Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Other Makeovers

The Hunt is On for a Beach House!

June 10, 2024

A few weeks ago, I shared in Love Letter (sign up here so you don't miss any future revelations!) that I got this overwhelming feeling that I want to design a beach house. It happened while I was snorkeling on a recent trip to Bora Bora, and the colors that I saw just inspired me, but not in the way you'd think!

It wasn't all pastel blues, whites and beige — there were these bold, moodier colors all around. The sea evolved from cerulean to dark-green blue. I saw this moss-green coral that had these bright periwinkle spots. There were these striped fish swimming around that got me thinking about a black and white-striped sofa. All of that to say, nothing I saw screamed "coastal decor" to me. I immediately wanted to create a beach house that reflects the natural elements I saw!

Chris Loves Julia | The Marcum family at the beach

So now we're officially on the hunt to find a beach house in North Carolina to renovate. While we're going to look into a beach house for our family at some point, we really want to have a CLJ beach house that we can Airbnb and anyone can come stay in it! Pretty views are important, but we weren't sure it HAD to be waterfront until our most recent trip to the coast where we stayed at a beachfront property and it was very nice and convenient and healing! Maybe three bedrooms. Proximity to good restaurants is a plus — I want the house to be part of a whole experience where we can share a little itinerary of all of our favorite spots for our guests.

Chris Loves Julia | Twin built-in bunk beds in a nautical-themed room
Cute bunk room in a home we stayed in.

We've been to a few North Carolina beaches so far, and they each have their charms. Growing up in Pennsylvania, we went to Duck every summer for our beach trips, and a few years ago we took our family to Nags Head. Designer Lauren Liess just released a beautiful book, Beach Life: Home, Heart & the Sea that showcases Corolla, her favorite spot in the Outer Banks, and it's just stunning. There's so much waterfront to choose from in the OBX!

Chris Loves Julia | Chris and Polly looking at the ocean at breakfast with a box of donuts on the table

For Memorial Day this year, we took the family to Oak Island and just fell in love with the idyllic beach town. It doesn't have any chain restaurants, and we discovered some really great local spots — the kids loved everything from OKI Scoop Shop & Donuts. We did cruise around a little to see what's available in the housing market, and while I didn't see something I thought would work, I've bookmarked the location!

Chris Loves Julia | Chris and Julia walking along the beach toward a pier.

Some of our team members rave about the charms of Southport and Beaufort (North Carolina, but South Carolina's is supposed to be beautiful too!) Topsail also has a following — Southern Living calls it "Mayberry by the Sea." It's like the sky (I mean sea?) is the limit when it comes to finding a spot to make our style!

For now, I just have a dozen Zillow alerts set until I come across "the one." We're taking the summer to scope out different beach towns and feel out vibes and see where our family wants to own a little piece of the beach.

— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

Beautifully wrapped traditional presents stacked in a doorway
Gift Guides!

Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone in Your Life {2024}

Remember the thrill of unwrapping a gift that felt just right? Let's bring that magic back this holiday season!! Our curated gift guides for 2024 are filled with thoughtful picks that will make your loved ones feel special. That's what it's all about, after all! Whether you're shopping for your main guy, your clutch coworker, […]
Chris Cooks Candied Ham Skewers
Chris Cooks

Candied Ham Skewers - Your New Favorite Holiday Appetizer

As a home cook, this is my favorite time of year: the time leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year, I want to focus on low-effort, high-impact dishes. Something that can serve a crowd but is not too hard to make. And these spicy candied ham bites are just the ticket. Shop The […]
Lifestyle

Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

This post is sponsored by Neighborly, Your Hub for Home Services The beginning of the year we're always thinking "spring cleaning." But in fall, I like to cover our bases on home maintenance before we have guests or face colder weather. I usually like to split the tasks between things we tackle ourselves and things we […]
The Marcum family dressed as characters from the classic edition of Clue: The Game.
Entertaining

Our Halloween Family Costumes 2024: I'll Give You One Clue

It was Professor Plum, with the knife, in the Conservatory. Happy Halloween from Clue characters: 1986 edition! Shop Costume Inspiration Over the years, we've dressed as everything from dolls and monsters to Peter Pan, E.T. characters, and The Wizard of Oz. But in the last several years, one of our kids has usually chosen our costumes. If you look back, you […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES