Name: Mike and Angela Barnhill
Location: Kill Devil Hills, NC
Size: 1,124 square feet
Years lived in: weekends since 2007
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Three years ago Mike and Angela bought a neglected, but charming beach cottage and knew they had to restore it. They removed the old siding and painted the original dutch lap wood siding a blue-green color they discovered on a telephone at Restoration Hardware. On the inside, they opened up the ceiling in the living room, and moved the kitchen to what had been a ramshackle porch...
>> Enter Mike and Angela's Gallery!
The white paint on the walls, ceilings, and original wood floors gives the cottage a much larger feel than its 1,000 square feet. The original house was built in 1966, so Mike and Angela call their unique style "hip grandma's attic." IKEA, DWR, and lots of flea market finds form an eclectic, comfortable feel (the well-worn tulip table is a good example). They used original artwork when possible, including an oversized Calder print (in the 2nd bedroom) and a '60s surf poster, as well as a combination of Fiesta and Heller dinnerware.
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Mike and Angela's Survey
Our Style: Juxtaposing modern and antique and smiling when it works
Inspiration: Mike grew up going to the Outer Banks and always loved the simple, but unforgiving nature of the Roanoke sound, Jockey's Ridge, and the ocean, as well as the beauty of the historic, oceanfront Nags Head cottages. This was a response to watching so many tiny cottages being torn down for "bigger, newer, better," with little consideration for the size of the lot. The book Hamptons Havens - The best of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens was a major source of inspiration.
Favorite Element: The outdoor shower (Mike); The kitchen and daybed (Angela)
Biggest Challenge: Making the toilet/bathroom/shower/laundry layout work properly
What Friends Say: The all-white interior and bright color accents create a cheery, bright, and "feels bigger than it is" atmosphere
Biggest Embarrassment: Still trying to get the stereo speaker system to work properly.
Proudest DIY: Removing the ceiling in the Living Room to expose the rafters; it changed the whole character of the cottage as the ceiling heights are less than 8'.
Biggest Indulgence: Tossup between the Milk bottle chandelier and the Kravet fabric we used for the daybed.
Best Advice: Be creative with a negative and turn it into a positive — we removed a section of fence to expose a beautiful live oak and installed accent lights. An awful looking side porch has become our kitchen/dining room, and an unsightly back yard is now a joy to look out upon.
Dream Source: DWR; The antiques store (now) at the Raleigh farmers' market; IKEA at Potomac Mills; Cherry Modern furniture in Raleigh; Dwell, and Apartment Therapy (of course!)
>> Enter Mike and Angela's Gallery!
(Images: Michael Barnhill)
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Cute, happy home! Kill Devil Hills? Wow, I'd love to send you a letter just to be able to write that.
view visualingual's profile
I am jealous in Chicago.
Thanks.
view chicity1126's profile
Adorable. Great job.
view pvett's profile
Where is that desk with the laptop on it from?
view LSUgrad03's profile
LSUgrad03 - looks like IKEA to me! It's the new VIKA LINDVED trestle desk leg, available in black or white!
view Aaron's profile
Love all the windows in the kitchen and the clever storage under the huge window seat.
view colibri's profile
I feel like I just went on a tour of an Ikea store.
view mskarilynn's profile
Nice. :) I'm working on a weekend getaway remodel and hope it ends up looking half as good as this. I love the floors. Don't really see those on the West coast much.
view MODERnestS's profile
Where did you find that tiny octagonal table? I'm having such trouble finding little tables.
I LOVE your house. The house is so cozy, and still feels so open. Definitely inspiration material for me.
view thatmeggirl's profile
So gorgeous, not your typical Outer Banks house.
view jfinteriors's profile
love it!
view zachary's profile
Not my Grandma's Attic, but very Scando-American. It looks like a great place to spend the weekend. Especially love where they put the kitchen. Great idea!
view Charlotte's profile
Does anyone know where the stripey throw over the sofa is from? Lovely place! :)
view hati's profile
I covet that window seat and the windows in the kitchen.
view Brandyjane's profile
Greetings from over the bridge in Elizabeth City. What's the source for the shelf/hanging rack/drawer unit in photo #8? Great piece and place overall.
view DigNDesign's profile
That milk bottle chandelier is absolutely beautiful! And very nice house too! :-)
view blackadderin10's profile
If i ever bought a cabin, i would do something similar to this and just paint every ceiling, floor, nook, and cranny white. Waaaaaaaaaaaay better than dumb wood paneling.
http://www.tangiedecor.blogspot.com
view LTangie's profile
I covet the kneeling desk seat! Where's that from?
view vjb's profile
I'm one town north of KDH. I love and appreciate what you have done. Thanks for preserving and not tearing down to build a horrible plastic mcmansion! It looks like a great escape - ready for sandy feet and wet towels.
view MooPt's profile
Thanks to everyone for the comments - it's really energizing to hear! I'll try to answer some of the questions here:
The table IS the Vika Lindved - just couldn't beat it for the price
The tiny octagonal table - UGH! I bought it at a Raleigh Antique store for about $40 - because it met my dimensions - and as soon as I left the store I was disappointed - it's a bamboo plant stand painted red - I'm sure there are cheaper plant stands out there!
The stripey throw is from Target - I think it was a sale item so it may not still be available (?)
The shelving unit: again, Ikea came through - this is the Stolman series - I had seen it (I think) in Metropolitan Home and knew it could work in my space (the bedroom is really too small for a traditional closet) - As Ikea is not known for their shipping (they quadrupled my order for this!) I still have plenty of shelves if DigNDesign is interested
The kneeling chair is a balans variable I bought in college - I've seen them on ebay.
Thanks MooPt - my thoughts exactly!
view westroc's profile
I want to know EVERYTHING about painting your floors white -- the kind of paint, the primer, the coats of paint, everything! i am doing it as soon as i hear what you did. it's a glorious little crib, love it!
view pugluv's profile
I'm about 20 miles north on the sandbar too. While I agree with the comment about how nice it is to preserve an old beach house and not tearing it down to build a mcmansion, I feel this house screams the opposite of charming KDH.. Too modern and plastic-y looking for the area. The place is nice, but it doesn't quite fit.
view timi w.'s profile
Ouch! I appreciate the input, but I have to disagree. I removed (with proper documentation, testing, and disposal) the asbestos siding after removing the vinyl siding, which revealed the 1966 dutch lap siding. There are lots of vinyl sided cottages in our neighborhood - in fact I watched as some beautiful cedar shakes on one cottage were covered up by vinyl this past year. My hope is that by bringing back the original wood on our cottage (even with the added maintenance of painting) more neighbors will choose a natural option. I've posted exterior pictures at westrocconstruction.com (401 W Sportsman link). Please take a look and let me know if the "plastic-y" moniker still applies.
view westroc's profile