(my Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew collection)
This past week, I put a poll on Instagram.
It was a picture of me (with extra red lipstick) heading out on a road trip, and I asked everyone where they thought I was going.
Someone said Waco.
Someone said Florida.
Someone said camping (what in the world)?
Someone said California.
And all those someone’s would be wrong.
If you’ve read this blog for more than a hot minute, you are probably nodding right now because you know where I’m heading.
And you would be right.
We packed up the car and drove across 14 states and stopped at 12 different Starbucks and put the pedal to the metal and didn’t stop until we saw the Atlantic Ocean.
Yes.
Yes, my wonderful, amazing, incredible friend.
We are back home again at Cape Cod.
And today I wanted to share a tour of the house and talk all about a fun project we are in the middle of.
Let’s GO.
// similar vintage fishing buoys//
I’ve spent almost every summer of my life here at this house on Cape Cod.
My great-grandfather drove my great-grandmother out to the edge of the ocean in a sleigh in the middle of a snow-covered day and fell in love with each other and the land. After they married, he bought her 40 acres of beachfront views in the 1920s.
Together they grew old and raised four sons, including my grandfather, and helped generations of family to build houses and celebrate summers in a place where the ocean meets the sky.
I am lucky enough to be a part of one of those families.
We spent every summer in one of those houses.
This one.
This amazing, incredible, beautiful, keeper of the summer memories house.
The one I am typing this blog post from.
It was built in the 1950’s and it’s been in our family for over 60 years.
It provided my inspiration for decorating a beach house.
Want to take a tour (including the exact spot I discovered Nancy Drew mystery novels)?
Oh, good.
Here’s a coastal beach house tour of our Cape Cod house.
Blue and White Beach House Tour
Here’s the view of the front of the house.
My grandmother considered herself a visionary.
She didn’t want a house like everyone else. She wanted something a little unique and mid-century modern (back when it was actually in the mid-century). So the house has an entire bank of windows that face the ocean. There are two stories of windows on the front of the house with a large roof that slants in the back.
My mother added a sleeping porch on the side of the house with additional windows (you can see it on the left-hand side) and views of the ocean.
This is the view from those windows.
Nothing but ocean and shoreline as far as the eye can see.
There’s a little path on the left-hand side that takes you right down to the beach. The beach is amazing. It’s sleepy and not really used that much except by family and a few other people who live nearby.
We leave our chairs at the base of the path and our flip flops at the top.
Here’s the view on the other side of the windows when you walk in the front door.
The house has a large central living space that can easily house generations of family. The ceiling has the original wood beams and the floor is the original slate that my grandmother had installed. No wood planks for her.
Remember?
She considered herself a visionary.
My dad started and my brother finished the built-ins on the left-hand side of the wall and I added the artwork where I made a flag from starfish and sand dollars.
Here’s the kitchen.
Same beams and same floor.
There’s a skylight in the top of the roof and if I squint, I can see my grandmother opening up the shutters on the skylight with a pole with a hook on the end of it.
Last night I made the YUMMIEST recipe here that I’m sharing on Thursday.
If you lived next door, I’d invite you over for supper.
Directly off the kitchen is the dining room. They are actually kind of the same room.
You can see the corner of the kitchen counter to the right in the picture above.
That table is my great-grandmother’s and I have eaten more lobster and swordfish and coahogs and corn on the cob at that table than I can count.
On the other side of the dining room is the porch.
It’s an all-weather sleeping porch with a built-in bench for overflow sleeping when we have extra family here at the house.
The gray bench on the left is from the summer camp building where I went to camp (and my kids all went to camp, t00.)
And this is my room.
There are four bedrooms in the house and this is mine.
It’s where I learned to love Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins.
It’s where I discovered that clamshells make great organizers.
It’s where I planned adventures and listened to the ocean waves against the shore and picked corn cob out of my teeth and wiped off feet covered in Cape Cod sand.
I’m so glad my great-grandmother took that sleigh ride.
It changed the course of my summers.
It piqued my interest in decorating a beach house.
And in amazing news?
My feet are still sandy and Nancy Drew is still the most brilliant detective in town.
PS I’m still reading and I just finished this book. TEN OUT OF TEN.
PPS This week we are starting on the BASEMENT. We are adding new flooring and painting and decorating the entire bottom level. I’ll share everything with you, but if you want to follow along,
I’ll be sharing the day-to-day on Instagram and YouTube.
Here are a few of the sources I’ve used for the house and a few other fun nautical finds:
- the 24″ x 24″ sham inserts
- the nautical captain’s wheel
- the navy and white hotel bedding
- this navy and white beach sign
- these starfish pillows (so affordable)
- down alternative duvet insert
- white curtains
- these sheets are AMAZING (over 300,000 reviews)
- the 8 x 10 natural fiber rug
- this pleated bed skirt
- this navy and white nautical artwork
- the striped blue and white pillow covers
- these nightstands
photography credit: Some of these photos in this post were taken by the amazing photographer for my book, The DIY Style Finder.
disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post.
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