It’s been a while since I’ve shared real progress at the beach cottage so I’m so excited to have a lot to show you in the coming weeks! Our little coastal cottage is starting to look like a real house and we keep joking that we want to move in full time because it’s looking so great!
We are finally into the “pretty” part of the project and it’s starting to get overwhelming because there is so much to do and so many directions we can go every time we are there working. We’ve shifted projects around and have made progress in every room even though no room is finished just yet.
That brings me to today. I’m excited to share with you the installation of our new window trim plus our stained front door.
Most of the original window trim was either damaged already or got damaged during demo. We planned ahead for this and ordered 1 x 4 boards at the same time we ordered our shiplap which proved to be a great decision because wood has gotten so expensive and even hard to find in recent months.
Against my better judgement, B had me prime and paint all the boards before cutting and fitting them into the new windows. I guess in the end, it was a time saver. Once the boards were cut and installed, I really only needed to fill holes and touch up paint.
The shiplap, if you recall from an earlier post, is painted Sherwin Williams Extra White. It’s a clean, neutral, bright white. We absolutely love it for our cottage! For the trim, I knew I wanted a little bit of a contrast but didn’t want anything too dark. We settled on Sherwin Williams Front Porch. It’s a true, light gray, neutral. I feel like the swatch online makes it look more taupe and its not at all in real life.
I don’t notice any real undertones which makes it a great neutral. The gray and white look beautiful together but won’t compete with all the decor or other design elements.
We are using the same trim throughout the entire cottage. It’s installed everywhere on the first floor except the kitchen window which I’ll be sharing more about in the near future.
That brings me to the front door. You may recall that I painted the new front and back doors navy blue to contrast with the colors we’ve chosen for the exterior of the cottage. We used Benjamin Moore Hale Navy which is a beautiful color. It’s one of my all time favorites!
On the inside, I felt like we have nothing natural. All the surfaces (walls, trim, windows, floors, etc.) are painted and thinking about the big picture with all our design plans, i was worried we wouldn’t have enough natural wood to balance things out. We were so fortunate to be able to use this brand new solid wood door so I decided that instead of painting the inside, I’d try to stain it first.
The wood was already a pretty color but just a tad too “warm”. I wanted the door to be warmer than all the whites, grays and blues but not quite so red. I’m not a stain expert so it was a little trial and error. I ended up going with my first choice, a semi transparent stain from Minwax called “Driftwood”. It really didn’t change the color of the door but seemed to tone the red down and gave it a richer feel.
The only remaining trim in the main living areas and dining room is the floor trim which we won’t add until the floors are finished. Things are moving along so nicely and we just love how it’s looking. Now that the front door is stained, the living room is nearing completion!
Want more details from the Coastal Cottage project? Check out these posts:
- Coastal Cottage: Progress in the Bathroom
- Coastal Cottage: Painting the Shiplap and Exposed Ceilings
- Coastal Cottage: Installing the Shiplap
- Coastal Cottage: The new Front Door
- or scroll through all the coastal cottage posts all the way back to the beginning…
Leave a Reply