On the Cover! April 2011 Coastal Living!

Look what is right on the cover of the beautiful April 2011 issue of Coastal Living Magazine. The lime pineapple hand-printed linen pillow made by Isola Bella and found on our website! Love these tropical colors!

Sea Urchins . . . By the Sea!

Sea urchins are amazing! Often referred to as the "hedgehog of the sea", these creatures are found on the ocean bottom near rocky shores and are usually only 2-4" in size. In all the years we have been visiting our NJ beach, I have only found one sea urchin in my many, many shell expeditions! It is adorably tiny and a beautiful shade of purple.

At By the Sea Decor you will find some unique sea urchin inspired products to decorate your coastal home. Our Stacked Sea Urchin Lamp has a subtle base of sea urchins with a pop of coral on its shade. Also available with a shiny silver base and a neutral shade to bring some seaside sparkle to your space.

Our pillow collection features sea urchins in many varieties. The Eco-Art Sea Urchin pillow shown above is made from organic cotton with a pillow insert made from ecofill fiber. Isola Bella has sea urchin coastal pillows hand-painted with earth-friendly inks on a 100% natural linen background in either natural or vibrant violet.

Need linens? Isola Bella has another exquisite collection of sea urchins on linen table runners and cocktail napkins. Not to mention their sterling silver jewelry line of sea urchin earrings and necklaces.

One of our favorite coastal decor accessories is our sea urchin vase available in two sizes: 12" diameter, 5" in height or 15" diameter and 8" in height. Perfect on your seaside table or shelf.

Love sea urchins? We have you covered!

Monochromatic Coastal Pillow Collection

It can be so much fun to decorate with a monochromatic theme! Our new coastal pillow collection can help you achieve that goal. All of the pillows in this ensemble are done in shades of off-white and beige. Choose from 18" square seahorse, starfish or fish design. The Pisces Snail pillow is available in an 18" round throw. Toss a few on your favorite sofa to bring a subtle palette to your space. Line your dining room chairs with one from each pattern. Will be arriving in our store shortly, but are available for pre-order on our website, or by clicking each picture.

Trina Turk Pillows!

Trina Turk has such a knack for creating vibrant home accessories with a unique twist. We love her new pattern of coastal decor throw pillows in rich tones of blue, green, pink and purple. Petals upon petals of color highlighted with coordinating shades. This collection is intricately embroidered onto 100% linen. May be just what your seaside space needs to carry you into summer!

A Burst of Tropical Color!

Need some tropical color inspiration to start your decorating . . . or redecorating?? Talented artist, D.L. Rhein, has once again designed a collection of fabulous coastal decor accent pillows in her Waikiki series. Updating your throw pillows is such an easy way to reinvent your living space. Each throw pillow is intricately embroidered in vibrant shades on a 100% linen background. Great pops of your favorite shades of blue, purple, pink, orange and green. All pillows are generously sized at 20" square and are sure to remind us that spring may just be on its way!

Mango Anyone???

Love this new shade of mango and melon . . . a pop of orange toned down to a softer, subtler shade to brighten up your room. This is a great time to stop and think where you may be able to add a touch of this color in your space, especially after this very long winter many of us have been experiencing. Did you ever notice that many of the names given to shades of orange are associated with food . . . like mango and melon for example! These colors are so warm and embracing, not to mention the fact that they can produce a feeling of a sweet scent. Think a bowl of fresh fruit on a sunny day.

This new collection of beautiful accent pillows are embroidered intricately onto 100% linen fabric in such lovely shades of mango and melon. We always love to mix and match patterns and sizes. Trina Turk has put her signature design on the Melon Greek Key Embroidered Pillow done in her shade of melon on a great 14" x 26" oblong shape. D.L. Rhein once again has created designs that capture a mango tone in full embroidery on her 100% linen 16" square accent pillows. All good choices!

Classic Embroidered Coastal Decor Pillows

We always look forward to new designs from one of our favorite artists, DL Rhein. Here she has designed a collection of coastally-inspired 100% linen pillows. Each beach decor accent pillow is intricately-embroidered with icons from the sea. Accenting piping and hidden back zipper complete these accent pillows. Available in the following styles: octopus, sea anemone, sea grass, trochus shell, staghorn coral and a double conch shell pattern. Pillow sizes range from 20" square to 14" x 20" oblong. As always, we prefer to mix and match styles and patterns. Toss a few on your sofa to give your seaside room an updated, yet very classic look.

Boating Anyone???

New nautical inspired throw pillows are arriving at our store, just in time to make you wish summer were a little bit closer! Vibrant shades of blue, red and white will definitely give your space a nautical feel. All are 100% wool and cotton with a coordinating velvet backing and hidden zipper closure. Substantially constructed to hold up to life a the beach! Mix and match the pillows for a casual seaside look. Available in 16" square and our favorite oblong shape. Toss a few onto your sofa for an instant decorating update with lots of bold color. Boating anyone????

Tidings of Comfort & Joy - Day 23 of our Holiday Gift Guide - Fabulous Coastal Pillows

Luxurious down-filled comfortable and beautifully embellished coastal decor pillows. These accent pillows are well, fabulous. Done in all natural linen fabric and highlighted with natural shells for an elegant seaside statement. The workmanship is simply evident in this pillow collection. A classic well worth the investment. All in stock and ready for that special person on your gift list. Or, better yet, treat yourself! The Sanibel rope tassel accent pillow was my inspiration piece for our new beach house addition colors!

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful - Day 16 of our Holiday Gift Guide - Hand Painted Linen Coastal Pillows!

Looking for a splash of fresh summer air for the beach lover on your list? The Isola Bella linen pillow collection is perfect. There is nothing like linen at the beach! All are hand-printed on luxurious linen with earth-friendly inks. Oh, the color and pattern choices! Bold orange fish stand out on a white linen background. Bright lime green pineapples say "welcome" to guests. Aqua shades are available in stony coral and the new waves pattern. Brown conch shells make a traditional statement. Red branch coral is a surprising color punch on a pure white linen pillow surface. Adorable blue seastars floating across the fabric! If taupe is what you are looking for . . . stony coral on a white background, or taupe backgrounds hosting white seastars or sea urchins. Something for everyone! All priced at $67.99, hand-printed in beautiful St. Thomas (you can almost feel the breeze) and sewn here. Take advantage of our 10% coupon code SLEIGH upon checkout.

Dashing Through the Snow - Day 12 of our Holiday Gift Guide - EcoArt Coastal Pillows

Modern, EcoArt coastal decor throw pillows done in all your favorite shades! Soft, organic cotton twill fabric is handprinted with environmentally safe water-based inks. The ecofiber inserts are 100% hypoallergenic fill in an unbleached cotton shell. Can you believe the ecofiber inserts are made from recycled plastic bottles? They are incredibly soft and comfortable . . . I know they are . . . peek into our family room at the beach and someone is resting on one! The designs are fresh and original and stand up to life at the beach. Saturated colors on sturdy cotton backgrounds. All priced at $67.99. Totally GREEN coastal decor throw pillows. Keep shopping with our SLEIGH coupon code for your 10% discount. Pillows cannot be gift-wrapped, but we would be happy to tie up your gift with a fabric bow and our signature window to the sea gift-tag.

How About Some Fresh New Pillows!!

Time to replace some of your tired beach decor accent pillows? These throw pillows are so much fun! Treasured sealife icons rest on the whole surface of these wool hook pillows to give them an updated contemporary coastal feel. We love the pink and brown sand dollar and the brown starfish on a tranquil green background. You can never go wrong with blues at the beach . . . done here in dark blue with a lighter nautilus shell and lighter blue with a green scallop shell. Don't forget to think about the red octopus underneath it all! All of these pillows are substantially made of wool and all the backings are done in coordinating velvet. Easy access to the pillow insert with a hidden zipper. Ah, the choices!

How About a Little Green at the Beach?

Green is often used in decorating for its calming effect . . . think about tv guests waiting in the "green room". Green is thought to relieve stress and bring tranquility. It is a great color to use in design as we are so used to seeing it everywhere in nature. Green is used worldwide to represent safety, not to mention the symbolic color of St. Patrick's Day. I love pink and green together . . . think Lily Pulitzer or Vineyard Vines. Let's see it relieves stress, brings tranquilty, reminds us of nature, represents safety . . . time to add some more green accents to my space! You can always count on Trina Turk for some wonderful colors and great fabrics!

A Splash of Red at the Beach!

Red isn't just for Valentine's Day anymore! Use a splash of red in your beach house when you want to add a bold accessory to your coastal decor. Red is a powerful color . . . think power ties and the red carpet! In China, red is the color of happiness and prosperity while in India it is the marriage color. Red is an intense color and a little bit can go a long way. We love these beach decor pillows against a deep taupe background. Use a piece of faux red coral rather than the traditional white. The Eco-Art chili red collection of pillows are a fabulous hue of red on a cotton taupe background. Our red coral hook pillow is a customer favorite. A pure linen table runner hand printed with delicate strands of red coral will bring a colorful table setting to your next seaside gathering. Go bold!

Bathing Beauties at the Beach!

I love these retro bathing beauties! They are reminiscent of a time when bathing suits were called "costumes" (and if you look at the old photographs, they do actually resemble a costume more than our version of bathing attire!). And every lady wore a bathing cap to keep her expensively coiffed hair in shape . . . not to mention that most of the ladies of that day still swam with their head stretching out of the water to keep that hair safe! There was actually the fashion thought that the bathing cap resembled the close fitting cloche hats that were in style at the time. They remind me of my great aunt who swam a few times a week (well up into her late 70's) traveling on a train from eastern NJ to her spot on Coney Island where she began swimiming as a child. As a kid I loved visiting her and rummaging through her eclectic collection of clothing, especially her hats. She also had a collection of swim caps and I loved the 60's version with all the crazy flowers.

The wooden retro divers are my favorite. At 46" in length they make quite a statement. I have one above the kitchen sink in our newly renoved beach kitchen (surprised, right?) . . . in aqua. The new bathing beauty diver hook pillow is on its way to our store and coordinates with so many of our other pillows in that shade. You can create quite a varied seaside look with this collection. And we could all use a little bathing beauty on a hand towel!