It’s already Thursday, and that means
my DVR is set for the final episode of “Christina on the Coast”. As some of you
know, Christina is my neighbor. She lives just around the corner from me and
several of my girlfriends.
Heather is only about three houses away
from her, Caran is just up the street and Amy, Brenda and I are all about a
minute away, so we’ve all been intrigued the last few months about what’s going
on at Christina’s house. (and did I mention that Tarek lives only a couple of
blocks away?) 😉
In December, there were tons of cars
on the street for a big party at Christina’s house which turned out to be her surprise wedding. Since then, we’ve all been on alert for Christina sightings.
I saw her months ago at the local
health food store, and my husband actually stopped and talked to Christina and
her husband while they were out for a walk.
Anyhow, every Thursday, I’m sure to
check in on “Christina on the Coast” for any fun neighborhood sightings and
news.
I’m quite familiar with Christina’s
new house that she showcases on her show, and so are many of us here in Newport.
You see it was featured on the Newport Harbor Home Tour a few years back and in
several magazines.
Here’s the before and after of the kitchen. As you can see, Christina got rid of most of the open shelving, reconfigured the bar, and went with white cabinetry in most of the kitchen. To me it's a less dramatic look, but probably more efficient and has more storage.
According to last week's episode, she also closed off a door to the right of the fridge for more kitchen space. What do you think about the transformation?
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| Christina’s new home office |
To be honest, I was a little
disappointed with last week’s episode that was supposed to be the “big reveal” of
her newly designed home. You see, back in December, Christina and local
designer Raili Clasen (pronounced Riley) both posted the finished look of Christina’s
new hip coastal-inspired home on Instagram.
Raili’s the one who actually chose the
décor for Christina’s new home. She was the brainchild behind this whole
project. So where was Raili (or mention of Raili) in the last episode?
ZIP! Nothing, nada, not a word. We were
all led to believe that Christina did it all. And you know what? I totally get
it. I’m sure the producers made the call to not mention that another designer
had to be called in to actually design these spaces, but I was a little
disappointed.
Christina and her husband Ant, don’t
hide the fact that Raili designed the home of their dreams, as seen on
Instagram.
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| Raili's fabric choices |
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| Christina's instagram |
Raili's a total rock star of design
and is a huge supporter of the Newport Harbor Home Tour. She's had a home
featured on the home tour just about every year since she debuted her own adorable little farmhouse back in 2013.
Everyone loved it so much, that she began her design
business shortly after that!
It seems that Christina’s been all
over the press lately with her new marriage, her new show, and now her pregnancy.
Here’s a little peek at her adorable baby shower that took place at the Balboa
Bay Resort, or as we locals call it, The Bay Club.
Incidentally, the Bay Club is where
the Newport Harbor Home Tour’s breakfast reception took place for a couple of
years, so some of you may be familiar with it!
I love the flowers!
I'll always and forever love a pretty peacock chair!
One thing I really did enjoy about
Christina’s show is seeing the local sights they featured. Many of them are favorite
restaurants of ours, like Zinqué, above, a fun place for breakfast on the
water in beautiful Lido Marina Village.
And here they are at another one of my
favorite waterfront restaurants, Bluewater Grill. They have amazing
seafood and chowder, and even a New England Lobster Clambake! Ramona would be thrilled! 😁
Speaking of Ramona, who's watching the Real Housewives of New York Reunion tonight? I can't wait!
I wonder if Christina will reveal her
new nursery décor tonight on the show.
I guess this final episode is focusing
on the “reimagination” of the pool and backyard, which is huge, by the way.
You can get a peek of it here at a
backyard party Christina hosted a few weeks back and in this selfie.
You can see how true it looks compared
to this rendering of how it was imagined.
Will you be watching tonight? I sure
will be!
ciao! fabiana
By the way, this amazing book
Contemporary Cottages features Christina’s current home as it was seen on the
Newport Harbor Home tour designed by Shannon Wilkins and it also features a really
cool beach house designed by Raili Clasen.
In fact, this new book features several
homes by some of my favorite local designers. Check it out here:
photo credit: ChardPhoto, Christina Anstead, & People
