To the beach house!

 

Beach houses, we love them right? 

   I always love that they have sand right out the door and are usually overlooking some beautiful beach where you can hear the waves of the ocean crashing along the shore.  You can go on romantic walks and enjoy the thick salty air blowing against your face while you watch the sunset.

   Some would rather stay indoors and enjoy their beach house in the warm dry environment and watch the waves from the big bay windows. 

   Either way you prefer, these houses are usually decorated in a beach and ocean themed decor.  I love looking at different beach houses to see what kind of creative ways they have decorated.



   If I ever have a beach house, I would do each room in a different style of beach themed decor.  It would go something like the following;

   The living room and kitchen areas would be simple and clean with some artistic looking beach decor such as a neat looking chunk of driftwood, maybe some glass floats, and some beautiful pictures of sunsets, sea creatures, etc.

   The master bedroom would be the tropical paradise.  I would find an old wood boat that would fit a queen bed and rig it so the bed would sit inside the boat.  I would paint the walls in a bright sky blue, and have a tan color at the bottom to emulate sand.  I would hang a beautiful wind chime in the corner, and also add some live tropical looking plants for that tropical look.  Not to mention the poster sized pictures of tropical scenes to hang inside old wood windows, inside the room.  This would give the illusion that you are looking out a window to the beach, or tropical paradise.  Ahhhhh..... So relaxing....

   The second bedroom would be a pirate theme, just because they can be very fun, especially if you have boys.

  I would start by hanging a pirate flag on the outside of the door, so you know you are headed into new territory.  Boy territory, where there is no telling what awaits you once inside. 

   I would paint the inside of the room blue, the same color as it would be if you were sailing the ocean.  I would find another boat, as I did in the master bedroom, that would fit a twin bed, and I would rig it with some masts, a parrot, and a pirate flag, of course.  (I am a DIY girl)  On the wall, you could hang some old pictures of ships and pirates, such as "Black Beard, Captain Hook, Calico Jack", etc.  Don't forget to hang a picture of an old pirate map!  These are pretty cool to look at, and can be obtained online, and blown up to a larger size or purchased in a wall paper for an entire wall.

   On the shelf be sure to have a ship, maybe a letter in an old bottle, some books such as Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson , Pirateology: The Pirate Hunter's Companion (Ologies) by Captain William Lubber and Dugald A. Steer,  How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long.  There are some other great ones as well, and they make some great decorations, and reads for different age groups. 

   On to the main bathroom.  There are so many options here.  Some people go with shells, some go with anything beach, some stick with glass, and others go with creatures.  I would probably go with something somewhat simple and clean looking.  So I would just add accessories, and not change the paint, flooring, etc.  I personally like my bathroom walls the blue/grey color they are, especially with the slate floor.  It looks amazing, and I would just decorate around what I already have. 

   I would start with the small table.  (I am fond of a small table in a bathroom, when there is room.)  I would find a neat small table made from drift wood and I would put an old fishing net over it like a table cloth and then place my rolled guest towels, and amenities on top of it.  Maybe with a glass ball float next to them, if the table is large enough.

   I would be sure to get a thick blue glass hand soap dispenser for next to the sink, along with matching toothbrush holders etc.  Whatever you would use.

   I think a fun sign should hung in the bathroom as well.  Something like, "If you are lucky enough to live at the beach, then you are lucky enough."  It looks best when these are scrawled onto an old chunk of wood.  The more clever, the better!

   I would also incorporate a really neat shell nightlight, such as the ones you can find online at American Aquarium Products.  They also have several shell baskets, wind chimes, star fish, giant shells, and other decorative items.  Be sure to stop in there as your first stop.  I found their prices low, and their shipping lightning fast!

   To top it off, I would add either a big tropical plant, or a small accent plant somewhere.  (I have a thing for live plants...)
 
  I am sure you can think of a bunch of fun ideas to incorporate into your beach home or room. 

What was your favorite idea here?

Hello Summer Luau!

 

Summer is here, and what better way of celebrating it than with a summer luau? 

  I recently had one and thought I would share some ideas with you!  To start, you MUST have the proper decor!

   Think shell wind chimes, fish nets, leis, shells, sand, starfish, and shrimp kabobs!

My house has an upstairs deck that is accessed through my living room.  So to set the mood for our festivities and guests, I started my decorating outside in the front where people would park.  I hung some nice wind chimes, and also had my boys welcome everyone with an "aloha" and a lei.  They were wearing their Hawaiian shirts, khaki pants and flip flops.  (They were so handsome!)  We asked everyone to wear their Hawaiian style clothing and flip flops! 

   As guests passed through the house they passed a lot of orchids, and bromeliads until they found the bar fully decorated with old recycled fish nets, adorned with starfish, shells, old glass floats and sand dollars.  There were some shells and sand on the bar top as well as some candles.  After receiving their “Blue Hawaii” drinks adorned with flowers and citrus fruit they would meander their way onto the deck where they would choose their seat and mingle.

   The tables had sand in the centers with either shells, candles, starfish, or a combination of a couple.  I also brought out all my tropical indoor plants to give it a more tropical feel!  It was perfect!

    The day was perfect here in Oregon, a rare occurrence, so it was warm, yet a bit breezy.  You could smell the BBQ grilling our sweet and spicy shrimp and vegetable kabobs.

  Along with our Hawaiian kabobs we had a fresh fruit salad, sweet bread, and cream mochi for dessert.

   When everyone was done eating we had some fun dancing, along with a hula dance competition, and the limbo!  For the hula dance, we provided grass skirts which added some fun to the whole event!

   It was a fun evening, and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves!  I think this may become an annual event from now on!

  I hope you are able to use some of these fun ideas!

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Other Products that may be of Interest:

*Hawaiian Marine 4 watt UV Bulb

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