Kauai Beach Cottage

By Kate Riley May 27, 2014

Aloha all! Today I wanted to share pictures of the most charming little beach cottage we rented during our vacation last week. We’ve stayed at so many over the years but this one has been the favorite so far. I loved so many of the design elements incorporated into this plantation style cottage just steps away from the beach in Poipu on the sunny southern shore of Kauai.

I requested permission from the owner to photograph and feature it and she was kind enough to share sources. The owners live on the island and the husband is a builder. The cottage was so well designed from the pitched plank ceilings to the folding doors to the lanai. It was filled with coastal inspired decor and art, beautiful light fixtures, hardware, and a gorgeous kitchen too.

Both bedrooms featured floor to ceiling tongue and groove plank walls painted a creamy white, ceiling fans for circulating the warm island air, woven shades paired with breezy sheers, and seagrass woven headboards from Pottery Barn.

kauai beach cottage master

kauai beach cottage second bedroom

I loved the combination of finishes in this coastal kitchen: white cabinets, black honed granite countertops, chrome fixtures and a beautiful blue green mosaic tile backsplash from Pacific Tile, a perfect fit for a beach cottage! The floors are smoked antique white oak from Du Chateau flooring.

kauai beach cottage kitchen dining

open shelves glass backsplash

blue green glass tile backsplash

 

barn light electric pendants

melon glass pulls on cabinets

  kauai vacation rental coastal kitchen

The light fixtures are from Barnlight Electric, the melon glass bin pulls are from Lew’s Hardware.

Both bathrooms had an open shelf oak vanity with marble top from Restoration Hardware and glass + chrome sconces from Schoolhouse Electric.

bathroom vanity

schoolhouse electric sconce

All of the hardware is oil rubbed bronze, the doors are painted black on the outside and white on the inside, the interior doors were all paneled to complement the tongue and groove planked walls throughout.

hardware

wood console blue lamps

The recycled blue glass lamps are by Lamp Works, available here.

lamp works blue glass lamp

conch

Next door was another larger plantation style home, I ogled it from the outside, loving the dark and light contrast of the windows, siding, light fixtures and front doors next to those lush plantings, beautiful!

plantation style kauai home

 

The covered lanai on the cottage we rented expands the living and lounging space with a set of outdoor furniture. The railing was remarkably simple but beautiful. The X motif is made with 2x4s attached to posts and painted white, I must replicate it as a decorative fence someday!

lanai railing

kauai covered lanai

The cottage even came with its own chick family, the mama and her babies visited every morning and night to be fed, my girl loved that. Free range chickens and roosters are all over Kauai, you can’t escape them, they’ve taken over!

baby chicks

resident chicken family

The view from the cottage looks right at the ocean and is a 1 minute walk to the famous Poipu Beach Park and is such a fantastic location!

view of poipu beach

It comes stocked with beach chairs and boogie boards and other amenities like an outdoor shower and hot tub. It’s perfect for a small family or two couples traveling together.

If you’re contemplating a trip to Kauai and want to splurge on something extra special, you’ll love this tastefully decorated cottage! See more pictures and reserve it through the owner’s vacation site on VRBO.

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49 comments

  1. The link doesn’t work:( I know right where that is and would love to look in to staying there

  2. What a beautiful cottage! It makes we want to go to Kauai – now!! We usually go to Maui but this place has me re-thinking our next trip. Lovely pictures – thank you for posting!

  3. That is a beautiful cottage! We stayed in a condo in Princeville. It served our needs but certainly wasn’t a stunning place to look at. Thanks for sharing (love the baby chicks!)

  4. I was lucky enough to live in Hawaii for four months when I was in college and your picture of the chickens brought back memories, lol. You really can’t escape them, that and the dogs running loose around town. What a beautifully decorated beach cottage! They did such a great job! Thanks for sharing!:-)

  5. Oh my goodness, it’s the perfect beach house!! I love everything about it – how lucky that you found it for your vacation. Fantastic! Hawaii is perhaps the most beautiful place I’ve ever had the privilege of visiting!

  6. That is an amazing place! We are headed to Kauai next week and so I can’t wait to hear what you did. Even though we live on Oahu we’ve never been to Kauai so I can’t wait to show the kids!

    • Wow, have fun Jennifer, we visited both (spent a few days in Ko’Olina over the weekend), I’ll post some favorites from Kauai soon, lots of great family beaches and good eats!
      Kate

  7. Oh my Kate. It is totally you- looks like you designed it yourself. I have never been to Kauai, only Maui. Enjoy!

  8. We went to Kauai in 2005. My favorite of the islands. I remember the roosters crowing at all hours of the night, especially in the rain. No wonder the B&B provided earplugs (which we found the second morning). There was a note from the owner that “the chickens and roosters on Kauai are protected, however, if you “accidently” hit one in the driveway, there may be a prize!”

    • Yep, the roosters crow every morning in Kauai! It’s best to bring earplugs if you’re staying in a home or condo outside a resort :) But we got up early with them since we were on CA time!

  9. I love it! It is a beautiful beach cottage. This is my kind of rental. Thank you for sharing.

  10. They did an absolutely lovely job on the interior & exterior of the cottage. And if course the chickens have to make an appearance ;) Kaua’i is my other favorite island. I’m so grateful to call Hawaii my home.

    Aloha & happy travels,
    Jennifer

  11. Beautiful post! Do you know the source of the night stands in the second bedroom pictured?
    Thanks!

  12. What a small world. My family just stayed at this cottage during the month of March. I wasn’t able to make it since I have a new baby but can’t wait to stay there next year when they go back. Everyone fell in love with the house and hope to make this a yearly family trip. The only bummer is the 4 person limit.

  13. So funny, I read this post and thought it sure looked like the house I stayed in and also photographed in January, except your photography is obviously exceptional. Sigh. I only just learned how to take photos using aperture. Such beautiful photography, they should use your photos on the site, haha.
    Beautifully decorated too!
    x
    Maria

  14. Oh, how I miss hawaii. Moving from Maui to AZ is a shock but this post definitely inspire me to share and write about my trip to Maui last summer. Yeay! Thanks for sharing. Aloha

    roe

  15. What a fun place to stay! How were the countertops? I’m thinking about getting the same in my kitchen but friends are warning that they will be dusty, show fingerprints and generally be a pain to take care of.

  16. My one experience with Hawaii wasn’t so glamorous and was interrupted by the earthquake, but this cottage reminds me of why I love real cottages, coastal or country. My grand aunt and uncle’s farmhouse in Texas (built by my grandfather in addition to building his and my grandmother’s), and were we spent many summers growing up, was filled with horizontal wood plank walls, each room painted a very soft pastel, and wood plank floors, windows on every side for wonderful cross ventilation and a huge front porch. Great to share memories even though they are so different!

    I’ve craved those wonderful light from Barnyard Electric but don’t think they’ll work in my kitchen though I haven’t given up on them.

  17. Wow! What a beautiful home away from home! I’ve been to most of the islands, but most of the places we’ve stayed are hotels or homes that are more ‘Hawaiian’ in a dated sense. I’d love to stay here! Did you get much rain – I remember Kauai being more rainy than Maui, Oahu or the Big Island.

  18. What a beautiful cottage! Thank you for sharing… I got married in the Island of Kauai 2 years ago, and visited Poipu Beach while we were there. It was a nice reminder of the best vacation I’ve taken. I definitely remember those roosters! Everywhere…

  19. How beautiful Kate! Thanks for showing us the cottage you stayed in. It’s so perfectly coastal and tropical looking- a great inspiration. Sounds like a wonderful trip for you and your family!

  20. Thanks so much for these pictures! Our family stayed in Poipu at the end of that very street a few months ago. I loved peering into the open kitchen of this house as we walked back from the beach every day. The pictures you took make this place look even more beautiful from the inside than I could’ve imagined! I’m so happy you found such a gem of a home and could share with us!

    • Wow Adrienne, small world! Glad you got to “see” the inside finally!

  21. thank you for sharing this beautiful place kate! kauai is our favorite island, and we stayed at poipu too. can’t wait to go back and buy from every fruit stand on the island! =)

  22. If you are getting more source info from the owner, can you find out who makes the ceiling fans in the first bedroom? I like them (as much as ceiling fans can be liked.) Thanks.

  23. Just gorgeous!!!! Kauai is def on my list…as soon as mileage seats become available!! #never.
    Your kids are growing up so fast!!!! And LOVE your new profile pic!!

  24. Stunning photos!! I agree with another commenter – they should use your photos to advertise. Question – how did you find it? Out of curiosity, after clicking on the link, along the top of the VRBO page where it displays the listing number, to the left of the number it shows links (Home USA Hawaii Kauai South Shore Poipu Private Homes VRBO Listing #3565510ha). I clicked on “private homes” to see what else might come up that was comparable and I assumed it would include this listing under the private homes tab. But I cannot find the listing without going through your link. This place is fully booked when I would consider going so I was hoping to find something similar . . . if that’s possible. They’ve really done a beautiful job of decorating.

  25. Gorgeous! I could just move in there…no problem!

    I have been to every island expcept Kauai..it’s on my bucket list. I used to work with a girl who was raised in Kauai, she’s a native Hawaiian and she said she never wore shoes until she sas 12 years old. She saw Elvis up close and personal when he was there to make a movie in the ’60’s and she said he was the most beautiful human being she has ever seen in her life.

    • WOW Denise, that is incredible! I love that story! No shoes and an in person look at ELVIS!!! Awesome, thanks so much for sharing, you’ll love Kauai, it’s my husband’s favorite – I love them all equally! I’ll share some of our favorite stops next week.

  26. What a great vacation home!

    Do you mind sharing some info on Kauai? Why did you pick Poipu over the other areas? I’ve been Oahu, the Big Island and Maui but never there so I dont know where to start.

  27. How beautiful Kate! Thanks for showing us the cottage you stayed in. It’s so tropical looking! Sounds like a wonderful trip for you and your family!

  28. Hey Kate, thanks for sharing. We are looking around for our first family home and would love a beachy look. Def looking for a fixer upper and this blog post was inspirational! Thank you

  29. Hi Kate, It’s awesome beach house!! Hawaii is perhaps the most beautiful place I’ve ever had the privilege of visiting!

  30. Hi, I was wondering if you could inquire about where they purchased the blue green backsplash in the kitchen.
    Many thanks!

  31. Wow! I just happened to stumble across these photos and recognized the home because my husband and I stayed there in May of 2014 as well! The trip was for our 25th wedding anniversary. We chose the house because of the amazing decor (I am an Interior Designer) and location. We were not disappointed! The whole vacation and the house were truly amazing, and left an impression on me. Your photos are also amazing!

  32. Would love to know where those sea glass draw pulls came from. They’d be PERFECT for a project I’m working on. Do you know?

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