Cottages on the Coast Fair Harbors and Secret Shores

Visit the Most Picturesque and private seaside cottages on all three coasts of the United States, from the cliffs of Big Sur to the dunes of Nantucket to Florida's sandy beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. The 1924 stone cottage in Carmel will transport you, the weathered clapboard cottage on the Isle of Hope, Georgia, will charm you, and Tennessee Williams's Key West cottage will inspire you to create and to dream. Seaside cottages are intrepid structures. They hold onto the earth as a brace against heavy seas, furious flood tides, and storm-force winds. The names themselves conjure departures and returns, danger and escape: Destruction Island, Peril Strait, and Wrath Cape describe one arc of shoreline. Another coastline offers Fair Harbor, Port Protection, and Safety Harbor. Still another speaks of lost encounters: Dogs Keys Pass, Torugas Harbor, and Alligator Reef. But the interiors of these cottages evoke only warmth and beauty, providing comfort for those eternally drawn to the sea. Many display artifacts of life on the water: nautical objects and treasures found on the beach, as well as journals, letters, postcards, and books that reflect the long, rich history of seaside living. Book jacket.

Linda Leigh Paul is a design writer and editor and is the author of Universe's Cottages by the Sea: The Handmade Homes of Carmel, America's First Artist Community; Coastal Retreats: The Pacific Northwest and the Architecture of Adventure; and Desert Retreats: Sedona Style.