This Cottage’s Packed With ‘60s Charm, Like a Dreamy Vintage Lavender Bathroom
Adrienne Breaux
·9 min read
Laura Bindloss, the founder of interior design PR and social media agency Nylon Consulting and the founder of YouTube channel Designer Home Tours, spent six months renovating this three-bedroom cottage in Bellport, New York. "We kept the original layout, original floors and fireplace, but it has new life in it," she describes of the renovation. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"[W]e ripped out so much of the house including the kitchen, we repainted and re-drywalled every square inch of the house, ripped out floors, redid all the electrical (we put in a pool so had to upgrade it, and also put in decorative lighting) and reinstalled the kitchen and all flooring in kitchen and bathrooms in six months," Laura writes.
"People always think you can’t mix design periods but that’s untrue — we have a mid-century coffee table with a very traditional sofa, and we have an antique table from the 19th century (with chairs as well) with a really modern Pooky chandelier and it totally works ..." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"...it keeps the space from looking like a museum or a catalog — you want things to be unexpected," Laura describes. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
Laura says they kept the original fireplace as is. They just painted the brick. "It’s from 1962 when the home was built. Same with the wooden floors — they were just covered by carpet," Laura writes. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"We ripped out all of the carpet ourselves — my husband got a mask on and spent a day ripping it all up since flooring companies charge a lot to do that," Laura writes of the proudest DIY. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"The home is way brighter — we love color, but wanted the home to feel clean and uncluttered, so we kept the walls pale with colorful trim and fun wallpaper," Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"To me, the home feels layered, with different textures and various time periods — we have some things that are more contemporary (some of the art, the rugs from Jaipur Living, and the Pooky chandelier over the dining table) mixed with very traditional elements (the dining table, dining chairs, the sofa in the living room, the millwork in the kitchen, and the Pooky Lamps in the living room)." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"The kitchen [is] by our client Isla Porter — I was so excited to get to work with them on something that was really custom, and choose fun choices like brass hardware (from British brand Corston Architectural) and a bold paint color for the interior of the cabinets (it's a bright red/orange)," begins Laura of the kitchen. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"They put us through the full design process — it was fun to see the details of door options, various shelving brackets, etc. — I didn’t realize how many options there were in a kitchen to design. They also helped suggest different layouts or storage since we ripped everything out and could start over." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"We have an appliance garage for the espresso machine and the blender. That means the counters are super clear, as well as a knife drawer." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"In the kitchen I also LOVE the Monogram range — it's induction and also uses smart technology, so the dial is touch screen just like a phone is, and it updates automatically like a smartphone whenever there is new software available. It also has an air fryer built into the oven, which is so handy." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"People always think you can’t put real stone countertops in a home when you cook or when you rent it because they’re not as durable as quartz or man-made ones," Laura writes. "I disagree — we ALWAYS use real stone countertops. If you really don’t like the look of etching then you can seal it with TuffSkin, but if you get a stone with color and movement, as we did with our Calacatta Burgundy slab from Aristic Tile, you really can’t see any etching (and also, patina = character)." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
Laura says the finished kitchen is something people always ask about. "It feels so quality. The finish and doors and design of the space are the number one question we get." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
Since Laura and Simon also share this home with renters, they wanted to make sure the style was "colorful, pattern forward, and with quality furniture, materials and appliances but not so that it would be too fussy or complicated with renters." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
Laura says they had to "prioritize spending money on the kitchen renovation since a house is unusable without a kitchen, and we had to put in a pool to make it more attractive to summer renters." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"Those two things, coupled with the budget we needed to rebuild some of the drywall that was falling apart and repaint and refinish the entire interior and exterior of the house meant that we had very little budget left for decorative products — which to me is so important as we want the home to feel special, and I refuse to buy boring furniture from big-box retailers," she continues. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"We were able to make it work by getting almost all of the furniture and art from estate sales, vintage stores and church sales, which gives the home a collected quality that feels interesting and unique." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"By putting in vintage pieces and selecting unique paint colors, wallpaper, and decorative lighting, the home was able to feel like a much-higher-end space than our budget would have allowed." Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"While we chose to use white walls throughout most of the house to keep it bright, we opted for colored trim around the windows, painted all the doors fun colors, and used fun wallpaper in the hallway and in both bathrooms to give it a punch," Laura describes. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
"Our most successful DIY was the basement transformation. Over two weekends and about $3,000: Installed vinyl plank flooring ($2,500); sprayed all walls/ceiling bright white ($200); added new lighting on dimmers ($500). We also couldn’t afford to have our professional painter do the entire basement (he was repainting and wallpapering every other room and the exterior, so we repainted the entire basement ourselves. It saved us a decent amount of money since it’s a large space," Laura explains. Credit: Genevieve GarruppoCredit: Genevieve Garruppo
Laura Bindloss, the founder of interior design PR and social media agency Nylon Consulting and the founder of YouTube channel Designer Home Tours, says the biggest challenge with renovating this three-bedroom cottage in Bellport, New York, was time.
“The tight six-month timeline was our main hurdle, especially with supply chain delays. We needed the home rental-ready for summer, but materials like custom kitchen cabinets had 12+ week lead times,” Laura begins of the dated house, which had been lived in by the same family since the 1960s.
“There was carpet everywhere (which we removed to show hardwood floors) and peeling wallpaper in the kitchen and bedrooms. The family that lived there had smokers, so the house smelled and things had yellowed. The bathrooms were old and dated — all cabinetry was falling apart in them and in the kitchen. The floors were linoleum; the countertops were plastic. It felt like a time warp,” Laura describes.
But, Laura also says there were lots of charming vintage details to love about the home, including the bathroom’s lavender Rheem-brand vintage tub, sink, and toilet. “We also kept the fireplace, but the brick was cheap so we painted it to make it a feature. The bar and basement were awesome — but had old flooring, and the walls were laminate so we painted them. We kept the original bar as it was real wood and beautiful, and we replaced the floors.”
It was preserving some of the house’s elements (like the lavender bathroom and the basement’s bar) instead of replacing them that helped keep Laura and her husband, Simon, on their short timeline. Laura says they also “[f]ocused on high-impact changes (paint, hardware, lighting) that could be completed quickly and [u]sed local vendors and estate sales to avoid shipping delays” to stay on time.
“We knew from day one we would be renting this house out, so we were designing it as a fun weekend getaway for our family as well as for guests,” writes Laura, whose family includes husband Simon, kids Hugo (6) and Ceci (4), and pup, Oskar.
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market’s sell-off cut deeper on Monday as Wall Street questioned how much pain President Donald Trump will let the economy endure through tariffs and other policies in order to get what he wants.
This TSX stock offers monthly payout and has an attractive yield of approximately 7%, making it a compelling investment. The post Passive-Income Investors: This TSX Stock Has a 7.1% Yield With Monthly Payouts appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
The Canadian market is navigating a complex landscape as uncertainties around U.S. tariffs and domestic political developments weigh on investor sentiment, with the TSX showing modest gains amidst this cautious backdrop. Despite the challenges, penny stocks—often representing smaller or newer companies—continue to capture attention due to their affordability and potential for growth when backed by strong financials. In light of current market conditions, we explore three penny stocks that...
Investing.com -- Amid the ongoing U.S. stock market selloff, Bernstein analysts suggested in a note Tuesday that now may be a rare opportunity to buy high-quality stocks at a discount.
I've long appreciated the investments in these three top Canadian stocks, and I plan to make more gains in 2025! The post 3 Canadian Stocks I Loaded Up on in 2024 for Long-Term Wealth appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Tesla stock has been struggling lately. Investors have hoped for a bounce as some of the politics driving increased uncertainty subsides. A rebound, however, didn’t materialize Monday as investors considered the possibility of a recession and a Wall Street analyst cut his forecast of deliveries.
OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada's interest rate announcement arrives on Wednesday in a cloud of uncertainty thanks to a shifting trade war with the United States.
The Russian rouble strengthened to a more than six-week high against the dollar on Tuesday, buoyed by subdued imports and hopes for a resolution to the war in Ukraine, even after Kyiv launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow. Ukraine's attack, in which at least 91 drones targeted the Russian capital, sparked fires, closed airports and forced dozens of flights to be diverted, Russian officials said. By 1319 GMT, the rouble was up 2.7% at 85.25 to the dollar in over-the-counter market trade, its strongest level since August 7, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market fell further Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s latest escalation in his trade war, briefly pulling Wall Street 10% below its record set last month. And like it's been for most of the past few weeks, the market’s slide on Tuesday was erratic and dizzying.
Growth-seeking investors focusing on reliable equity securities might want to consider adding this dollar store retail chain stock to their self-directed portfolios. The post If I Could Only Buy and Hold a Single Stock, This Would Be it appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
We recently published a list of Top 10 Stocks Everyone Is Talking About These Days. In this article, we are going to take a look at where NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stands against other top stocks everyone is talking about these days. Major AI stocks are wavering as investors assess the impact of decreasing hardware costs […]
Enbridge stock has been in the limelight since the tariff war began, making risk-averse investors anxious. Here is what you should know. The post Outlook for Enbridge Stock in 2025 appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Zhengzhou Exchange on Tuesday raised the trading margin requirements for some rapeseed meal futures contracts to 9% from 7% after Beijing's 100% tariff on Canadian imports triggered a two-day rally that pushed prices to a five-month high. The most active rapeseed meal futures contract surged 7.23% to close at 2,684 yuan per metric ton, building on a 6% gain in the previous session, to its highest since September 2024. The new trading margin requirements will be effective from settlement on March 12.
We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Discusses These 11 Stocks & Says There’ll Be A “Good Reason To Buy Stocks” Soon. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. In his recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on […]
While Palantir trades at a steep multiple, Brookfield Infrastructure is a TSX stock that trades at a discount in March 2025. The post Billionaires Are Selling Palantir Stock and Picking Up This TSX Stock Instead appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
These three TSX stocks might have what it takes to continue delivering substantial upside to investors, despite near-term volatilities rocking the boat. The post 3 TSX Stocks Soaring Higher With No Signs of Slowing appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
