Lillian's Cottage

We love our cottage!

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We love our cottage on St. Julian. Lillian would be so pleased with how much everyone is enjoying it.

The Story of Our Cottage

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Welcome to our home!

We are glad that you have chosen our little cottage as a home away from home while you visit the beautiful and charming city of Savannah. We love this city, and we are still exploring all of the nooks and crannies ourselves. It is so full of life. No one here is a stranger, and everyone waves and says hello, or “hi y’all”! Be sure to sample the food, the history, the night life, and everything that Savannah has to offer. Stop by the Visitor Information Center on East Bay Street and they’ll give you maps and brochures and much more information.

A little history about our cottage. We have recently purchased this home after my husband’s mother, Lillian, passed away suddenly. This was her cottage; we can feel her love in every room. Her hands have touched every piece of furniture, painted every bit of trim, hung every picture, and sewed every bed cover and pillow sham. She bought this cottage in the early ‘90s, as an empty deteriorated shell of what was once a grand home. She saw the potential, and worked diligently for 11 months, restoring it using authentic materials and restoration techniques. Once she had it standing tall, she decided to open it up to family and travelers to use so that more people could enjoy what Savannah has to offer. She had hoped that some day she could sell everything that she owned, buy a silver Jaguar, pack all of her belongings into an alligator suitcase, and live in this little cottage on Saint Julian. She never did get to live here full time, but she stayed many afternoons and weekends. We have kept it in the family, and we hope to continue what she started.

We don’t know who owned the cottage before Lillian, but one of our first projects is to work on tracing its history and ownership. We do know that it was built in 1905 for Mary Jones. Who was Mary Jones, and who built this cottage for her? We don’t know that yet, but it’s been fun imagining who she might have been and what her story was. If you look in the guest book, you will notice that one guest who signed the book had actually lived here from 1919 – 1940. We hope to find her and learn more about our cottage. We will be working with the Savannah Historic Society, and we have volunteered to be a part of the Savannah College of Art and Design’s historic architecture project. Maybe we’ll have the answers to our questions soon.

We do know that it is part of Washington Ward, on Washington Square, one of the most historic squares in Savannah, named after our first president. If you take a tour, or walk around a bit, you’ll see that Savannah was designed in a grid pattern around a series of squares. The squares were the centers of life in colonial times. The residents of the squares socialized, cooked and took care of business around the squares. Churches, homes, schools and places of business were built around the squares so that people could reach them easily. They were also structured this way for protection. Stores of ammunition were housed in each square, so that if one fell under attack, residents could retreat to another one, if needed, to retrieve fresh ammunition and fight back. Washington Square was famous for the New Year’s Eve bonfires that often rose higher than the roofs of the houses. We figure the residents of our square really knew how to celebrate!

My husband and I live nearby. My husband is a local; his roots grow deep in the coast. He is a charter captain and I am a physician assistant and a teacher. We have two children who have visited this cottage with their grandma (“Ne Ne”) for many, many years. We truly hope that you, too, enjoy the love and generosity of Lillian, in her little cottage on Saint Julian.

Living Room

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Here is the living room. We've actually replaced this couch with a brand new one that has a Queen sleeper in it.

So comfy.

TV and VCR in this room. And yes, we do have cable. DSL for your computer is in the front bedroom. Local telephone service is also included.

You're never going to want to leave. It just feels so warm and inviting here. This cottage is full of happiness and love.

Come on in!

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You know you can't wait to come and explore all that Savannah has to offer.

Welcome.

Gate to the porch.

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OK, so I thought this looked like a cool picture.

It's supposed to be you, looking through the gate, so that you can imagine yourself sitting on the back porch. Did it work?

Magnolias and Teapot

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Lillian was the decorating queen, and you'll see her touch everywhere in the cottage. She loved all thing southern, and she was a true "Steel Magnolia".

Front Bedroom

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The front bedroom has a Queen sized bed, DSL hookup, TV, DVD and VCR.

More of the back bedroom.

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Here is a photo of the beautiful headboard and stained glass in the back bedroom.

This is the back bedroom.

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This is the back bedroom; it has a queen sized bed, a dresser, a desk, a closet, and a stained glass window!

The TUB..........'Nuff said.

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Yes. It's an authentic claw foot tub. The real thing. And it is great. Pack your favorite bubble bath and prepare to SOAK.

Notice the stained glass window above the tub. There are several of these throughout the cottage. Lillian loved to decorate, and this was done during her stained glass phase. Her work is really beautiful. She was happy working on these pieces for hours at a time.

Essentials

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Just wanted you to see we have a washer and a dryer, an iron and ironing board, a hair dryer, and....

An old fashioned claw foot tub. Did someone say bubble bath?

Breakfast Nook

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The breakfast nook adjoins the kitchen and the door opens out onto the back porch. Leave the door open while you drink your coffee so you can hear the birds chirping.

Peek out the door, look down East Broad to the left, and you can see the gigantic ships going by on the river. They are taller than the buildings!

We have a full sized kitchen and fridge.

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I really like the fact that we have a full sized kitchen and fridge. We've even got new nonstick pans, a blender, toaster, microwave, dishwasher, and coffeemaker.

The cabinets and drawers are filled with dishes, glassware, utensils, spatulas and serving items, pitchers, mixing bowls, CRAB CRACKERS! and OYSTER knives.

We've even supplied a corkscrew and a bottle opener.

We stay here ourselves quite often, so we've figured out what supplies are absolutely essential. Let us know if we've missed something.

Coffee.........yum.

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Aaaaah. Yes. Coffee. Real coffee.

The dining room even has an old-fashioned side board.

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The kitchen is close by, in case you need to carry the loads of food you've cooked to the dining room table.

Be sure to buy one of Paula Deen's cookbooks, or Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House cookbook, or even the nearby Pirate's House cookbook!

Ain't nothing like good old Southern Cooking y'all!

The Pirate's House pecan chicken, Paula Deen's Hoecakes, Mrs. Wilkes' mac and cheese and collard greens.... My stomach is growling again.

We'll make some more food recommendations a little later. Tim LOVES to eat, so we've sampled quite a bit in this area of Savannah. Stay tuned.

Oh yeah, lots of places have takeout or even delivery services.

Our dining room is grand and comfortable.

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This dining room table is just waiting for some good food and happy people!

(It's also a very romantic setting for those so inclined....)

Back porch sitting.

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There are flowers here even in the Fall. Lillian loved that story about "When I am old I shall wear Purple"; so we try to have some purple flowers out every so often.