The Retro Beach Shack 'The perfect Happy Holiday House'

Last weekend the sailor and I planted the front garden, first of all we prepared the garden beds, mixing the existing sandy soil with a ton of organic goodness, man that was hard work.  I used plants that were commonly planted in beach houses in the fifties, gardenia's, hibiscus, kangaroo paws and a selection of grasses, I could have let myself get very carried here as I love gardening, I love plants with gorgeous blooms, I love colour, but keeping in mind that I needed to choose plants that could tolerate being dry this limited my selection. I am so thrilled with the result, I love the looping pathway and the use of the river stones, the camellia tree is popping with the most delicious lolly pink blooms.  The only thing missing from this retro beach garden is a bird bath, the bird life here is amazing, and I can't wait to see them them splish, splashing around in the front garden.

Did I mention a picket fence?  What retro beach shack would be without a picket fence with brightly coloured beach towels carelessly thrown over it!  

Yesterday, in the glorious sunshine, I planted my lovely three olive threes on the nature strip, surrounded by a variety of coastal daisies.  I am hoping that the local dogs don't pee on them and kill them before I get back up there to water them.

See before and here

This is my happy house, each time I arrive and drive into the driveway, she winks at me, a nod of approval for the sparkling, citrus yellow colour I painted her, I get out of the car and as I stand admiring her, I hear the waves rolling onto the beach, I let out a sigh, I feel relaxed.

  

My lovely collection of retro pots, how handsome they look.

A sunny spot to enjoy a cuppa and watch the birds splish, splashing around in the bird bath.

I can't help admiring my vintage Fix Masseau poster, and especially the striped wall behind it, very proud of my painting skills

I don't know which is my favourite bedroom..... bedroom one, it's bright, colourful and cheery.   One of my latest DIY pieces of wall art, the clay beads hang above my cheery DIY lampshade.

Bedroom two, also bright and airy with a strong navy palette for a nautical touch, this is where I drop my bag.......and there is a Rowan Romper for Rowan to wear to the beach.

walk through to the living room

Open the blinds.......

pour myself a glass of wine and head out here to the deck.......

later, I throw my towel over my shoulder and stroll down to the beach......

How very beautiful............

I am almost there, I just have a few little surprises left to complete my happy holiday house.  Over the past couple of weeks whilst working on the garden I have had many people stop in their cars or walk on by to tell me how much they love the house.  These comments have made me feel so happy!!

The Retro Beach Shack is available for holiday rentals.   Contact me for details.

The Fibro Beach Shack 'Landscaping'

The Landscaping for the Fibro Beach Shack was finally started on the weekend.  The removal of the big tree that was close to the front steps was a major hurdle, it's gnarly big branches twisted high above the overhead power lines and  it's diseased and rotted trunk made the job a tricky one.  Firstly consulting and finding the right Arborist, then the task of planning with Ausgrid and the local community to have the power cut whilst we bought this old girl down.

Thinking about the plan for the landscape design was really fun.  I made lots of sketches from my memory of  Gold Coast beach houses we owned and holidayed in when I was a child.  When I collated the drawings they had a strong link, each drawing had a playful and whimsical element, a winding path, statues, bird baths, brightly painted garden seats and yes, I admit we had a pair of flaming pink flamingoes and a white tyre swan with red hot lips.  With a playful garden design in mind, next I had come up with a solution for the driveway which has to be functional as well as attractive. With playful in mind, I decided on using  river pebbles for the driveway and the curvy path.  The path will meander from the drivewat across the front garden and around the existing camellia tree.  The river pebbles are perfect for creating a retro look and make such a delicious crunchy sound when you walk on them.  Rowan will love this!

Brilliant sunny skies over the weekend (Woe!  The sun really reflects off the yellow)  and we were able to complete all the hard landscaping.  If you are doing the DIY, you will need to buy a spray can of paint to draw your plan onto the ground.

TA DAAAA!

I am so happy with the outcome.  Perfect retro garden styling.  I have a colourful retro inspired plant list and hopefully they will arrive for a big planting day next weekend.

To continue the retro vibe on the front porch I have sourced an eclectic collection of retro cement pots.  A quick coat of any left over white paint and they are ready to be potted with a selection of succulents including lots of  my favourite, strappy plant, the 'Mother In Laws Tongue'.  

What did Rowan do?  He loved playing in the pebble pit.......and eating baskets of strawberries.

A change of clothes and a walk to the beach..."POOL", he squeels!

A play in the park and he always tricks me he is going to come down the slide.

He thinks about it, considers it and then yell's..."NAAAN..NAAAA"

Soccer or Rugby?  

And back to the river pebbles........I knew Rowan would love the delcious crunchy sound the pebbles make under his feet under his little feet!

And time for bed.

Remember this?

  If you are new to my blog you might like to see the before pics here and when I started the renovation here.