We made serious progress at the beach house this weekend. We arrived with a long to-do list and, while we didn’t finish everything, we completed a big chunk of the kitchen over four productive days (thankfully the kids had Monday and Tuesday off). Leaving with the door locked felt great because so many visible improvements are finally in place.
Remaining tasks include getting a fridge and dishwasher, adding floating shelves around the stove, installing a backsplash, finishing the toe kicks and quarter round at the cabinet bases, and building a larger island countertop with a sink and a 12″ overhang for stools. But the big win is that we now have perimeter counters installed — they still need to be screwed down and sealed, but they’re in place. Drawers are working (we still need hardware) and the range hood is hung — the white covering is just protective film that will reveal stainless steel beneath. This progress feels especially exciting because it didn’t look this way not long ago:
Progress indeed. Below is a short video tour we recorded right before locking up yesterday, where we walk through what’s finished and what’s next, plus updates from around the rest of the house. If the video doesn’t load in a reader you’re using, try viewing it on YouTube.
A video shows more detail than photos ever can, so that’s the most complete way to catch up. If you can’t watch, here are condensed highlights and more photos.
The front bedroom is shaping up. We didn’t manage to pack the headboard, so that will come on the next trip, and we’ll add curtains to help the bed feel grounded in front of the window. Moving the side tables from another room and rolling out the new 8 x 10 rug made a huge difference — the rug is indoor/outdoor (so it’s durable and easy to clean) and incredibly soft. It’s on sale right now, which was a nice bonus.
We’ll add a mood board at the bottom of this post with sources for bedding, lamps and other items. Many readers have asked for a “Shop Our Beach House” page like the one for our current home — we’re planning to put one together as rooms get closer to finished, hopefully in the next month or two.
We added a hemp/cotton blend 5 x 8 rug to the guest room in a sandy color that reads durable and beachy. Blue accents are showing up throughout the house — fitting for the location and our tastes — so we deliberately introduced warm tones with refinished wood doors, floors, and the pink stove to maintain balance.
Downstairs we tested a silvery gray-blue 8 x 10 rug. It’s plush and soft with a subtle border detail that feels expensive for the price. We’re deciding whether to move it upstairs and choose a slightly warmer rug for the living room so the overall palette doesn’t skew too cool. Swapping 8 x 10 rugs around is easy, so we like that flexibility.
One rug didn’t work out: the darker patterned rug looked more chaotic in person than online, and with multiple blue elements in the house it clashed rather than complemented. We lived with it for a few days but ultimately decided to return it.
The hall bathroom remains one of our favorite rooms. We found the right mirror but couldn’t fit it in the car this trip, so that’ll wait. We hung the shower curtain and finished caulking all the showers, so the remaining tasks are mostly small items like a toilet paper holder, towel hooks, art, and window treatments.
The master bathroom finally got its glass shower panel, making the space feel bright and open. Choosing a single glass panel instead of a bulky wall made a big visual difference — the shower reads as roomy even though it’s only slightly narrower than the hall shower. We still plan to add a wooden stool by the tub, a few warm wood accents, window treatments, and hooks.
Back to the kitchen: we assembled the cabinetry over the long weekend, which involved a lot of snapping, drilling, hinging, and leveling. We chose Ikea cabinets for affordability and familiarity — we’ve had good results with them in other parts of our house and wanted to stay on budget while furnishing several rooms. We took advantage of Ikea’s kitchen event and managed to put together a kitchen, including counters and sink, for around $3K.
We only had eight cabinets to assemble, which made the process manageable. We kept the cabinet fronts simple because we want the pink stove and original architectural features — like the back staircase and glass-paned doors — to be focal points.
The counters were the quickest part. We measured carefully, taped the cut lines to prevent splintering, and made clean cuts with a circular saw — every piece fit perfectly. They still need to be screwed down and sealed, and we’re planning a larger island top and sink, but it was a relief to see the counters installed correctly on the first try. The butcher block we chose matches the heart pine floors nicely and will likely look even warmer after sealing.
The kitchen table and chairs were a Craigslist find: the set cost $65 and has great legs, but the chairs read too dark for the space, so we’ll swap them for white chairs. We’ll lower the chandeliers about 10″ now that the main work is done, and of course we still need a dishwasher, a drawer below the microwave, a larger island with a sink, art, and other finishing touches — but the kitchen is at least half-functional and already feels like the heart of the house.
Other small wins: I removed stickers from every window and cleaned them until they sparkled, and I filled dozens of small dings and dents with spackle so we can sand and paint them next visit. When the hood was installed I patched a little ceiling ding — a bit of DIY parkour — and moved quickly to tidy up those details.
Here’s a final shot of the kitchen from the doorway — a welcome change from the pile of Ikea boxes that used to cover the floor and make us question our life choices.
Below is the mood board and source list we shared previously with the new additions included. It covers paint colors, rugs, lighting and many of the materials used throughout the house, along with the lighting mood board image shown after the list.
1. Living Room Art / 2. Kitchen Stool (similar) / 3. Chair Version of Kitchen Stools / 4. Front Bedroom Art / 5. Walls (SW White Heron) / 6. Downstairs Trim (SW Stone Isle) / 7. Upstairs Trim (SW Pure White) / 8. Tub & Pocket Doors (SW Riverway) / 9. Foyer Mirror / 10. Hall Bath Tile / 11. Hall Bath Vanity / 12. Downstairs Bath Mirror / 13. Downstairs Bath Vanity / 14. Master Bath Mirror / 15. Master Bedding / 16. Master Bedside Lamps / 17. Master Bedroom Art / 18. Master Bath Tile / 19. Master Bath Accent Tile / 20. Master Nightstands / 21. Hall Bedding
22. Leather Ottomans / 23. Hall Bedroom Art / 24. Extra-Long Waffle Shower Curtain / 25. Downstairs Bath Art / 26. Glass Shower Pane / 27. Pink Downstairs Lamps / 28. Hall Bedroom Blanket / 29. Front Bedroom Blanket / 30. Blue Front Bedroom Lamps / 31. Kitchen Counters / 32. Wood Benches / 33. Front Bedroom Pillow / 34. Kitchen Cabinets / 35. Front Bedroom Rug / 36. Living Room Rug / 37. Middle Bedroom Rug
One other fun moment: on November 5th we enjoyed an unseasonably warm 70-degree day and actually went swimming at the beach. It was refreshing and unexpected — a perfect little reprieve before cooler weather returned.
Psst — you can browse more of our beach house updates in the archive of posts about this project.
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