About Us

Stellar J . . . on Beach was Karyn’s dream for a number of years. A keen collector of ‘cast offs’, vintage “smalls” and furniture, milk glass, pressed glass, old silver plate, old frames and art work and on and on; morphed into an overflowing garage, a full storage unit and ‘treasures’ tucked hear and there. The year 2007 chose itself for the shop’s opening.

With her partner David they refurbished two of the rooms from top to bottom in the 1960s building at 702 Beach Road in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. With less than 700 square feet ‘small was beautiful’ with the shop’s décor and inventory changed every few weeks to ensure customers never tired of coming in to see what was new and different.

The shop was all about ‘cottage style’, an eclectic mix of old and new, all with a sense of relaxation, comfort and beauty, perhaps with a bit of nostalgia for a time when life was simpler.

The clean simple lines of the solid wood vintage furniture that was sourced at auctions lent itself well to Karyn’s mantra of “re-imagine, re-create, re-purpose, re-new”. Behind this was not liking the fact that so much of society today is about disposable – our landfills are overflowing! Having an eco-friendly business that found new life and value for old, unloved furniture and home décor accents was a good fit.

With her partner David, furniture was sanded, primed, and painted with low VOC paint – in soothing cottage chic shades. Sometimes the piece was re-purposed - a harvest table became a desk with a 1920’s hotel key box fitted on top; a dresser became an entryway catch all with drawers removed and eye catching wicker baskets added.

Something vintage; something new; all affordable finds aimed at helping you make your home an enduring space you loved that would keep getting better with age.

Unfortunately things didn’t go quite as planned and after three years and some tough decisions Stellar J on Beach was converted to a Cottage Vacation Rental, designed, renovated and decorated in true cottage chic style. And here we are in 2012, the cottage is no longer a vacation rental, but has become a cottage home…full circle for the 1960’s original.

Today, Stellar J is still very involved with home décor, concentrating on the home décor services that the shop used to provide. Karyn’s mantra “re-imagine, re-create, re-purpose, re-new” remains the back bone of her design philosophy and Stellar J still wants to help you, our cottage style friends …Make your home an enduring place you love, that will keep getting better with age.