Before & After: Chum Bucket, part one

Often, when you buy a beach house, you don’t just buy the house. You get everything inside – whether you want it or not. This was the case when we purchased Chum Bucket a few years ago.

Over the next few days, I’ll show you the wonderful transformation of our rental home on Sunset Beach, NC.

Did we buy a cabin in the woods or a beach house? Did someone say, “dumpster“? Almost all the existing furniture went to Habitat for Humanity.

I started this project with a new space plan, and fresh “bones”.¬† New “wenge wood” floors (covered with an Olefin, “sisal” rug) and light blue satin paint let the sunshine in. The pillows on the sofa reflect the color palette – navy blue, turquoise, white and a touch of red.

Too bad I took this photo after taking down the “artwork” hung on the door. I moved the dining area to the right, so we could access the closet, and painted the door the same as the walls, so it blends in. The backs of the bookcases were painted blue to match the color scheme.

The new space plan allows for a main traffic path, seating for ten at the table, and storage.

A beach house should be light, breezy and fun. Not creepy, right? I harvested the sunlight by using reflective surfaces and using a satin paint finish. The painting is by Daniel Stewart.

More photos, info. and resources after the jump.

White slipcovers are a great design secret. They take a beating after a summer of renters. Bleach them back to new. Better yet, buy new ones. Ektorp replacements are $40.

The Clarence House curtain fabric had been discontinued. So I got a real bargain. I had a new cover made for the wicker chair to tie in with the pillows.

It’s amazing what a little paint can do. And new counters. And new hardware. But it was cheaper than new cabinets. I made the shade for the door to match the living room curtains.

Resources

• Most of the furniture came from IKEA including Ektorp Sofas, Liatorp bookcases and coffee table, and Nordmyra dining chairs .
• The curtain and pillow fabrics are from Clarence House.
• Olefin carpet can be taken outside and washed with a hose. This is from a local carpet shop and was very inexpensive.
• To read about the photos over the sofa, click here.
• The Capiz floor lamp is from West Elm.

Tomorrow I’ll cover the bedrooms and baths. In the meantime, please tell me what the previous owners (a plastic company) were thinking when they chose their furnishings.