Even though we’ve shared lots of little updates on social media, John and I realized it’s been nearly three months since we gave a full tour of the beach house. Since then there have been several big projects—like adding built-in pantry shelves and assembling the bunk beds—along with a stream of smaller updates we hadn’t posted about yet, some finished just this past weekend. This post pulls all of that together so you can see the progress.
I’ll start with the video tour because it’s the quickest way to see everything in motion. The video walks through the rooms and covers a lot of details that photos can’t capture—plus some commentary we didn’t include here. Just a heads up: I forgot to walk into the mudroom and the downstairs bathroom during the video. The mudroom is mainly a tool-and-scrap-wood holding area right now, and the downstairs bathroom hasn’t changed much since the last tour, so you’re not missing much. The rest of the house is covered in the video and gives a clear sense of where we’re at.
Video: Beach House Tour — March update
If you prefer photos, here are some highlights. One fun project was finishing a top for the secondhand octagonal coffee table I scored for $5. That cage-like base floated around the living room for months without a top. We looked into cutting an octagonal marble or quartz piece, but the prices were prohibitively high. Instead, we decided to build a wooden top and coat it with a white concrete feather finish to get a light, stone-like look without the weight or cost of solid stone. So far we’ve built the wood top and plan to skim-coat it soon.
In the living room we also opted to keep a long-owned cane chair rather than buy new pink chairs. It fits the space better and, surprisingly, is very comfortable—John, who’s practical about furniture, approves. I added a seat cushion and a pillow, and it now feels right at home. We’re still on the lookout for a second matching chair, but this thrift-store find is working well for now.
We hung a large piece of art in the kitchen to anchor an empty wall: an aerial photo of the sea meeting the sand. The colors—soft pink and blue—and the natural wood frame fit the room perfectly and tie in nicely with the house’s original pine floors. It was an inexpensive score for the scale of the piece, and it really helps finish the kitchen wall.
We also finished hanging extra-long curtains downstairs. With 9-foot ceilings, long curtains bring the eye up and emphasize height. We’ve been using simple white curtains, pre-washing to pre-shrink, cutting off the tabs, and clipping them to substantial rods—then steaming them to remove wrinkles. Long, breezy white curtains make the house feel complete and very beachy.
Practical updates include installing a new cabinet where a mini-fridge used to sit and finishing the cabinets along the right wall of the walk-in pantry. Those 15″ shallow cabinets match the ones flanking the back door in the kitchen, so the flow feels consistent. Building and hanging the cabinets was straightforward—one evening to build, the next morning to install—but there are always finishing touches like counters, hardware, baseboards, and paint touch-ups. We wrapped up most of those details this past weekend, and the pantry is nearly complete. It might be used for food storage, extra kitchenware, or even linens—useful concealed storage is a huge win in a vacation rental.
Upstairs bedrooms received the same breezy curtain treatment. The front bedroom felt more balanced once curtains were hung high and wide above the bed-in-front-of-window placement. The middle bedroom developed a warm brass vibe with matching side tables, lamps, framed prints, and a delicate mobile that brings a calm, beachy feel. The back bedroom—where we sleep—got simpler styling: lowered sconces and pared-down nightstand surfaces that preserve the house’s relaxed, uncluttered energy.
One quick note about the wall sconces: they’re plug-in models designed to be easy to move. There’s no junction box required—just hang them like a picture and plug them in—so changing their position is simple and doesn’t require an electrician.
The only other big step this weekend was finalizing a plan for the backyard: the size and location of a shed, the patio material, and a cost-conscious plan for a long walkway from the street. That project will get its own post down the road.
Overall, the beach house is getting close to feeling finished while staying simple and relaxed—the uncluttered hotel-room vibe we love. We’re enjoying the calm, pared-back spaces and are inspired to bring some of that simplicity back home.
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