Old Home Insider Look: Our Weekend Getaway Cottage in Grand Haven Michigan

Alex and I were delighted to take an important trip to Michigan last week (scroll to the end to see why).  The timing of our trip also coincided with our 3rd wedding anniversary so we took some extra time off to enjoy one of our favorite places- beautiful Lake Michigan. 

 Once we landed on the exact dates for our Michigan trip, Alex's sister Amber and her husband Ryan informed us that their friend offered up their old Victorian home nicknamed The Captain's Cottage for the week.  Naturally, we jumped at the chance to stay in the house and be right by the Grand Haven beach. Another bonus- sharing a look inside this beautiful (and quirky) cottage with all of you!  Let's step inside...

The home is over 100 years old and was built by a Lake Michigan Merchant Marine Captain.  Upon entering, I went a little bananas when I saw this staircase.  Those old staircases near an entryway always get me :)

 The woodwork was in beautiful condition for a home over 100 years old.

 The house also had a vegetable vestibule just like ours!  Aren't those old original doors gorgeous?!?

 The original fireplace was also pretty darn amazing.

I just loved this large built-in that sat in the dining room.

Speaking of the dining room, I can now shed some light on why I used "quirky" to describe the cottage.  The owners rent this house weekly throughout the summer so they filled the house with fun garage sale or thrift store finds.  It made for an overall fun and quirky feel to the house.

Nothing in any of the rooms felt too fancy or serious, some of it was even pretty darn silly and I think that really created this overall free-spirited vacation vibe.

 I had fun perusing the house, there were one-of-a-kind finds everywhere I looked!

 I was in love with this chair all week, I thought the old fabric was kind of trendy looking.  Sort of that baroque look I have been seeing a lot of for the fall fashion season.  Am I right or crazy? I still love it :)

 The kitchen had this old ice cream parlor looking table set and bar stools.  The goofy fish on the walls kind of grew on me too, that and the polka-dot armchairs- so strange!

I was a bit amazed when I found this antique sewing machine and table.  I know those aren't easy to find and are pretty expensive if you do find one.  I can't lie- I did wonder if they would notice if it went missing, hehe! 

Aside from wandering around looking for fun antiques, Alex and I had a blast just exploring the big old house.  We found a few hidden side staircases...

And ladders leading to old attic spaces that made us feel like little kids as our curiosity grew.

Our nephew even had fun exploring the old basement with Uncle Alex.

 Even though Alex and I spent most of the week all alone in this huge house, we did get to host a fun family barbecue!  I think that was probably my favorite memory from being in the house. Glad we captured that moment- and my nephew's chocolate cupcake goatee :)

My other favorite memory from the trip (and the "important" reason mentioned at the beginning of this post) was meeting my niece Brynnan for the first time.

When we first planned our Michigan trip it was scheduled near my sister's due date- August 29th, but you might recall Brynnan had other plans and arrived 6 weeks early on July 18th.  It was tough waiting a whole month to get to see her, but this moment couldn't have felt more special to me.  I can't totally describe it, but Brynnan is my sister's first baby and the first baby I've held that is sort of a part of us and our family.  I guess it was a bit surreal to see her and all the little traits that looked like my sister or our grandma.  Just very emotional and special :) 

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day holiday!  See you again soon, I did some Carla Kravitz-ing on our trip.  You are going to love it!