June Updates on Mackinaw Road
June was beautiful here in Michigan! Better yet, we were able to get several TO DO list items completed including the exterior painting of the Beach Cabin, landscaping, and re-staining the deck. We are having family out to the cottage this weekend and are excited to host. I also just finished a summer read and it was a fun one. More on all of these updates as well as the Top Performers over on LTK this month.
**DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you click and purchase, I may receive some compensation. Thank you!
June Updates: Beach Cabin Exterior
There is a more in depth post about the paint colors we chose for the Beach Cabin exterior in the works but here is a little glimpse of the overall scheme. We kept it classic with what we consider to be Lake Michigan cottage colors of white and green. The antiqued white is perfect for this turn of the century cottage. The green has chameleon-like qualities, changing throughout the day.
The deck was re-stained to a butternut color with slightly less orange tones than the cedar stain of last year.
We added some juniper trees along the side of the deck. They are such a beautiful color! Perhaps most importantly, they are deer resistant.
Yet another post is coming soon about all of the different varieties of hydrangeas that we have in our gardens (including one type that has been a flower no show since the summer we bought it). The hydrangeas that consistently perform for us (even when my planting skills are less than by-the-book) are the Annabelle hydrangeas. This variety feels very classic to me and was the clear winner for our traditional cabin exterior. R bought a watering timer for the hydrangeas and the junipers that he can operate from his phone in case we are away from the cabin (which I never like to be June-September, but just in case).
June Updates: Beach Cabin Interior
Waking up in the trees with the windows wide open is one of summers greatest joys! (Just ignore the random sock on the floor- we are clearly very laid back here!) At the end of last summer, we added a black metal floor lamp. It is perfect for the space! (And is almost always on sale these days.) I bought another lamp from the same store/designer for the guest room. It is linked below as well.
I purchased our coverlet from Serena and Lily last year during a sale. Because the bedroom is directly off the main living area, it felt like a good investment. I really love how it elevates not only the bedroom but also the other spaces. This year, I found another quilt that goes really well with the Beach Cabin interior and took advantage of the summer sale once again. Photos coming soon. This quilt will likely go in our Guest Bedroom downstairs.
June Updates: Dining Room Rug & A Design Filter
I found yet another sale and purchased a rug for the dining room! The simple repeated square and muted colors are just what our dining room called for. We had the previous rug since our condo when we were first married and it has been through the wringer. Here’s hoping with our advanced age (and older kids and no puppies in the immediate future) that we are able to keep this one looking nice for a long time to come. One of a newer design filters that I am trying to be cognizant (definitely not perfect) of is bringing mainly natural materials into our Colonial Home and The Beach Cabin. Design filters can be especially helpful if you are like me and love almost everything. This rug made the cut with its wool and jute combination.
June Updates: A Cocktail Dress and The Hotel Nantucket
A clothing filter that I typically attempt is whether something can be dressed up or dressed down and used for multiple occasions. This cocktail dress is perfect for dressing all the way up with heels, halfway up with wedges, and dressed down with sandals. A cardigan or blazer could probably transition it to the workplace too.
The Hotel Nantucket was a quick and fun summer read. I think it would be especially entertaining to read if you are vacationing on Nantucket. I haven’t been and it made me wonder which places are real and which are fiction. And then at the end, the author tells you! How nice to have a built in guidebook at the end. Hotel Nantucket has a cast of characters with secrets. There is a ghost, which isn’t really my thing, but she ends up playing a fairly minor role and serves as a narrator in certain situations. Scandal is the name of the game in this book.
June Updates: LTK
Below are the most clicked on links over on LTK for the month of June (minus four hours because Fourth of July weekend is almost here!).
