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?

Christmas, Ocean Style; Beach Decor!

I know some people do yearly themes for their Christmas, so why not do an ocean or shell theme? Shells are readily available, and can make very pretty ornaments on the tree. You can also place Starfish, and even some blue ribbon to signify the water.
Another fun idea is to use an old fish net as a tree skirt. (Maybe over something to actually catch the tree sap)



You can also get a some really cute tropical style Christmas cards to give to your family and friends!

A fun craft project could be to make a shell wreath for your door with a Shell Basket, straw wreath base and a glue gun! Your guests will be amazed at how creative you are when they enter your shell themed Christmas!

When wrapping gifts I would recommend solid colored paper such as a brown or cream. Then instead of ribbon and bows, use some raffia and affix a starfish or shell to the outer wrap with the name tag. It will give a nice clean look under your tree, all the while looking like you picked up your gifts in the Bahamas!!

This would be a very fun and inexpensive alternative to a Christmas trip to Hawaii!

Do you have any other suggestions to brighten your Holiday?

Maybe decorating your Reef Aquarium in a festive holiday motif?

Beach and Ocean Themed Decorating

Beach and Ocean Themed Decorating Ideas: Dioramas, bathroom, garden, beach parties, crafts, gifts, feng shui and more

One way to bring back memories of a summer at the beach, a trip to Hawaii, the Caribbean is through beach themed decorating and crafts for the kids.

I like to start with the bathroom (for me the most obvious room to start with); there you can add pictures, either sketches or framed photographs to the walls. I think enlarging your own picture (especially if it includes the family) looks best. Towels with starfish, seahorses, seashells, of fish look great. Again, as with the picture, I think it can be more enjoyable for the family if you start with plain towels and wash clothes, then sew on or embroider your own beach or ocean themed designs. With bathroom drapes you can even glue small starfish to give a realistic look to the bathroom ocean motif.

Soaps can also have a beach theme. Place your soaps in a shell container, or even make decorative soap by carving your own designs in them (Ivory soap works great for this). A fishing net embedded with starfish (or even a puffer fish) hung near the tops of the walls really brings home the beach theme for me. Then there are decorative shell baskets (which are easy to find on-line). These seashell baskets can be placed on shelves or just the toilet reservoir. A final touch to the walls would be a shell night light to add evening illumination to the bathroom (my favorite is the Pink Murex). One more suggestion if one is feeling industrious is the flooring. You can find linoleum tiles that have fish, shells, or anything beach related and place these on the floor to finalize your bathroom.

A wet bar (or even a full bar) can have a nautical theme as well. An authentic fish net (of which previously used fish nets are readily available) can be draped around and/or behind the front of the bar. On this net dried starfish, seashells (such as Spider Conch), etc can be glued or hung on this net to provide a really cool nautical theme to your bar.


One more thought for the home is using shell wind chimes, ocean décor, or aquariums for Chinese Feng Shui. I personally do not believe in this, however without insulting my Asian friends who do, this along with a home fountain is a popular way of achieving this.

For the full article, please visit this website:
Beach and Ocean Themed Decorating Ideas

Patio Ocean, Beach Decor

Patio/Enclosure Beach, Ocean or Nautical Themed decorating

With Fall here and Winter around the corner, you do not need to give up on Beach, Ocean or Nautical themed decorating ideas for your home, even if you live in a cooler climate where “free time” moves indoors for the cooler weather.
It is also worth considering with Christmas around the corner that nautical or ocean themed gifts often make an unusual or out of the ordinary gift for your friends/relatives that love the sea and nautical/ocean themes instead of the usual fare of candy boxes, etc.
(Please click on the picture above left to enlarge for a better view)

One popular idea that works well is Sea Shell Wind Chimes placed on a covered patio or even an open patio. If you have an enclosed patio, even in up state Michigan for instance you can still add a shell wind chime such as the Capiz, Spiral, or Birdcage/ Nipa Hut (as seen in the patio picture).
Sea Shells such as Pink Murex or Trochus seashells arranged on a ledge or shelf can also add a splash of ocean/beach feeling to your patio/enclosure.

Another thought to add to this room is a Patio Pond.
A simple Sponge Filter such as the Hydro Pond 2 can filter this then add some Platties or Shubunkins to finish off this room. Whether you live in North Dakota or California this can really add a nice touch of the sea to your patio area

Ocean, Beach Decor Displays

There are many ways to display ocean or beach décor for many occasions whether a simple “get together”, wedding reception, or simply to give a room an interesting “nautical feel”.



Some of the simplest ways are table settings such as these:

Here are some simply placed ocean themed trinkets.

Subtle lighting is often the key to a nice display, whether candle light of subdued electrical lights








This type of aquatic themed decor makes a nice conversation piece on a coffee or end table.












Shells Placemats are a nice idea for table settings









Shell baskets make a very simple display, especially for bathroom shelves











Banners such as this that hang on a wall and are excellent décor for a young child or nursery.








You can also spice up a room with large aquatic decals that stick to non porous surfaces such as mirrors or windows.