Last weekend, Mr. L and the kids and I snuck away for one last vacation before summer comes to an end. My mom usually takes my sister and me on a girls’ trip every year, but this year she offered to rent a vacation home for the entire family in Port Aransas. We had so much fun going back to Port A. But the house. Oh. My. Goodness. It was amazing.
Because we were on vacation, I didn’t bring my big camera and took photos with my iPhone. They’re not perfect (and you can definitely tell that the house has been lived-in at this point), but I wanted to show you how awesomely decorated this place was. Here is a link to the rental website in case you want to see the professional photos.
BEACH HOUSE ENTRYWAY
When we walked in, we were blown away by the common area. The kitchen, dining area, and living area are all connected, which is perfect for a vacation home because you can spend time with everyone no matter what you are doing.
We actually ended up spending most of our time at the counter-height bar that ran along the kitchen. The kids would perch on the stools at mealtime, and we got to relax because (1) the kids (and their messy hands) couldn’t escape the chair until we helped them down and (2) we could easily wipe spilled food off the woven plastic seats.
I was really happy to test out the Serena and Lily Rivera Stools because I have been obsessed with them for quite some time now. They are incredibly comfortable. The slight angle of the seat is really nice to lean into. Somehow I think this knockoff stool won’t have the same feel. But at over $300 each, the Serena and Lily bar stools will have to stay on my when-I-start-working-again wish list.
This is a photo overlooking the dining table into the living room. As you can see, everything has a nautical feel. The chandelier over the table is made out of oysters, and there were starfish and shells and coral placed in decorative bowls throughout the house. I thought the media center with the reclaimed doors was cool. And I love the entire color scheme of teal-blue and white.
I HEART SPOOLS
I am in love with this spool armchair. I have always had my eye on these chairs from Ballard Design, but I never thought about painting the wood a different color. The Kate Spade throw pillows are darling too.
Having lived with the spool armchairs for four days, however, I gained a bit of valuable insight. The entire time we were there, nobody actually sat in the spool armchairs. I haven’t decided whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, they are admittedly not as comfortable looking as the cushy couch, so the couch won the seating battle. On the other hand, these armchairs are so pretty and stayed pretty because nobody–not even the four toddlers roaming the house–sat in them. Is it bad to want a chair that will stay pretty because nobody will sit in it? For some reason, I want that.
DARLING ROOMS
I absolutely adored the room decor. Each room was so original and went along perfectly with the beach theme. I also liked that the rooms were not overly decorated with kitschy accessories. Everything felt very clean.
I’ve seen the glass bowls above the bed sold individually at a boutique in downtown Austin, but never would have thought about arranging them as a focal point in a bedroom. And the mix of beach-chic with the modern glass is clever.
The settee in the glass-bowl guest room had great upholstery. Loved the nautical cushion on top of the rattan base.
I didn’t get a photo of the downstairs master bedroom, but I did take a photo of the throw pillows from the bed. Such an interesting combination of fabrics. Every throw pillow was filled with an over-stuffed down insert. I loved how cushy and heavy they felt.
PERSONAL TOUCHES
You can see how well-thought-out the decor was in each room, even the bathroom. And again the restraint in decorating. It was nice not having to find a place to set our stuff.
The boat pillow on the linen shelf is so cute. If I ever do a nautical theme in Lamborghini’s room, I may have to find this pillow.
This is the living area on the second floor at the top of the stairs. So many cute details and colors.
Even the bathrooms were adorable. I feel like I need this basket . . . and a bathroom big enough to fit this basket.
A KID’S DREAM COME TRUE
We opted to sleep in the bunk room during our stay so that we could sleep in the same room as The Dot and Lamborghini. We set up a pack-n-play for The Dot (although she ended up in our bed every morning). And Lamborghini had his choice of the eight twin-sized beds in the room. He was OBSESSED with the bunk beds and slept in a different top bunk each night. He practiced climbing in and out of them every day and finally got the hang of it by the second night.
You can’t see them very well in the photo, but the cutest ottomans were on each side of the bed. They are super durable because they are made out of plastic, and the color and pattern is so fun.
Look at how cute the custom pillows are. I’m still swooning over the orange one on the bottom bunk.
NO TOYS
As I went through these photos after the trip, I started thinking about how clean and airy the vacation house felt in comparison to my own house, which can sometimes feel a little cluttered. I figured it out, though. This house had no toys. And the interesting thing is that we didn’t actually bring any toys with us, and the kids were 100% content all of the time. It is sort of making me reexamine my entire approach to leaving toys out in the house.
Anyway, I hope to post more details about what we did on our trip soon. But the house was so cute, I had to share ASAP. I hope you enjoyed the tour.
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