Cottage thoughts

The stack of shelter magazines beside my bed is so high and teetering (not to mention dusty) that I can barely climb into bed at night. But last night I treated myself to the November issue of HOUSE BEAUTIFUL mostly to get a glimpse of Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s new barn. But lo and behold, I found a new crush: the Moroccan influenced Miami home of Gene Meyer and Frank De Biasi. It’s hard to tell from these photos, but I think maybe their house is a CBS (concrete block structure) like our little Tybee cottage. Our CBS is currently a radioactive yellow with loud blue trim. Check the Miami house exterior–white stucco? with bold turquoise trim.

But it’s those concrete seahorse reliefs on either side of the front entry that snagged me. I WANT those seahorses. They remind me of all the Florida flourishes on houses of my childhood growing up in St. Petersburg. According to BH, the color on the door is Benjamin Moore Cayman Lagoon. We’re painting the outside of the Breeze Inn a soft turquoise with a little gray in it–I think it’s a Sherwin-Williams color called Aquaduct. How groovy would a pair of those seahorses be on either side of my front door–which will be a hot hibiscus pink screen door with aluminum heron relief that I bought at Brimfield this past summer? Anybody got a couple seahorses hanging out that they don’t want? I also love how they painted their library pink–and crafted those intricate seashell relief doodles. I can tell you right now that Mr. Mary Kay would put the kibosh on that in a New York minute if I tried glueing seashells on the wall of our new house. However, I am going to show him the photo of this sitting room, with its line-up of forties rattan furniture. I’ve been hoarding rattan for years now, just waiting to put it in my virtual beach house. Yes, this magazine is definitely going to the top of the bedside stack.