Preservation, Cottages, and Bright Colors

Jane Coslick, known for her colorful cottage designs on Tybee Island, is actually a long-time Isle of Hope resident.  She is a designer, restoration specialist and a preservationist who just happens to be in four National magazines this month, which include HGTV, This Old House, Romantic Homes, and Color Made Easy.

IOH News was happy to catch up with this busy and gracious lady who manages to accomplish so much without a publicist or staff of interns!

Jane’s home and office is located in a building constructed in the early 1900’s at Parkersburg and Rose Ave., known as the former post office, the General Store or just Kinsey’s.

When Jane purchased this “project” in 1984, the first thing she added was a porch.  The two bedroom, two bath home, with it’s own vertical library and ladder, is full of color and charm, and yes, it’s for sale.

Jane’s son and his wife are selling their home, which is just steps away on Rose Avenue.  They are expecting twins in the fall, so a little more room is in order.  Jane owns the lot next to them, and hopes to build a cottage there, unless someone wants to purchase the house and the lot. But, her plans are stay on Isle of Hope – after all this is where she raised her children, Bauer and Winn.

Many islanders may remember that Jane led the charge to stop the developers who wanted to put condominiums on the bluff.  “They were going to tear down five homes on the bluff to make a gated community!,” Jane said.   “I was President of the Isle of Hope Historical Society at the time, and Jack Allen helped us hold secret committee meetings.  We even did traffic counts late at night,” (to gather evidence to take to the MPC).

Jane took on the role of president, at the request of Carolyn Solana, who had the vision, along with a few other residents, to put Isle of Hope on the National Historic Register.  This cause had a lot of support whenever they went to the MPC.  In fact, “We packed the

room at all the MPC meetings and had people standing in the halls,” said Jane. Members of the committee included Gordon Cross, Carolyn Solana, Jack Allen, Dr. Wiebe, and Jack Kingston. Noell and Ruthie Wright were also actively involved in protesting the changes to the island.  Through it all, their strategy was to stay calm.

“We ended up borrowing $1,000,000 (from a friend on the island) to buy out the developers,” said Jane.  “We had a big event later and sold all the homes within 15 minutes!”  “Those changes to the bluff would have changed everything! That’s why things need to be protected,” Jane said.

The first home Jane restored on Isle of Hope was the Gingerbread House.  That’s where she found a City of Savannah Directory dated 1867.  It belonged to John  McGlachlan, who was a cotton broker that emigrated from Ireland with his family.  She was also able to salvage several columns, which she reused on the Parkersburg cottage, as well as a kitchen window, which was repurposed into an opening bathroom cabinet space.

As a preservationist, Jane continues to educate people on the value of history.  Her other home on Tybee was built in the 1930’s
and she was able to save it from demolition.  She calls it, “99 Steps to the Beach” and it has appeared on the cover of many magazines. “My specialty is small spaces and designing small spaces, and people just seem to love it,” Jane said.

A Splash of Color 

Jane recently launched her own line of paints, with names like “Old Shutter Blue,” “Favorite Blouse Blue,” “Tybee Turquoise,” “Great White,” and “Anna Banana Yellow”.  And the most unusual thing about Jane?  Her favorite color is white.

Look for Jane cruising around the island in her jeep or online at www.JaneCoslick.com