As the Go-go's once said. And as I am feeling today. After a big test yesterday, and some big deadlines coming up, all I really want is sand, surf, sunglasses, and a tan. Oh and perhaps a tropical cocktail. One of my favorite decorators for beachy/island locales is Tom Scheerer. He actually had a house in Charleston for a while, decided it was still too "city-like" and decamped to the Bahamas. And I can't get enough of this house featured below, which I am pretty sure is his.
Sometimes we forget that much of the Caribbean was once a British colony. This house, with its saltbox shape and picket fence definitely harkens back to that era.
As you can probably tell, for a preservationist like me, this house is a little piece of heaven. In most old houses, there are funny extensions, and pieces of the building that are different sizes, as shown above. Typically this means that those parts of the house were not part of the original building campaign, but rather were added as the extra space was needed over the years.
I love the louvered door at the end of this hallway. For a beach house, I would do exactly as Scheerer seemed to do here, white walls, dove gray floors, accented with a seagrass runner and different basket weave accessories.
We all know how much I love a good tablescape, and the simplicity here is fantastic.
The low ceiling, round seagrass area rug, and louvered shutter in the stairwell are all elements that I would love to include in a beach house. There is also something about this space that is not over-thought. That is exactly how I would do a beach house--without overthinking the decorating. Just let the house be the house, and a great place to relax and enjoy time with friends--comfortable chairs and great pillows. I love the dark wood of the newel post and hand rail on the stairs.
This is in the kitchen, which is most certainly located in one of those building extensions that I mentioned above. The high beamed ceiling would have been good when large cooking fires were lit in the fireplace.
Who doesn't love an old farm sink with wall mounted fixtures and a blue and white striped skirt?
The hanging pendants as bedside table lights is fantastic, and something I wouldn't necessarily have thought of for the space. This allows for a space without chords near the bed, since the bed is floating in the middle of the room. Who wouldn't want to wake up in this space. Blue and white--never wrong.
And a detail from that room. Again the simplicity of it is fantastic. I also love this midcentury dresser in the space, its unexpected and yet works perfectly.
Bath time! Perfect. Nothing more to say.
Man, I need a vacation.
Photos courtesy of TomScheerer.com
