By the Sea

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Make a Grand Entrance!

Bockman, Forbes & Glasglow Architects

Just how many nautical staircase ideas are there? Apparently quite a few. Some inspiring ideas for your seaside steps.

Gap Interiors

Coastal Living Magazine

A cleverly-placed sign to greet you as you climb up! How about some whimsical balusters shaped like the waves of the sea?

Coastal Living 2007 Idea Home

Love this contemporary spiral staircase with a painted compass landing.

Coastal Living Magazine

Classic elegance with white painted walls and dark wood trim . . . a perfectly placed striped runner.

If nautical is your nature, this staircase may be just what you have been looking for!

DC By Design

Brighten up an ordinary staircase with mosaic tiles in your favorite seaside shades.

Nautical Staircase by Thom Filicia

This artfully created staircase by designer Thom Filicia is my favorite!

Nothing says nautical like rope handrails and boat cleats.

House Beautiful Magazine

Like the cottage look? This simply painted staircase is highlighted with a stunning pop of turquoise in a hanging chandelier.

Monday, August 8, 2011

I have always been enamored with the color purple. Growing up, I painted everything within my reach in some shade of purple. Furniture was handed down through our famliy when needed and I ended up with someone's version of boring. I decided to make the best of my new "gift" by painting it . . . you guessed it . . . purple, long before painted and distressed furniture became in vogue.

I have wondered why this color has always captivated me. Turns out that purple dye was originally made by extracting the glands of mullosks. It took some 336,000 snails to yield one ounce of purple dye. That explains my love for the color purple and my love of the sea!

Derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool, purple has both warm and cool properties. Purple can boost your imagination. Here, Arteriors has created a subtle purple 25" coastal lighting choice to brighten your seaside space.

Arteriors Lulu Violet Lamp

The intricately-embroidered pattern on this DL Rhein Waikiki 20" linen coastal decor throw pillow is stunning.

DL Rhein Purple Waikiki Pillow

Isola Bella creates linen artwork hand-printed with icons from the sea available in sizes and colors to fit your coastal palette.

Isola Bella Linen Artwork

Long associated with both nobility and spirituality mixing opposing colors of hot red and cool blue create this intriguing color. Trina Turk, as always, creates a colorful accent pillow with this 20" embroidered Purple Sea pillow.

Trina Turk Purple Sea

Trina Turk has created yet another colorful accent pillow in her Jungle Bloom Series, shown here in fabulous purple.

Trina Turk Purple Jungle Bloom Pillow

According to the color experts, if you surround yourself with purple, you will have peace of mind! We love the summery linen fabric and beautiful hand-printed artwork of Isola Bella. Featured here are two of our favorites . . . 100% purple linen highlighted with white sea urchins or white branch coral.

Isola Bella Violet Sea Urchin Pillow

Isola Bella Violet Seafan Pillow

And how about a touch of purple on your seaside dining table. Isola Bella has created a charming line of table linens done in my favorite shade . . . yes, purple! What an unexpected color to find in the kitchen or dining room.

Isola Bella Purple Sea Urchin Napkins

Isola Bella Purple Sea Urchin Table Runner

Look at nature's precious flowers: orchids, lilacs, lavendar. Shades of purple range from lavendar, mauve, amethyst, blue purples, red purples and deep purples. If blue or red are an obvious color choice for what you are decorating, try purple instead!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Organizing your Life by the Sea!

Pottery Barn

Make your regular storage baskets into gifts from the sea. Glue on a starfish or sand-dollar from the beach. Or hang your favorite beachcombing find from a slim rope for a more nautical touch. Any storage basket can be made to look like you live by the sea! This organized space is compliments of Pottery Barn!

While we are talking storage, this is a simple idea to kept track of your tv remote. You will always be able to find it tucked away in a small basket under your favorite chair!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Fire Up the Grill!

Ah, my favorite time of year. Warm air filtering in . . . firing up the grill . . . getting together with friends. Maybe I enjoy barbequing at the beach so much because I usually do not have to work the grill myself! I love squeezing all of our family and friends onto our outdoor deck and creating our summertime buffet of our favorite easy-to-put-together-feed-a-crowd-food! The wine flows, the music pours out and we all reminisce about our day on the water and talk about the possibilities for the next day.

A few of our favorite barbeque accessories!

Seashell Beverage Tub

Definitely a necessity to keep your favorite beverages cool while the party goes on. Our seashell beverage tub is perfectly-sized to fit easily on your buffet table.

Shell Handle Servers

The beach certainly calls for its own serving accessories. Our shell handle spoon and fork set are almost a buffet staple.

Seashell Casual Plates

Easy care acrylic plates that, yes can go in the dishwasher!

Granite Cheese Board

A granite serving board is the perfect spot to keep your "after the beach" cheese selection just the right temperature.

Seagrass Utensil Basket

Everyone grabs their own silverware and napkins with this seagrass utensil basket.

If only we could stretch out those weekends a little longer . . .

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Batten Down the Hatches!

Coastal Living Magazine

Who wouldn't love to stretch out on these seaside bunks listening to the crash of the waves. A neutral palette highlighted with a dash of bright teal to bring the colors of the sea into your space. The small drawstring curtains are perfect for functionality and color.

Coastal Living Magazine

What an efficient use of space! Kids just love the coziness of bunk beds, not to mention the fun ladders climbing to your sleeping berth. A punch of pink at the beach gives everything a Caribbean coolness.

Coastal Living Magazine

Four bunks in the space of one room. Perfect for all of the extra guests at your beach house. Think cruise ships!

Coastal Living Magazine

Looks like the facade of a house! You can squeeze a set of bunk beds just about anywhere.

Coastal Living Magazine

Teenage guests will adore the contemporary simplicity and bold color choices of this bunk room.

Southern Living Magazine

Bring an Americana touch to your seaside bunks. Nautical goes red, white & blue.

Southern Accents Magazine

Bright colors and your own special initial marks your sleeping spot.

Southern Accents Magazine

Definitely a nautical feel to this wood embellished bunk room.

What a great way to allow your beach house extra sleeping areas for all of the overnight guests that just come with a beach house. Hope we have inspired you to think vertical!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Got Fish??

Classic Picket Fence

Some "fishy" ideas to make your beach house smile! A collection of fish colorfully hand-painted onto weathered picket fence slats makes a unique wall statement. Packaged in a set of 6 original fish artwork.

Gone Fishin' Flatware

Fish on the dinner table? Absolutely. The Gone Fishin' flatware pattern is available in 5-piece place settings and an array of entertaining accessories from cake servers to cheese servers.

Isola Bella Orange Fish Pillow

Isola Bella has created a bright orange fish pattern hand-printed onto comfortable summery white linen. Nothing beats the heat of summer like these cool colors.

Nautical Fish Hardware

How about a little decorative hardware to update your cabinets or dressers? Available in so many different styles and in five different finishes. All made to order just for your space.

Coastal Fish Guest Towels

Who wouldn't love these embroidered linen fish guest towels? With all of these fish options, you may not have to hear the story about "the one that got away"!!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Dining By the Sea!

Coastal Living Magazine

Why is it that everything just tastes better by the sea? Must be the salt air and the serenity of the beach. Love this magnificent gathering spot to share a meal compliments of Coastal Living Magazine. The peaked ceiling of this room full of glass brings the fabulous outdoor view right inside. Two of life's great pleasures: good food and good friends. Perfect pairing for this seaside space.

Designing your dining space can be easy and should reflect your style of entertaining. Investing in timeless furniture will leave you many options to change the accessories in your room to fit your mood or the season. Add some colorful accent pillows to bring some pops of coastal color. Alternating your centerpiece regularly will keep your space fresh.

How much fun would it be to decorate this room . . . starting with the Square Feathers Americana Number collection of coastal decor accent pillows. We would put together a collection of our favorite numbers in the brightest colors.