
I think I've mentioned before that my favorite "house" of all time (besides my mama's house, of course) was on an episode of Sarah Richardson's Design, Inc. several years ago, and was actually a Mongolian yurt.
Any time I am temporarily wooed by the serene minimalism of modern design, I remember Sean's Yurt, and am again certain that I am a cottage girl, through and through. The best way to do "minimal" for me, I think, is to have a small place, without too much stuff. But that stuff should be soft and warm and gentle and rustic and handmade and natural and flower-y. Yep.
Sean's Yurt was built as a vacation home out on a lake in Canada a few hours outside Toronto for a guy named Sean. (Hence, "Sean's Yurt.") The show continues to run in syndication on Fine Living Network in the U.S. (and maybe elsewhere), so if you can catch it, it's fun to watch, because through the miracle of time-lapse photography, you see the yurt actually being built. Kind of like the barn-raising scene in "Witness," but with less cool music and no Viggo Mortensen.

It's also fun to watch someone decorate a round building.
It was not without its challenges. Like when Sarah slid down the muddy hill.

Anyhoo, this little episode sits at the bottom of our TiVo list year after year, because it is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to delete it. I watch it occasionally, when I want to feel cheerful or inspired.
I have searched regularly for photos of Sean's Yurt online, but have only ever found little promotional photos, almost thumbnails, that go with the episode.
So I finally took it upon myself to sit in front of my t.v. with my camera (something I've never tried before) and take pictures of my beloved yurt. :)
I wish it were in HD, but it's an older show, so it's not. So the photos aren't the quality one would hope for. Also, that black stuff around the edge or in the corners of some of the photos is my t.v. They were shooting in a small space and panned across and up and down a lot.
Anyway, without further adieu, I bring you "Sean's Yurt". This is my ideal of sweet, easy-breezy cottage style. :)

They built a wall in the yurt to create a flat place to put the kitchen along (yurts are round, in case you are unfamiliar with yurts), and to separate the bedroom from the rest of the living space.

Just look at this kitchen! Beadboard, butcher block, daisies, geraniums, vintage fridge. Look it! Look it! Are you lookiting?

"There's nothing more cottagey than pale green," said Sarah.



The bedroom was just adorable. I love how the snazzy, modern pillows work with the traditional wedding-ring quilt to freshen it all up.



The photographer was standing with his back to the wall, so they just panned up to show the whole bed and star above it.

How fun to just have a chest-of-drawers and then hooks for your clothes. This would work for my wardrobe, because I do not own a single dress or pair of high heels. :)

So the bedroom is behind that wall on the right, and this is the whole rest of the space. I have often wondered where the bathroom is. I bet outside. :)
(Remember in Ramona the Pest when Ramona asks Miss Binney how Mike Mulligan went to the bathroom when he was digging the cellar all day from sunup to sundown with his steamshovel Mary Anne?)

They had a problem with the floor, because Sean got a good deal on wet wood, so it cupped a bit. Sean was going to nail down a board or two every time he visited the yurt until it was all fixed. But you couldn't tell from the shots . . . it just looked pretty and rustic.

I was so impressed with how well they defined the seating area, without any straight walls to work with. Genius.

Sean wasn't crazy about the ladybug-and-dragonfly fabric on this pillow, but Sarah gave him a non-ladybug fabric option on the other side, so he could flip it. I wouldn't flip it. I love those ladybugs.



They did this whole thing on a tight budget. Those wooden chairs were five dollars each! They had to paint the wooden furniture a couple times to get it the shades of watery blues and greens they wanted. (I think of these pale greens and blues as Sarah's signature colors.)


Can't you see yourself reading in this chaise? I sure can.


The table was just adorable.



Sarah was excited about it, too.

They didn't have to paint the bench. It just came all perfectly green and chippy like this.


Here's the team by the nearby lake, exulting in their good job. Good job, guys. :)
And here is Sean and his dog and cute family. I really hope they're enjoying their cute yurt. Hooray!



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