My perfect beach cottage has a roof!
And it’s not the original kit shingled roof ~ it’s my version of a southern beach cottage tin roof! At last 🙂 !!
In my mind I own ocean-front property, and the quintessential beach cottage. Unfortunately, neither of those things are actually true at the moment. My miniature perfect beach cottage is the alternative for now ~ and a great way to scratch my creative itch in the meantime. It started as a gift from Bluwaterguy and his mom, well over a year ago ~ and my cottage DIY adventure has been a series here on the blog. Links to the previous updates are included at the end of this post for the whole story!
After finally completing all the tiny rafters, brackets and trim, it was time for the roof. I used roof photos from our Seaside trips as inspiration and experimented with different options to get a good look. I finally decided to use some heavy corrugated foil-covered craft paper for the covering and silver tape for edge flashing and seam gutters.
Here’s a look at the work as it was done ~ with random iPhone photos as I was working along ~~~
First I traced and cut pieces of the corrugated foil craft paper into shapes to cover various roof areas. I was careful to align the horizontal lines and grain where the paper was machined, as I cut the various pieces. Next I used narrow strips of silver Duck tape trimmed to cover all the roof edges and seams as flashing.

silver Duck tape becomes roof edge flashing
After all the edges were taped, I put the corrugated paper pieces in place, trimmed all the paper edges for a close fit, and then glued the pieces in their final spots.
Next I applied some narrow strips of the silver tape to wax paper backing, in order to create flexible pieces with enough body to hold a sharp crease. Once these were trimmed and creased, they became flashing for the gutter seams and roof lines.

tape strips with wax paper backing become gutter seams
A thin layer of glue smoothed out with cotton swabs and these were ready to put in place.

gutter seams and roof line flashing strips ~ gluing in progress
Here’s a close shot of the dormer with all the flashing and seaming in place. And it was one VERY SHINY roof!

dormer section complete ~ unglazed
I thinned some white paint with water and then dry-brushed a light glaze coat over the entire roof to dull down the shine. I wanted that whiteish haze you see on a new tin roof, and got pretty close.
Here’s an “after glazing” shot of the same dormer for comparison. I may still add some streaks of verdigris or other color wash glaze, but I’m going to live with this for a while first.

dormer close up with final glazing complete
Roof completion has been a big milestone. There is still a bit of interior decor stuff, an outside shower, a weather vane, and a few other fun things before I call it complete. Oh, and of course a plaque with the cottage name ~ bluwaterescape!
Here are the links if you want to catch up on the previous updates ~~~
- perfect beach cottage ~ part one
- perfect beach cottage ~ part two
- perfect beach cottage ~ part three
- perfect beach cottage ~ part four
Hope you come back to see the final photos and tour. It won’t be too long now!

my perfect beach cottage has a roof!
Bill Poole says
That is one cute beach house . You must have steady hands.Maybe you could go into house design .I am impressed !!!
bluwatergal says
Glad you like it Bill! The hands are more slow than steady, but it will be done when it’s done. It has been a fun project 🙂
Vicki and Jennifer says
Oh my gosh!!! Your beach house is absolutely beautiful and creative! I can just envision you on the front porch with one of your specialty drinks! Great job!!
bluwatergal says
I’m almost done Vicki & Jennifer ~ and then I’m going to do a video tour as though it’s a real cottage! Maybe I should do miniature open house cocktails 🙂
Jody says
How stinking cute!!! The roof is so perfect! I went back and read all of the posts on the progression of your building process, fun read. Now I am looking for a miniature bottle of wine to bring to the open house!!
bluwatergal says
You’re our kind of party guest Jody! Glad you enjoyed the read 🙂 Got the miniature glasses and corkscrew ready & waiting’ ~~~ Bwg
Kitsy says
Love your cottage. Just now found your blog. Looks like a lot of fun.
bluwatergal says
Thanks for visiting bluwaterlife! The cottage project has been fun 🙂 Hope you’ll add us to your reading list & keep visiting. There will be more cottage updates soon! Bwg ~~~
Marie@The Interior Frugalista says
I love minatures and this one is absolutely adorable Bobbi. I’m your newest follower – visiting from the fabulous new Best Of DIY linky party 🙂
bluwatergal says
Hi Marie ~ and welcome to bluwaterlife 🙂 The linky party was fun, and I really appreciate your comments on the cottage. Just followed you back on IG too! Bwg ~~~
Cindy says
Oh my gosh that is awesome! I cannot believe your model. That is awesome. So do you plan on having a real house true to this one day? I can’t get over it!
Bluwatergal says
Hi Cindy ~ I do plan on a real beach cottage one day. In the meantime this is just a miniature to have fun with. My real cottage will have a porch and shutters and a tin roof ~ and will likely be blue 🙂 Glad you like the miniature. Thanks for visiting! Bwg ~~