Neutral Palette Living Room By the Sea!

Orbit Pendant Light

Isola Bella Seafan Linen Pillow

Isola Bella White Sea Urchin Pillow

Isola Bella White Seastar Linen Pillow

Capiz Shell Linen & Down Pillow

Sea Urchin Coastal Decor Vase

Hampton Polished Nickel Lantern

This neutral palette living room featured in Coastal Living magazine  makes you just want to relax and take a break.  Imagine sitting on this simple, contemporary sofa surrounded by a collection of hand-printed Isola Bella linen pillows.  Add a few over-sized nickel lanterns to fill with your favorite seaside scent or your best shell collection.  We love the simple lines of the classic modern shade pendant featured here.  Our Regina Andrew Orbit fixture would work well in this room.  How about a piece of faux coral to bring you seaside?  The sea urchin vase by Regina Andrew happens to be one of our "go-to" accent pieces.   Add a few of your own accessories and personal touches and you have a room that is not only beautiful and tranquil, but reflects your own personal style.

A Burst of Orange By the Sea!

Orange brings the energy of red and the happiness of yellow to your space and is so often associated with joy, sunshine and the tropics. It represents enthusiasm and creativity and encourages socialization. In fact, in feng shui, orange is called the "social" color as it creates feng shui energy to promote lively conversation and good times. In the winter, it can remind us of the heat of the summer. Orange works with so many colors. It brightens up a room with a neutral palette. Crisp white can make orange stand out even more. We love this orange shutter with a hint of perwinkle blue.

By the Sea Decor offers a selection of accent pillows to splash onto your sofa. Isola Bella's linen canvas artwork is available in many sizes, all with beautifully hand-printed swimming fish. Orange is making us smile!

Swing Away!

Swing Away! Is there a better spot to relax? Not sure how many of us would have this actual setting featured in Coastal Living Magazine, but it would be nice to visit here. With cool ocean breezes, you may not need too much energy to get your swing moving! Green and turquoise together just bring you beachside, whether you have this magnficient oceanfront view or a little patio outside of your home. The calming element of turquoise with the natural element of green give your whole space a serene setting. Throw some of our favorite accent pillows together in shades of turquoise and green and you can highlight a neutral sofa background with accents of tranquil color. Add our popular Starfish Bubble Glassware and our large clam shell accent piece and you can almost have this room. We say did say almost!

Flocking to the beach

Yes, this will be us flocking to the beach for this Memorial Day weekend. My organized beach house will become chaotic with a multi-generational gathering of my friends and my children's guests. Yes, my floors will be sandy, wet towels will adorn every door in the house and the barbeque grill will probably never shut off! Would I trade this for a quiet weekend by the sea? No way! No matter where life's journeys take my two children, you can guarantee that Memorial Day weekend will be spend at the beach.

There will be bocce ball tournaments on the beach. Not to mention wiffle ball and football. We will make sure my husband does his stretches beforehand to save his hamstring. Diving catches into the ocean. We will scramble when the "beach badge checker" comes by as our 8 seasonal beach badges will not go very far with our house full. There will be exursions on the bay. Weekend-long tennis matches. Bike rides to the lighthouse. There will also be time for quiet relaxation on the beach noses in summer reading and old magazines.

Showers in the outside shower, hoping you don't lock yourself out. Yes, even 22 and 24 year olds still vie for "first shower off the beach". Our house will be in a frenzy with everyone trying to get ready at once. This year both children will initiate their "significant others" into our Jersey Shore. Aromas of perfume, hair products and yes, aloe, emanate from the room the girls are getting ready in. Watching the boys get ready is quite another matter . . . shower and they are done, trying to figure out what is taking the girls so long.

There will be potluck barbeque dinners with more guests than available dinner plates. We'll watch the sunset over the bay and maybe have a glass of wine or two. Actually, we will definitely have the wine. Somehow, simple dinners just taste better in the salt air . . . not to mention the wine!

As we honor those who have served our country, we cherish spending time together this weekend. It will be the busiest weekend of the season for us. Actually, probably not, but we'll enjoy it anyway.

In the words of New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen . . . "cause down the shore everything's all right." And it most certainly is.

Feeling a Little Turquoise?

Admittedly, turquoise happens to be my favorite color at the beach. This color has such a calming effect and can bring you right to the Caribbean Sea. Adding a few turquoise accents into your space can bring the soothing feeling of being on vacation By the Sea! The combination of blue (water element) and green (wood element) give turquoise its unique charm.

We have so many choices in this tranquil shade. Embroidered coral done here on a bright white linen background. Trina Turk has beautiful tones of turquoise in her many embroidered pillows and this great rug. Need lighting? We love this Kimmel Caribbean Blue Lamp by Arteriors.

Turquoise works with so many colors. You can stay neutral with taupe and sand tones. Looking for some punch? Try pairing turquoise with some purple accents.

Clutch . . . for Life at the Beach!

We love, love, love these new linen clutch bags by Isola Bella. Perfectly-sized for all the essentials, each clutch is hand-printed with gifts from the sea. You can take this chic clutch from your jeans and t-shirt to your evening By the Sea. Lined in coordinating cotton with a hidden zipper closure.

What's your favorite combination? Black with Silver Seafan? Citron with White Cabana Stripes? Red Sea with White Mushroom Coral? Sand with Spicy Coral? Sunburst Orange with White Coral? Viola Purple with Gold Cabana Stripes? Citron with Turquoise Starfish? Sand with Driftwood Palm? Viola Purple with Silver Seafan? Fabulous color combinations to brighten up your wardrobe! Why stop at one???

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mirrors are capable of enhancing decor through a sense of light and space. They can expand your space by reflecting your surroundings. A well-placed mirror can extend the line of sight to emphasize a particular view. Be careful not to mount a mirror too high as it may reflect the ceiling. Unless, of course, this is your intention!

A plain, simple mirror can be framed to mimic a piece of art, or simply to further enhance your room's decor by adding more texture. A mirror encased in shells or decorative wood can also become a focal point in your room and act as wall art.

According to feng shui, mirrors bring the energy of water to your space. Pure, deep and calm water serves as a reflection. A square or rectangular mirror can bring balance to a room. An octagonal shape offers power and unity to your space.

So, mirrors are more than places to "check" your image . . . they are perfecting for "reflecting" an image.

What a wonderful way to reflect your beautiful surroundings.