Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Cottages Old and New - Adventures in Southport NC

Hi ya! Hope your week is going well. Mine is great so far! This is a long post, so grab yourself a drink and a snack. :)


Today I wanted to share an adventure David and I took on Sunday. We decided to take a little drive (40 minutes) to Southport, NC.


This small, seaside town is packed with Southern charm and character.


There were delightful shops and restaurants everywhere. We had lunch at the Fishy Fishy cafe. Yummy! If you ever go to Southport, you should eat here.

The best part of the adventure for me was seeing all the cottages. Give me small and charming any day. I admit, there were several times I almost hyperventilated with all the cuteness. David started counting how many times I said, "Oh My Gosh! That is sooooooooooooo cute!" Then he gave up because it was pretty much all I said.  hee,hee,hee

I thought it would be fun to share the photos with you. First, we will start off with the old cottages. Most of these were built in the late 1800's.

This was the first one we came to. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1200 square foot cottage has been completely remodeled and is a quick hop and a skip to the water. However, it's super pricey at $595,000!!! Can we say "location, location, location." Yep. 


I could have moved right into this one too. That little deck up top is so sweet!


I love the salmon and white colors of the house against the green of the grass and the brown tones of the tree, front door and stone fence. I think these would be gorgeous in a quilt. ;) Hmmm...noted.


Is it just me, or are yellow cottages always so friendly? You can't help but smile when you see a yellow cottage.


While we are looking at the old cottages, I must point out one of my favorite things about this area. The trees!


You know how much I adore trees.


There are Live Oak trees everywhere. Many of which have moss hanging from them. My favorite! These trees are hundreds of years old.

This cottage was surrounded by trees and there was even a tree swing in the yard. Fun!

I loved the Victorian details of this cottage. It was quite large compared to the other homes on the street.


The same with this one, which was an inn.
 
Even the side view of this home was welcoming. The yard, or garden as my UK and Aussie friends say, was beautiful.

This one was very patriotic. Notice the details on the bay window.

This one had been remodeled. I think they did a wonderful job. The windows on the front porch with the shutters were very interesting. They are not what you would normally see on a bungalow style house. Again, note the tree swing on the right. ;) 


This one had charming details, trees and a gorgeous yard. I could take a nap under a quilt on that porch any day! Well, except when it's 100 degrees out like it was on Sunday.


The last stop in the "Old Cottage" section is this majestic home with a widow's walk. It was really fun for David and I to find this house. Lyd told me that her mother in law grew up in this house! It was built by her great grandfather who was a famous blockade runner. Lyd's husband, John, said great, great, grandfather's photo is in the local museum.


Here is the historic marker across the street from the house and...


here is the view from the house! Incredible. Of course, Lyd and I both chatted about living there during a hurricane. NOT!

Now, we will hop down the road a bit and go into a brand new cottage neighborhood. These homes have all been built within the last few years. They are twice the size of the old cottages and half the price. The trade off is location. You would have to drive to the water from here. Also, there are no trees. Like many new neighborhoods, the developer comes in and clear cuts everything (insert grumbling here). :(  I will admit though that I fell in love with the neighborhood despite the fact there were no Live Oak trees.


The homes are simply charming and completely up to date with modern, energy efficient finishes.
Like most new neighborhoods, there are several home plans to choose from. This plan is called the Sandpiper.

Here it is again in a taupe/gray color


and a slightly different version in a salmon or coral color.


This one is called The Seaside.

Here it is again in aqua


and here's another yellow version.


This is The Sandfiddler model.

and this one is The Seahaven.

This one is called, The Surfside Cottage. It's my favorite style out of all of them. I love the roof lines, the porches, the columns and the floor plan.


Here is another variation

and another


and another. David and I both liked this one best as we like more neutral earthy colors. Plus, this had a big detached garage out back that David really loved!

Here's a link to the floor plan and some interior photos of you would like to take a peek. :) While you are there, you can look through the other models. They are all equally as charming.


My friend, Jean, mentioned that we should take the ferry back home. It only cost $5 and we decided it would be fun. Although, it was really, really, like really hot as you can tell from the melting look on my face. Thank goodness for the sea breeze.

The seagulls were riding along with us. It made me laugh how they would sit on top of the ferry and ride along like they were just too hot and tired to fly across.


This little one came by to say hello to me. He also asked if I had a snack to share, which I did not. I thought the light shining off his wings against the Carolina blue sky was so beautiful.


The pelican boys came flying by. They were headed out to the "Buoy Bar" to meet their buddies.


It was a packed house. hee,hee,hee. You know I couldn't help it. I just had to have a little critter story in here somewhere.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little adventure to the sea. Which cottages to you like better, the old or the new? What color would you paint your cottage?

I'll see you back here next Wednesday hopefully with an update on our little cottage.

Hugs,
Michelle

23 comments:

Sparklyjools said...

Oh fab! I could move into the salmon coloured cottage right now! Southport looks gorgeous - that sky and sea - and the trees! - gorgeous. What fun for you and David to play tourist as you explore your new location - and we can come along too!

LindaC said...

Love it - the cottages are all so cute - I could picture a sewing room in every one!

Jocelyn said...

Sigh... majestic trees and quaint cottages. What more could we want?

Createology said...

Thank you very much for this delightful tour. I am in love with cottages and would like to have a new construction single story for less maintenance and ease of aging (minimum of stairs). My cottage should be a dove grey with white and Tiffany blue accents. How funny about the seagulls riding the ferry with you. High on Life July...

The Civil War Quilter said...

Wow! What a wonderful home tour. I loved it. Those cottages are jut too darned cute! Wouldn't it be fun to own one? Or maybe rent for a short vacation. You've got me dreamin'.

sunny said...

I was in Southport once, and absolutely loved it. Thanks to you, I've fallen in love again. I've always had a thing for older cottages, but those new ones look very nice too. Time for another visit to NC!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful cottages old and new! But for ease of living, I would prefer a new one. The old ones usually hide a million problems. But they are very charming.. it's a trade-off!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I love the older cottages - maybe it is the trees, too. The aqua is so cool, but I think the yellow just is perfect with the greens and browns.

RG said...

Look woman. If you are trying to sell cottages for gosh sake, don't mention the hot! You could have sold three, maybe even four of them! Even I checked a couple out and I am a firmly rooted Pacific NorthWester.

I think that was a Laughing Gull - anybody else know the east coast gulls?

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

HERE YOU ARE! Right after I emailed you, I came to my blog roll and here you are, a woman after my own heart.

Not only are you a bunny sister, but YOU LOVE COTTAGES TOO! Oh dear, I think I too would have been hyperventilating the whole time, not being able to focus.....you know, that's happened to me before when Ruben first took me to New York City and I walked into Tiffanys....I started to get dizzy from the excitement of seeing so many sparkles....

OK, this is charm all the way. Shell, I love all the cottages, especially the ones with white picket fences. I adore the aqua one AND the coral one too....and a yellow cottage with white trim and a picket fence spell C H A R M.

What a sensational trip. This reminds me of our trip to Carmel this June. Cottage after cottage kept us smiling and coming up with ideas to further "cutify" our own cottage.

I LOVE the plans you are sharing here! What color do you and your husband have in mind for the exterior? This is a magical place with that Old Americana charm. And to be by the sea? The best.

OK MY FRIEND! You have blessed me with a smile today. MAKE IT A HAPPY ONE! Anita

karengene said...

I love, love, love Southport!! We vacation every year at Holden Beach and go to Southport each time we are there! Hope you stopped by the Quilt Shop/ Yarn Shop -- Angelwing Needleworks!! This shop is awesome!! Also Southport has lots of quaint downtown shops! Lots of movies have been filmed there. I love all the houses and have told my husband I would love to retire there. Such a peaceful place!!

Karen Saari said...

Well there was no other word to describe them - they were all so darn cute!!!! The colors were fab - such soft colors, I loved them. I'd move myself and my sewing room into one of them pronto! It's just a little far for me - surely they have cottages in CA!!! :) Karen

JudyCinNC said...

Oh My Gosh, these are soooooooo cute!!!!!! What a spectacular adventure for you and David. Like you, the developers clear cut and then they plant houses - a visual here please. Our cul-de-sac had trees when we moved here and as each lot was developed the owners chose to cut them down. We left as many trees as possible and have the only shady lot in the cul-de-sac.

The new homes at Southport are the same type of Mission Style that we bought, except they have quite a few upgrades. I could still live in these because of the beautiful landscaping, but the house would need to be a more neutral color and all the real color can go inside. We have three red rugs in our long open space - two squares and one round, hee, hee, with neutral furniture. It works.

In Southport you can take the ferry to Bald Head Island which is where my two grandsons from Colorado are renting a beach house this week celebrating Taylor's graduation for his Master's Degree. They will be here Sunday and Monday to see their Gramms.

I hope you and David have many more adventures while waiting for your home. Hugs and laughter from Judy C

Sandy D said...

Awesome Cottages thank you for the tour.

Anna said...

I was ready to whip out the check book and call a relator until I read the word hurricane!!! Give me a Volcano any day, LOL

Jenny Bonynge said...

Of course I, too, love those older cottages but there are SO many advantages to having a new house. (Reality!) The cottage designs are charming and I liked each of them for different reasons. BTW we just sold our home too and are waiting for a new one to be built...promised by December 1st!!!

Bonnie said...

Been to Southport already twice this summer. Gorgeous place.... And yes my sis and I had to fight over the historic cottages. Last week at this time I was eating at fishy fishy !!!

Bonnie said...

Been to Southport already twice this summer. Gorgeous place.... And yes my sis and I had to fight over the historic cottages. Last week at this time I was eating at fishy fishy !!!

Christine M said...

What gorgeous houses. I could easily live in any of them!

jsews said...

I always love a trip to Southport. . .especially on the ferry! Glad you are enjoying our little piece of paradise here in NC! So glad to have you close by!

Tina said...

I caught my breath when I saw the Surfside Cottage - I just love the porch and columns and charm!! I loved it in yellow and the light tan color. I'm going to check out the floor plans now - I just love looking at houses! I'm eagerly waiting for your next post!!!

Judy1522 said...

I love all the cottages and even though I like old and vintage when it comes to a house I tend to go with newer. The reason being that newer gives you less problems and I would rather spend my time working on a sewing project than a home repair. Thank you for sharing your pictures they are beautiful. I am going to put Southport on my list of places to visit.

Deb said...

What a lovely town, thanks for the tour Shell! The new cottages are very lovely but I'll take the old historic cottages any day of the week,you can't duplicate history!

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