The Concept

“A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” – Henry David Thoreau

I was born in downtown Chicago, steps from Lake Michigan -- one of the Great Lakes, which are a vast post-glacier inland sea -- and no matter how far I've traveled or how far away I've lived, I always boomerang back!

Concept:

My regular place here in sweet home Chicago is my "downtown log cabin beach house," and my temporary place in a quiet and secluded neighborhood on Chicago's northside to escape the roof noise and vibration at my regular place will be my "Great Lakes summer serenity cottage!" 

I chose this concept -- or it chose me? -- for a feeling of summer relaxation and quiet, to evoke memories of childhood trips around the Great Lakes, and to celebrate this amazing planetary water system that I feel in my blood.

Inspiration:

(Yes: I bring chocolate to the beach; don't you? : )

Color scheme: 

Summer beach at the Great Lakes in blue, green, sand, white, and yellow! 

I've always loved blue-and-white and have quite a few dishes and vases and decor items in this color combination at my regular place. I've collected these items over the years and some are fancy, most are of an everyday variety, and all are adored. I wanted to extend blue-and-white into green-and-white, with sand to match the light oak floors at the cottage and with touches of yellow, all for a fresh and casual feel. (Hmm, ironically, my regular place is closer to the beach than the cottage; so it goes!) 

The basics of the color scheme are exemplified by some extra Spode pieces I ordered for the cottage from Replacements.com:

With concept and theme and scheme in place, I made a list of what I needed to order/buy and what I would bring,

and started ordering vintage and new furniture and home items to be sent to the cottage. I stayed under my budget -- wow! -- and it was a good thing too, as I would need that extra leeway later (hint: cleaning the cottage!). 

My move-in date of June 1 meant that Memorial Day sales -- usually the weekend before the final Monday in May -- were definitely in my favor this year; in fact, sales started more than a week early, which is kind of suspicious on the one hand, but on the other hand proved good timing for me! 

For example, I was able to order a Tuft & Needle non-toxic mattress at a very reasonable price, chose a white platform wooden bed frame on sale from Overstock for a beachy look, and had both sent to the cottage. 

I wanted to bring some things from my regular place, but I'm not moving so much as furnishing another place temporarily. At the end of the summer, if I have duplicates of things at cottage and condo and don't need both, I can sell or donate what's not needed. Moving house is a major life undertaking; moving some art and books and clothes and a favorite chair or two, and doing some online shopping and some yard sale shopping, is not. My plan was to save time and money and avoid stress this way; after all, this project is about a summer serenity cottage, not summer stress!

Back to ordering: I ordered framed posters from Ork Posters here in Chicago; artist Jenny Beorkrem creates visually and verbally dynamic posters of many cities and areas, and I have some of her work custom framed at my regular place showing cities where I used to have a chocolate tours business. Jorji the cat expertly supervised the unpacking of these new arrivals:

The posters really capture the color scheme, don't they, and here they are -- still at the regular place in the photo -- with an arrangement of a few other items for the cottage in the color scheme and in alignment with the beach cottage theme:

I had some of my Chicago and Lake Michigan photos, such as the two in the photo below, framed by Keepsake Frames for this project, along with a couple of free printable maps showing the Great Lakes that I found online. I was pleased as always with the quality and service; you upload your photos and choose a size and a wooden frame from a variety of options, which Keepsake Frames then assembles by hand and ships to you:

I had some other Keepsake Frames work sent directly to the cottage and will show you soon!

I have a voluminous collection of craft chocolate wrappers through my Chocolate Uplift business and personal passion, and I framed some of them myself for the home office I'll set up at the cottage:

It's coming together, from the concept outward, wouldn't you agree! 

Soon we'll go inside the cottage for moving day -- which again won't involve a big move -- and I'll get to show you this artwork on the walls, and other adventures before and after the hanging of the art!

Onward and upward!

Your friend in decorating,

Valerie

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Feel free to say hi via email as well: valerie.beck@post.harvard.edu.

Thank you!