Beautiful Living: Rustic Porches

Tis the Season! With the weather turning colder, and the crisp chill in the air, I am officially in the holiday spirit ~ how about you?

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Relaxing on the porch

I hope you enjoy the long holiday weekend- just relaxing on the porch...

image via Atlanta Homes and lifestyles 

Noah's White House with the Blue Shutters

Have you seen the movie The Notebook? Then you probably swooned over the house that Noah fixed up for his lost love Allie like the rest of us.

The real house used in the movie was Martin's Point Plantation on Wadmalaw Island (South Carolina). It was built in 1772. In this shot of the front porch you can see the water:

If you haven't seen the movie yet, here's a tip: be sure to have a box of tissues handy. Today I posted photos of Noah's house over at Hooked on Houses. Head over there if you want to see them! (You can see links to all of my movie posts here.)

A Charming Summer Cottage

This sweet garden shed, which sits on the grounds of a distinguished Georgian home in England, was turned into a charming guest cottage.

I think this would be a lovely place to be a guest, don't you? Once I was there, I'm afraid the homeowners may never get me to leave.


I love this votive-candle chandelier:

This cottage is one of JJ Locations' listings of places that film companies can rent. What kind of movie can you picture being filmed here? Something romantic, I imagine! (To see photos of the main house, click here.)

Visit The Inspired Room to see what everyone else thinks is beautiful this week!

P.S. Stop by Hooked on Houses today to see photos of Julianne Moore's $12 million townhouse in NYC.

A Yellow House on the Water in Brisbane

I like looking through the real estate listings in other countries because you get to see houses that are a little bit different than we have here in the States. I found this beautiful yellow house that sits on the river in Brisbane, Australia, and fell hard for the "wraparound verandas."

I've always had a thing for yellow houses with white trim. When my husband and I bought our first house, it was gray. We painted it yellow and it really brought the house to life. We had a front porch, too, but nothing like this!

The verandas stretch all the way around the back of the house:

It sits on 12 riverfront acres and includes stables for horses. Oh, and there's a pool.

It's listed as "price on application," which translates as, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." Want to see more? The listing is here.

P.S. It's Movie Monday at Hooked on Houses--my favorite blog day of the week! I'm featuring the Grogan family's charming starter home from "Marley & Me."

An Easy, Breezy 1850s Guest House

When House Beautiful featured this 1850s guest house recently, I thought it looked like it could easily be found near the ocean. I was surprised to read that it's actually on a 180-acre farm in Round Top, Texas. It just has that easy, breezy charm of a cottage by the beach.

The unpretentious central hallway has a big wicker basket to stash your boots in. The wood floors were painted with a checkerboard pattern to make the small space look larger:


Who wouldn't have sweet dreams in a serene little bedroom like this?


The bathroom console was found at an antiques fair:

The living room:


Love the big porch swing--and the big porch!

A rustic gazebo on the property looks like a great place for family gatherings:


Check out House Beautiful for the rest of the beautiful photos of this guest house and read an interesting interview with its designer, Ginger Barber.

I'm linking this up to the Hooked on Fridays party I'm hosting over at my other blog today because I'm hooked on this guest house! Something else that makes me happy: my Grandma Hazel, who turns 93 today. I posted one of my favorite old photos of her on my Facebook page from the 1940s, if you want to see it. :-)

Rose-Covered Cottage in Nantucket

I spotted this little Nantucket cottage on Florida Sue's blog recently. It's owned by designer Jeffrey Bilhuber and was featured in Architectural Digest a few years ago, so I looked up the interior photos. Here are some of them:



My favorite room may be the enclosed back porch:

You can see the rest of the photos at Architectural Digest, including "before" pictures that show what an amazing transformation this little cottage went through.

P.S. If you like the white-picket-fence look, then check out the traditional white house from the "Father of the Bride" movies that I'm featuring on my other blog today.

Pretty Beach Cottage in Pink

Welcome to Françoise O'Neill's little pink cottage, which she made into a sweet little haven for herself. She turned the enclosed front porch into a cozy home office:


And decorated her living room with thrift-store finds:

But my personal favorite is her white and pink kitchen:

To see the rest of the photos and read more about O'Neill's little pink cottage, visit Coastal Living.

P.S. If you love screened porches, check out the one I'm featuring over at Hooked on Houses today.

Victorian Summer Cottage: Dining on the Porch

This Victorian Summer Cottage on York Beach was built in 1876 and overlooks the Atlantic ocean. The owners of Cottage Home, a furniture and design shop in Maine, decorated the restored wrap-around porch to create areas for relaxing and casual dining.


I like how they set the table with these fish-shaped dishes and polka-dot napkins. It's so fresh and fun.


I'm adding this post to Susan's Tablescape Thursday party over at Between Naps on the Porch. It's always a lot of fun, so check it out!


To see the rest of the photos from this Victorian summer home, go to Cottage Home's website.

Today on my other blog: How to Add Some "Wow!" with Woodwork and a peek inside John and Elizabeth Edwards' Dream Home.

Le Lavandin in Provence

My blog friend AnNicole (Our Suburban Cottage) just told me about Le Lavandin, this picturesque Bed & Breakfast in Provence, and I think I'm in love. What a beautiful place to spend a holiday!


Even though the B&B isn't on the water, I think the rooms have a light, beachy feel to them. Don't you?


There are workshops held there, too, if you want to learn more about things like cooking and creative writing. If painting is your thing, the surrounding olive groves and lavender fields would be a perfect place to get inspired!



There's a terrace off every room. Ahhhh. I would be taking my afternoon naps right here:

Excuse me while I book my plane ticket to Provence. See you when I get back (from my fantasy)!

To see more photos of Le Lavandin and to read about the workshops they have scheduled, check out their website.

My mind has been on France a lot lately. I spent an afternoon searching through French real estate online and wrote about this 150-year old stone cottage yesterday on my other blog.

"Something's Gotta Give:" My Dream House in the Hamptons

Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson were great, too, but the real star of the 2003 romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give" was this beautiful beach house in the Hamptons.

Set photos via Architectural Digest.

If you love this house as much as I do, check out my post about it today over at Hooked on Houses. There are tons of photos from every room of the house for you to drool over. :-)

HGTV Green Home in Port Lucie, Florida

Have you checked out HGTV's Green Home 2009 yet? It's in Port Lucie, Florida, this year. I have to say I wasn't crazy about it, but there were some things I really liked. The back porch, for example. I'd be taking naps out there all the time! "Where's Mom?" "Check the back porch. She probably fell asleep on that little bed again."

I like the color of the master bedroom, but doesn't it look a little small for two?

For more photos from the Green Home and see how people are voting in a poll I'm taking about it, click here. Register to win the sweepstakes from HGTV. Or check out last year's Green Home '08, which I personally loved.

P.S. Thanks for all of the nice birthday wishes you left for me on my Facebook page and on my other blog today! They made me smile. :-)

Beach Chairs

I spotted these "Beach" chairs on the porch of a house for sale in Seaside, Florida. How fun are these? If the chairs were mine, I think I'd paint them yellow. Or a nice turquoise blue. How about you?

To see the gallery of photos these chairs came from, click here.