Dude. We actually made serious progress at the beach house this weekend. We arrived with a long to-do list and managed to knock out roughly half of it over four days (thankfully the kids had Monday and Tuesday off). It felt great to lock the door knowing a large portion of the kitchen is now done.
There’s still more to do: buy a fridge and dishwasher, add floating shelves around the stove, install a backsplash, finish toe kicks and quarter round at the cabinet bases, and build a larger island countertop with a sink and a 12″ overhang for stools. But we finally have perimeter counters — they still need to be screwed down and sealed, yet they’re in place. Drawers work (we still need hardware) and the hood is hung (the white on it is a protective cover that will be stainless once removed). I know I keep saying “but we still need to do X,” yet this progress genuinely feels exciting. Not long ago the kitchen looked like this:
And when we first bought the place last fall it looked like this:
So yeah—definite progress!
We recorded a walk-through video just before we locked up, covering what’s next and summarizing changes throughout the house since our last tour in October. If you’re viewing this through a reader you might need to click through to the full post to see the video. If the embed has issues, it’s also available on YouTube. Below is the embedded metadata for the video.
If you can watch video, it captures far more detail, photos, and explanation than text alone. If you can’t, here are some photos and highlights.
The front bedroom came together nicely. We couldn’t fit the headboard in the car, so that will be going up on our next trip. We’ll also hang curtains to make the bed feel grounded in front of the window. Moving the side tables from the back bedroom and rolling out an 8 x 10 indoor/outdoor rug made the room feel instantly cozier. The rug is soft, easy to clean, and durable for a beach house.
There’s a mood board with sources at the bottom of this post listing bedding, lamps, and more. We’ve also been asked a lot about a “Shop Our Beach House” page like we have for our main house, and yes—we plan to create that as rooms come together, hopefully in the next month or two.
For the guest room we tried a sandy-colored 5 x 8 rug made from a hemp/cotton blend that feels durable and beachy. We’re naturally drawn to blue accents (hello, beach house), so it’s nice to balance the cool tones with warm finishes like refinished wood doors and floors, and the pink stove.
Downstairs we added another 8 x 10 rug in a silvery gray-blue. On sunnier days it reads beautifully, but the sofa in that room is a deep denim blue, so we’re considering switching rugs between rooms to avoid too much of the same blue tone. Swapping 8 x 10 rugs between rooms gives flexibility, which I enjoy since I tend to move things around a lot.
We also tested a darker rug that ultimately didn’t work. It looked more subtle online but in person read busy and clashed with the other blues in the house, so we decided to return it. Returning a rug is a pain, but it’s worth it when something doesn’t feel right in person.
The hall bathroom remains a favorite. We found the perfect mirror but couldn’t fit it in the car, so it will go up next visit. We did hang a shower curtain and finished caulking the tile edges; the remaining tasks are small — a toilet paper holder, towel hooks, window treatments, and hanging art.
The master bathroom finally got its glass shower panel installed, which made the space feel bright and open. Choosing a slim glass panel instead of a bulky wall created a more spacious feeling even though the shower is only slightly smaller than the hall shower. We still want to add a wooden stool, more warm wood accents, window treatments, and towel hooks, but the glass made a huge difference.
Back to the kitchen: assembling the cabinets felt like a marathon of snapping, drilling, hinging, and leveling over four days. We chose Ikea cabinets because we’ve been happy with them in other projects and the beach house budget required affordable options. We ordered during Ikea’s spring kitchen event, so the whole kitchen — including counters and sink — came in around $3,000, which we’re thrilled about.
Luckily, this install only required assembling eight cabinets, not a massive kitchen of 25+ pieces. We kept the layout simple and chose plain white cabinet fronts to let the pink stove and original architectural details be the focal points.
We’ll eventually paint the back door and add weatherstripping to that small gap. The light reflecting on the floor exaggerates the space under the door, prompting funny “can an animal get in there?” comments — it’s actually not that big.
Cutting and installing the countertops was the fastest portion. We measured multiple times, taped the cuts to reduce splintering, and used a circular saw. Every cut fit perfectly, and each of the four countertops lined up well. They still need to be screwed down and sealed, and the island layout remains to be finalized, but successfully cutting and fitting counters on the first try was a huge relief. The butcher block color matches the heart pine floors closely and should blend even more once sealed.
The kitchen table and chairs came from Craigslist for $65 — the table has great legs — but we plan to swap the chairs for white ones to brighten that dark spot. Chandeliers will be lowered about 10″ now that the floors are finished and people aren’t constantly ducking under them. And yes, the long list remains: dishwasher, a drawer under the microwave, a bigger island with a sink, art, and more finishing touches. Still, we have a half-functional kitchen, which is huge.
Other tasks we completed: I scraped and cleaned stickers off all the windows until they were shiny, and I spackled every nick and dent I could find (you may spot some patched areas in the video that need sanding and paint next trip). When the hood went up, I even climbed onto the counter to patch a small ceiling ding. PARKOUR!
Here’s a final shot of the kitchen from the door — no more stacks of Ikea boxes on the floor, which feels like a huge relief.
Below is the mood board we previously shared with the full list of sources; we’ve added the new items we brought on this trip. The list includes paint colors, rugs, mirrors, vanities, counters, cabinets, and more — everything we’re using throughout the house.
1. Living Room Art / 2. Kitchen Stool (similar) / 3. Chair Version of Kitchen Stools / 4. Front Bedroom Art / 5. Walls (SW White Heron) / 6. Downstairs Trim (SW Stone Isle) / 7. Upstairs Trim (SW Pure White) / 8. Tub & Pocket Doors (SW Riverway) / 9. Foyer Mirror / 10. Hall Bath Tile / 11. Hall Bath Vanity / 12. Downstairs Bath Mirror / 13. Downstairs Bath Vanity / 14. Master Bath Mirror / 15. Master Bedding / 16. Master Bedside Lamps / 17. Master Bedroom Art / 18. Master Bath Tile / 19. Master Bath Accent Tile / 20. Master Nightstands / 21. Hall Bedding
22. Leather Ottomans / 23. Hall Bedroom Art / 24. Extra-Long Waffle Shower Curtain / 25. Downstairs Bath Art / 26. Glass Shower Pane / 27. Pink Downstairs Lamps / 28. Hall Bedroom Blanket / 29. Front Bedroom Blanket / 30. Blue Front Bedroom Lamps / 31. Kitchen Counters / 32. Wood Benches / 33. Front Bedroom Pillow / 34. Kitchen Cabinets / 35. Front Bedroom Rug / 36. Living Room Rug / 37. Middle Bedroom Rug
For lighting sources, our mood board includes fixtures for the front porch, downstairs bath, kitchen island, foyer, bedrooms, kitchen sconces, living and master baths, mudroom, dining, and hallway. We use clear, soft white LED bulbs throughout for a warm, consistent glow.
In a surprising bit of news, on November 5 we got an unseasonably warm 70-degree day and actually went swimming at the beach. It felt incredible. Of course, the next morning it was back down to 40 degrees, but that warm day was a memorable treat.
Psst — you can see more of our beach house adventures in the beach house category of our site, which covers the whole process from the start.
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