The above is a picture of the place I escape to in Maryland. My stepmother owns it and has been extremely gracious about me using it whenever I want. It works out to be far less than I'd like but it's still nice to have the key on my ring and know I have unrestricted access. It's been a refuge at times. It's very small and very rustic but it has a comfy bed for me, a bathroom, a tiny kitchen and a roof to keep the rain off my head...all within walking distance of the beach. It makes me very happy.
This is what the place looks like now. Oh, you can't see it? That's because it was torn down. I mentioned the "rustic" nature of the cottage. Perhaps that may be a bit of a euphemism. It had several issues repair-wise. My stepmother was content to keep working through them one by one. Dad on was of the opinion that all efforts amounted to attempting to "polish a turd" as he so charmingly put it. After much discussion, various legal wranglings and whatnot the decision was made to tear it down to make way for a new cottage. This week it became a blank slate. It will be interesting to see what goes up. I hope it's still going to be a smallish place. It won't have the same weird personality initially so I hope I'll be able to go help create some when it comes time to paint it and put our individual stamp on the place. Of course, in time I hope we get to make lots of memories in the new place.
14 comments:
Oh ouch.. that would be a heart-breaker to see it go but I'm certain you're right. The new place will become that refuge for you too. Perhaps some of the older touches from the original cabin.. the furniture.. accessories ..etc.
And I'm thinking tie-dye sheets. ;)
Have you been given any sort of time line?? A beach getaway sounds perfect just about now!
Oh, kind of sad to see it go, but I guess it's nice to have something new to look forward to. I sure hope you do get the opportunity to give it some personality...that way no matter what it looks like initially, it'll definitely be cool when you're done with it. :)
Aw. Sad. I think you read my post Dream House? I hate to see stuff like this. Well, I don't know the facts of course. Some things do, in fact, need to be torn down and replaced.
Just don't let it get ruined, if you can. The people who renovated my Nana's house did a lovely job. Really, but I think they ruined it all the same.
My in-laws redid their own beach house - same thing. It's nice and all, with the stainless steel and black granite, but it's not a beach house anymore. You have to worry about tracking any sand in &c. And they enclosed the outdoor shower.
Wrong, just wrong.
By enclosed, I mean a roof, not a wall, btw.
As I said, both are nice, but still - a beach house should be a beach house, not a transplanted slice of suburbia.
I love those eccentric old rustic cottages. Northern Michigan is full of 'em, and I have had many happy occasions to enjoy several of 'em.
One of our favorites was a place we stayed in, in Ontario's Niagara Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Ontario. Passing thru the area again several years later, we decided to stop in and have a look at the old place, only to find that it had been replaced by rows of five-story condos. Each with its own lake view, but nobody in town had even a glimpse of the lake anymore. . .
Anyway, here's hoping that the new place will have a charm all its own for you to enjoy. . .
that cottage looks perfect as it is!
It will be fun when the new cabin is built with modern conveniences!
It's staggering, how much work goes into that. Ty Pennington makes it look so easy.
Word verification was "caves." Now THERE'S an idea!!
Aww. That's sad. Course, I suppose it is better to have a cottage that wouldn't fall down on your head or cause other bodily damage to you. ;)
Do they make tie-dye paint? ;)
Time Marches On!
That's too bad to lose the old place, but maybe the new one will be equally great.
Looks big enough for us. A safe shelter to sleep and cook and stay dry.
What more do you need during Summertime or for a Night?
Our Summerhouse is smaller, but we have what we need. And easy and quick to clean. LOL
I recently saw the world's most charming bird coop--made out of old doors, all nailed together whim-whammy like. Maybe the new place for you could be made out of old doors? Heh.
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