As you may know, John and I finally fulfilled our long held dream of owning a home on our beloved Martha’s Vineyard. It has been a year since we purchased it and I hoped to share it with you sooner. But life got it the way. So here is my first in a series of posts devoted to our little piece of MV island paradise. Let’s start with the exterior...
Our sweet little cottage built in the mid-1990s seems like a mere baby compared to our 93-year-old stone and shingle CT home. Located in the pastoral mid-island town of West Tisbury, it is part of an association with a neighborhood swimming pool and tennis courts. Nestled back from the road on just over an acre of property, our place has loads of privacy.
The home’s previous owners planted lovely flowering shrubs in the garden as well as enclosing and winterizing a screened porch. What really sold us on this house was how move-in ready it was. After doing extensive renovations to our CT cottage, we had no desire to embark on any more remodeling projects.
Our house boasts a large back deck with plenty of room for lounging, dining and grilling as well as an outdoor shower, perfect for rinsing off sand after a day at the beach.
The view from the deck is quite serene. Our property has a little shed in one corner and backs up to conservation land. Just beyond that is the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest which has miles of hiking trails and paved bike paths.
Once we closed on our MV digs, we were happy to find that the previous owners left us an array of home decor items, one of which was an old window screen with an arched shape and shabby green paint. I decided to turn it into a welcome sign. Here’s how...
I chose a typeface on my computer, printed out the word “Welcome” and enlarged it to the proper size on my copier. Then I cut it out, spaced out the letters and taped them to the back of the screen. Using cream-colored acrylic paint and a small brush, I simply traced over the black letters. Once the paint dried, I removed the paper template — and voilà!
I planned to hang my refurbished screen in the foyer, but there wasn’t enough room on the wall for it. I then decided to try the space above the front door. It’s a perfect fit!
It took us three months to feather our MV nest — loads of work and somewhat of a challenge to furnish a house on an island. But for me, it was truly a labor of love. In subsequent posts, I hope you’ll come along as I take you inside.
Susan
Connect with me on Instagram and Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!
I love that you made your dream of an MV home come true. It is lovely and how nice of the previous owners to leave you such treasures.
MV has been an important part of my life since I was a baby.
Looking forward to more posts and following you on FB.
Posted by: -Joan- | March 13, 2018 at 12:16 PM
Joan~ So nice to hear from you! Thanks for your sweet comment!
Posted by: Susan | March 13, 2018 at 02:26 PM
The house is so inviting and cozy. Love your post.
Posted by: Research Features Magazine | March 16, 2018 at 11:21 AM