We found a cottage that transports you from the quaint main streets of our small coastal towns to the bustling avenues of international cities, with style, charm, and sophistication.
From the lush exterior landscaping to the striking black and brown palette of the interiors, stepping into Barbara and Bruce Woelke’s Gulf Coast cottage is like stepping into a storybook of romantic tales and adventurous travel. You are immediately immersed in beautiful antique furnishings, rich textiles, and a trove of treasures from faraway places. Each piece has a story, weaving together a lifetime of collecting exquisite objects and memories.
Barbara grew up in a military family living all over the world, but strong ties kept her connected to the Gulf Coast. “I was living in New Orleans when I met my husband. We had been dating two weeks when he proposed. That was 61 years ago!”
The couple moved to Pennsylvania where Bruce worked as an aerospace engineer and Barbara pursued her design interests. She found her dream job as a designer with a premier furniture retailer, eventually becoming their senior designer, where she was free to “do her own thing,” she says. “Before I retired, I was working with my clients’ children. It was so much fun.”
Her exposure to antiques growing up in the South gave her an appreciation for well-made furnishings with histories. Her move to Philadelphia landed her less than 40 miles from the Amish country. Famous for its hand crafted hardwood furniture, Barbara spent her free time shopping antique stores and auction sales in the area.
She and her husband renovated an 1853 Pennsylvania farmhouse honing skills that would come in handy when the couple inherited Barbaras’ grandmother’s home in Pass Christian. They totally rebuilt the house in Mississippi, doing the work themselves. They finished the project, packed their suitcases, and headed back to Pennsylvania on August 29, 2005. That was the day life on the Gulf Coast changed.
The home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, devastating the couple—but not for long. On the first anniversary of the storm, they returned and purchased another cottage where they are spending their golden years. Again, doing all the work themselves, they upgraded interior features, added a couple of rooms and a carport, and set an ambitious landscaping plan in motion.
Barbara’s passion for gardening begins each morning just after sunrise, stopping only when the heat demands she does. Her habit of “pajama gardening” has resulted in a tropical paradise unlike any we have seen. Everywhere you look is an interesting plant, art object, or a unique piece of statuary artfully displayed on a backdrop of vibrant green. There are areas for seating, water features, antique gates, and gravel paths. Throughout the garden you are invited to stop, take a breath, and enjoy a moment.
Inside of the home, you are carried away to Europe and Asia through their beloved collections of everything from gentlemen’s canes and crystal decanters to colorful porcelain and framed landscapes. The large scale leather and neutral upholstered furniture is accented throughout each room with impeccable accessories, demonstrating what Barbara feels are two important design principles: scale and having the right accessories.
Even the smallest of pieces is meticulously placed, the story of each revealing Barbara’s appreciation for diverse cultures and experiences. Her most prized possession is her Imari porcelain. From 16th and 17th centuries Japan, Imari plates, bowls, and dishes are characterized by cobalt blue and iron red coloration with gold gilding, and sometimes green or black accents.
Her collection of over one hundred pieces was acquired by her mother during a visit to occupied Japan at the end of WWII. Her mother traded the blue suit she was wearing to a shop owner who was unable to purchase a new outfit for her daughter’s wedding. Another favorite is the powder room sink that she and Bruce created from a copper pot her mother purchased in Germany when Barbara was in the third grade.
The rooms in the cottage are small, particularly the kitchen, but that works for Barbara. “I don’t like to cook anyway!” she says. Still the small space boasts wonderfully large art pieces that draw your eyes around the room. The largest bedroom is reserved for guests, but the smaller master suite includes a new closet that is shamelessly large according to Barbara. The tiny closets in older homes just do not accommodate a modern gal.
The color black is used throughout the home, suggesting the lady of the house is confident in her design decisions. It adds depth, contrast, and sophistication to every space. “My daughter loves to say that if you stay still long enough, Mom will paint you black,” Barbara says laughing. She describes her design esthetic as “traditional but eclectic” adding, “I do not know what I am! I just live with things I love.”
Each room on the back of the cottage overlooks a welcoming patio and pool, surrounded by more tropical landscaping with high design continuing well beyond the cottage walls. Porches are fully furnished, decorated living spaces. Even an exterior nook behind the carport gets the designer’s touch with a chest, a rug, a chandelier, and pieces of art.
Barbara offers many of her fabulous finds at Past Perfect 2.0, a consignment shop in Long Beach. She shares her experience in the furniture and antique businesses with a local estate sale company as well.
“Everything comes back in style eventually. Young people might think antiques are unfashionable, but they should take another look. You can find great prices on quality pieces. And do not forget to share the story of each piece with your family. That is how we keep the love of antiques and beautiful things alive generation to generation. The biggest compliment I have ever gotten is hearing that my granddaughter would like to live in my house one day.”
Holly Harrison has been a licensed interior designer for over 35 years. Shannon Stage has spent nearly 20 years in the giftware industry. Together they own Sassy Bird Interiors in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Sassy Bird Interiors
211 Main St. Bay St. Louis
228.344.3181
www.sassybirdinteriors.com
