington

I Love to look at houses.  Even if I'm not in the market to buy or sell a

 home, I still subscribe to newslsetters checking out houses on the market. 

Saw this wonderful house that's on the market.  The house is in Port

Madison, Bainsbridge Island in Washington state.  It really is the

quintissential lakeside home.

Home Profile:

- 3794+/- sq ft main house

– 3 bedrooms, 3 baths
– Walk out lower level
– 820 sq. ft. Guest House (1BR/ 1.75 BA)
– 2 car garage w/workshop
– .78 level acres w/view

– Direct beach access for boats

– Newer private well, 4 BR septic

The owners are avid boaters who built their dream home in 2008.

The nautical design was inspired by a home in Coastal Living

Magazine and combines some progressive materials, green

concepts and a northwest contemporary layout all while

maximizing natural light - essential for the Pacific Northwest!

Isn't the setting gorgeous?

Now that's a gorgeous looking backside of a house.

Inside, it's open and airy.

The view and sunlight are just fantastic.

You couldn't ask for a better lakeview from the deck off of the kitchen.

A spacious island kitchen with top notch appliances and finishes.

While induction heated stove tops definitely have their pros, I love gas

 burning stoves for cooking.  Something about the open flame and heat

that's hard to replace when it comes to cooking.

Gorgeous red toned flooring.

The dining and kitchen open up to a nice family room with a fireplace.

I get dibs on this bedroom for sure!!

It's hard to go wrong with a black, white and grey color palette.

At the top of the house seems to be a separate living unit.

Could perfect to be rented or for the in-laws.

A laundry room that opens onto a deck.

I love this boat bed!  What boy would turn down a bed like this?

Love the marble countertop and you can see a little bit

of the unique flooring.  Definitely a traditional yet very

classy bathroom.

You really can't have lakeside living without decks around the house.

If you're interested in the house, definitely check out Leah Applewhite's

site.  It has tons of information and even more photos. 

I hope you enjoyed this real estate "stalking" tour ^_^  Here's a

question for you...Would you rather live by a lake or by the ocean?

Photos by Leah Applewhite

Cottage Baths

To me, the bath is a sanctuary.  Somewhere you can go at

the end of the day to light some candles, draw a nice hot

bath and soak all of the aches and woes away.  Here are

some lovely cottage styled baths including this sunken bath.

I don't know about you, but I think having a sunken bath

is a fantastic!  It looks so spa - like.

Having a view and huge windows to let in light is always

a big plus (and a luxury as we all know.)  The wood in

this bathroom lends an organic and natural quality to it. 

 

This feels like a true cottage styled bathroom to me.

I've always been a huge fan of faux bamboo furniture

pieces.  You can paint them any color and they'd still

look great in any room.

 

Painting the ceiling white and blue really makes for a dramatic

focal point where one doesn't normally look for one.  In a

bathroom, though, it's perfect because you can lean back and

gaze out the window or the dramatic ceiling.

 

Shelly sells Sea shells by the sea shore.  This is whimsical

and super fun bathroom with all fo the shells.  Who can say

no to turquoise?  The thing I love the most are the curved
counters.  Reminds me of Gaudi buildings in Barcelona

somehow.

This has got to be one of the cutest outdoor baths I've

ever seen.  Now that I think about it, I rarely see a free

standing bathtub like this just out on a deck.  Great idea.

 

The horizontal lines of the wood really give

this space a zen quality in a small space.

 

Bright colors are not for everyone as neutrals can be

very relaxing to the eye.  This is a great space with a

neutral palette.

 

I'm not sure exactly why it is, but I really love river stone

floors like this.  They're awesome!  Like bringing a piece

of nature in.  With their great texture, stones also feel great

on the feet.

 

Throwing in some reclaimed wood never

hurts a design.  Green and beautiful. 

 

Small spaces can't mean they can't be functional.  There are

lots of choices for small spaces as you can see in this tiny

area that is rich with character.

Do you like Cottage Baths? What elements or details appeal

to you the most? Would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Photos from Coastal Living