Is Small the New Large In Beach Cottages?

Images by Ben Anders

London based Danish designer Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama wanted a weekend retreat to escape life in so she bought a small plot of land on the shore in a seaside town located in northeast Kent. The 388-square-foot structure is located in the middle of a row of 25 tiny cottages, sits on galvanized steel stilts, and is clad with cedar shingles. The interior is sawn softwood and the focus is the sea view. A sleeping loft accommodates Ms. Tolstrup and her husband, and her two children who sleep in bunks. Nina has designed this beach house to be pared down to the essentials: eat, drink, sleep, and view. We think it is the perfect Beach house find!

Stepping Into A Life of An Heiress by the Sea

Put this on your list of Top Beach House Finds to visit before you die. Rough Point the oceanfront home of Doris Duke in Newport., Rhode Island. Miss Duke spent a lifetime of collecting from exotic locations around the world. Located on Newport's Bellevue Avenue, Rough Point has a beautiful sweeping ocean view and is a splendid way to spend the day by the Sea. Rough Point is still furnished as it was when Doris Duke lived here. So the private tour is intimate, worth the upward price and you leave with an education and knowledge of what a preservationist, Miss Duke was to Newport, Rhode Island. Her passion for restoring Colonial buildings in Newport, Rhode Island led her to creating the Newport Restoration Foundation in 1968. www.NewportRestoration.org

Have You Visited This Seaside 100 Year Old Mansion, Garden & Arboretum?

Beach House Finds, founder
Barbara Segal pictured at Blithewold Mansion, Garden & Arbotetum with Sue Nealon

Photo coutesey of Robert Kemp

Map of Blithewold Grounds

In the tranquil seaside setting of Bristol, Rhode Island is Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum. Here you can explore the finest garden estate in New England, Blithewold Mansion which is open for daily public tours rich in social history and chronicling the lives of one family over a span of more than 100 years. The breathtaking views of the Narragansett Bay from the house draw you outside to enjoy the sea breezes, colorful flower gardens, and magnificent trees and shrubs in a landscape inspired by the family's love of plants, trees and horticulture.

In 1896, coal baron, Augustus Van Wickle and his wife Bessie purchased the property for a summer vacation home. The beauty and location of the side made it the perfect place to pursue the family's love of the sea and Bessie passion for horticulture.

Her elder daughter, Majorie, inherited her mother's love of gardening and planted thousand of plants for her garden as well. Blithewold's voluminous archives contain journals, thousands of photographs, and letters that paint the detailed picture of life of the estate during the last century.

Marjorie Lyon, carried on her mother's invaluable gardening legacy until her death in 1976, when she bequeathed Blithewold and its remaining 33 acres for the enjoyment of the public education, and inspiration forever. On August 16, 2008 Blithewold celebrates "The Celebration of A Century" Saturday, August 16, 2008 at the Blithwold Mansion, Garden and Arboretum.

http://blithewold.org/events-specialevents-gala.htm

For more information contact 401-253-2707. ext. 21 or http://www.nlithewold.org/