“Mind the Step” & Meet the Cottage (A Perfectly Quirky Coastal Cottage in Newfoundland)

This post was most recently updated on September 23rd, 2019

* All photos in this post have been reproduced with permission from Cape Race Cultural Adventures.  With the exception of the “Pin It” button at the end of this post, please do not pin any other photos from A Pop of Pretty. Thanks for your understanding.

If you are a Pinterest or Houzz user, you might have seen this photo making the rounds among decor lovers.

I was immediately drawn to it.  Even though I knew that  I’d never been in this home, something seemed so comfortingly familiar about it.

Was it the familiarity of the tongue-in-cheek wit stenciled so perfectly imperfectly?

Was it the worn and slanted floorboards that whispered the home’s true age?

Or was it that pair of knitted ‘fisherman’ socks, just like my Nan used to make us to keep our toes warm on cold floors during the winter?

It was ALL of it.  Everything about this image screamed *home* to me. I knew this home had to be here in Newfoundland.

A few more clicks confirmed my suspicion, and led me straight to CapeRace Cultural Adventures, which owns this quirky coastal cottage.  Cape Race Adventures restores abandoned or distressed coastal homes here using traditional Newfoundland decor, and creates guest homes for adventure-seeking travelers. As it turns out, this one is located on the ocean right here in my hometown.

While this house has modern amenities, it still has the look and feel of Newfoundland’s traditional outport homes (Source). (To get a sense of what traditional homes are like here, you don’t need to look any further than these ads for Tourism Newfoundland & Labrador: here and here.)

If you love that crisp, nautical-inspired cottage look that’s so popular, then this home is for you.  It’s chock full of inspiration.

Let’s start with that awesomely quirky stenciled step.

As you know, stenciling words on walls and stairs is now a trendy way to make a decor statement. But the main reason for this particular stencil had less to do with being on trend than it did with being functional. (You’ll find that pretty much everything here is authentic like that!)

Apparently, this 100 year home has had five different additions over its long history, creating different levels throughout the home.   So the words “Mind the Step” really are intended to keep guests from tripping!  (Source)

But, no question, the quirky reminder (so reminiscent of the London Underground’s “Mind the Gap!” warning)  certainly adds to the home’s quirky charm, too!

The cottage is filled with perfectly rusty and worn relics from a sea-faring life. I love how it feels authentically nautical rather than ‘theme-y’ nautical.  Not that there’s anything wrong with creating a nautical themed space.  But this cottage feels genuinely coastal; after all, its survived 100 years in the North Atlantic’s  salt water air!

While I love everything about this cottage, I think this little entrance is my favorite.  What could be sweeter than a white-paneled, clutter-free porch with typographical hooks? Its the perfect spot to hang your raincoat, rain boots and binoculars – which are just a few of the necessities of living here!