The cottage life in Sarasota

Suggestions from Joann Calleia for creating a vintage cottage setting:

a. Nothing says cottage like white. White is your best friend for painted furniture, linens and some of the walls. But it's best to vary the shades of white, going from crisp bright white, to cream and ivory or other off-whites that have a gray or green undertone. That's how you keep white from being boring.

b. Work in beadboard. You want some for cabinets, ceilings and walls.

c. Haunt salvage yards, secondhand stores and antiques shops. Find pieces that you can use as-is or repurpose, distress and make work for you as a table base, headboard, shelf, mirror frame, fireplace surround and mantle, etc.

d. Scale down your furniture, especially things like chairs and sofas. Cottage furniture should not be massive because, in general, cottage ceilings aren't high. Mine are only 8 feet tall.

e. Look for old chandeliers. You can paint them, and add or take off crystal prisms.

f. Details make a difference. A charming china tea set on a sideboard, needlepoint pillows, decorative vintage knobs and handles on furniture.

g.Let multitasking furniture. My living room coffee table is a round ottoman lined. I use it for additional seats when I need.

h. Layer of fabric for a timeless look. Lace fabric on a white cloth or a light color. Pay attention to the texture you combine. You want a little contrast between the elegance and more rustic.

This was certainly the case with the interior designer Joann Calleia, who bought a scraggly little ranch in the Gulf Gate Sarasota in 1993 when she moved here from Chicago as a divorced mother of four adult children and was at a low point in his life. Over the years, she has slowly and persistently transformed the two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath, nondescript dwelling into a charming vintage sanctuary she calls My Lady Cottage.

As the house evolved and took on a unique personality, Calleia found her footing in Sarasota, forged a successful career, eventually remarried and moved to a big Mediterranean revival house on Bird Key. But she never abandoned My Lady Cottage, and now that she and her husband have embraced downsizing, they have moved into My Lady Cottage, where it all began.

"When I first looked at the Gulf Gate place, my daughter, who was visiting me, told me to walk away immediately," recalls Calleia. "She thought it was awful looking. It was pretty bad. And it fronted on a busy street. To make matters worse, the grumpy old man who owned it didn't believe I could come up with the money to buy it and just blew me off.

Becoming the Master Chief ericsmithrocks

Played a part the first month or so. I’ll be honest, I tortured myself a bit, staring at that little black velvet box. However as time passed, my detachment to the ring was such that I could have happily, to quote the great Hermes Conrad , placed “the little bastard in a sack, tossed the sack in a river, and hurled the river into space.” I just wanted to sell the damn thing , and get close to what I paid for it.

I spent most of the Spring and Summer lying, telling friends and family that the ring was gone, that I moved on, that it wasn’t actually in my closet in my apartment. I’d love to apologize to all of you for that, but I won’t. Because you understand. But good news, everyone ! As of a few weeks ago, I can finally stop fibbing. Because the ring actually is gone. And, mission accomplished, I got close to what I paid for it. And I really needed that exact amount of cash…

So I could spend the money on a custom suit of Master Chief armor.*

Don’t judge. It’s something I’ve always wanted. Ever since I saw my first suit at Philadelphia’s Wizard World (pictured here with Joystiq’s Benjamin Gilbert ) in 2008, I’ve been smitten with the idea. One of my best friends, the co-founder of Geekadelphia and cover artist for Textual Healing armor after an emotionally jarring experience, and hide themselves away from connecting with other people. And unlike these people, I’m buying PHYSICAL armor, which is truly f*cked up. Listen. The irony isn’t lost on me, friends.And I'm not hiding from anyone.

I could have just blown the money on something stupid, like paying student loans off. Instead, I get something I always wanted.

Now ... find a girl who is willing to dress up as Cortana.

* Note: Okay, I'm not crazy. I also spent some money on a trip to Ireland. I will spend New Year's Eve in Dublin with some friends. I'll probably say ladies that I have a Master Chief's armor, and thus obtain simple one God damn 'em.