We chose a home on the west end of Galveston. This is basically where the beach homes of Galveston are located. The city is filled with beautiful historic homes, but we really wanted a coastal atmosphere. The Seawall is the bridge between the historic downtown and the west end. This is where you will find hotels, condos and restaurants across the street from the beach and seawall. We wanted to be able to walk right out to the beach without having to cross traffic so the west end appealed more to us.
You may notice the home is on stilts, or pilings. All of the homes are built this way on the west end. It's actually really nice because the area underneath becomes a great entertaining area with built-in bars and kitchens, outdoor showers and dining tables.
The most important part of the home is the view!
Our home is a second row beach house, but the first row lot to the right is owned by the city after Hurricane Ike destroyed the house there. They bought out the owner and will not release the lot for sale. That gives a lot and a half view!
I absolutely love the spacious great room! The high ceilings and open areas make it feel so much bigger than it really is. Our house sleeps ten people so it's important so people don't feel like they are on top of each other. Oh, and if you like shiplap then you will love this room!
The living room has plenty of room for a big group of people with two sofas and two armchairs. One of the sofas pulls out to a queen size bed. It's an upgraded gel mattress. I slept on it one night when my husband was sick and it is so much more comfortable than traditional pull-out sofa beds.
I love the mix of light blues, navy and turquoise. It just pops against the while shiplap!
The upstairs area you see in this photo is a loft that makes up the fourth bedroom. It has two built-in twin beds with drapes that can be closed for privacy. My younger boys love it up here!
The hallway has the ladder that leads to the loft and a mini mudroom area to hang beach bags and hats.
The dining room seats eight comfortably.
It also has the best ocean view!
The kitchen has been updated and is painted a blue-gray color.
The best view is from the kitchen window. Maybe people will fight over doing dishes now?
There are four bedrooms. The three on the main floor all have bay views and their own televisions.
King Room
Queen Room
Twin Bed Room
Loft
There area also two bathrooms on the main floor. The master has it's own private bathroom.
The second bathroom is between the second and third bedrooms.
There is a half bath downstairs, which is perfect for when you are at the beach. The beach is only about 150 steps from the house. It makes coming and going all day so easy. There is no need to pack up to spend hours at the beach. You can set up your chairs and go back to the house to refill water, use the restroom, apply sunscreen, etc. I think that has been the best thing about the location aside from the views. There's also an outdoor shower and a changing room to rinse off the sand before going upstairs.
This is such a fun entertaining area. The house sleeps 10 and you can have everyone sit at this table for big bbq dinners. The bar is great for drinks and food. There's an outdoor kitchen behind the door with an additional fridge and sink.
The view is gorgeous from downstairs as well!
If you are wondering why we decided to buy a beach house in Galveston, well the answer is complicated. I can't say we vacationed here regularly because the water color isn't ideal most of the time. There are those rare days the water does look more blue. We've always gone to Destin, Florida instead since moving back to Texas. The ten hour drive was not fun to say the least. We flew once, but the price of the tickets for a small airport and the expensive home rentals meant we were spending enough to go to the Bahamas instead.
We visited Galveston last year and realized there was so much more than the color of the water. It is so much cooler in the summer on the coast. This is so important in the summer if you live in Texas! The reality is it doesn't really matter what the color of the water is. I just love the beach! There's nothing better than the breeze and the sound of the waves. I'm not getting in the ocean anyway. I prefer my swimming water to be critter free. A big plus for Galveston is there is so much to do on the island-Moody Gardens, Pleasure Pier, a historic downtown with shopping and non-chain restaurants, golf for my husband and son, and historic mansions to tour. I love the authentic and historic feel here so much. I'm really missing that out in the suburbs and even during our vacations to Destin.
Cute little shop on the historic Strand
An old-fashioned drug store with a soda fountain
Bishop's Palace
Pleasure Pier
Moody Gardens-Ice World at Christmas
My husband immediately wanted to buy a house here last year, but I thought we wouldn't use it enough with the kids in weekend sports. I also thought buying a second home was an extravagant expense. However, the rental market is strong in Galveston. Many people rent their homes out to help or completely pay the mortgage. Some owners even turn a significant profit! Considering we knew we wouldn't be able to be here many weekends in the summer renting it out seemed like the way to go.
I know many people would feel weird about letting guests stay in their home. I was excited to decorate a beach house for guests since most of the rentals here are missing that coastal feel inside. Entertaining is something I love to do so I've been very careful when it comes to selecting everything from the sheets to the flatware. I want our guests to have a Coastal Style Home experience, which is the name of our beach house's Instagram. I'm trying to anticipate everything I would want in a rental, from pretty wineglasses to a full-length mirror in the bedroom. It's been a busy time getting it all ready while keeping up with my design business and the boys! I am so excited most of the work is now behind us, well until we move to the next phase of renovating rooms after the summer season is over. Isn't there always a project to do in a home?
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