Decorating Coastal for the New Apartment

Slowly by surely putting it all together in our new bay view apartment. Exciting project for me, as my goal is to blend beach cottage with some modern coastal touches. Mixing our new memories, old memories, new experiences, special treasures.. thank goodness Tom trusts me, and is not too picky!

Our apartment is vintage 1960's.  Kind of cool, and a great space to work with, with floor to ceiling windows and tons of space.  Walking in the front door, the first thing that struck me and convinced us that we needed to live here, were the three built-in wide book shelves that stretch the entire wall.  Perfect spot for all of our cherished books, (there's a lot of those!) beloved family photos, my ever growing sea glass finds and favorite tropical shells.  Since we are also both magazine junkies, this is a perfect spot for the ones that we can't seem to throw away. Tom is a better recycler than than me, I have stacks  for inspiration and ideas that I just keep hanging on to.

Wanted to share just one corner of my new bookshelf, stay tuned for the complete tour in the coming weeks.  Still need a dining room table, a real desk, bedroom nightstands....

Could not resist the impulse buying of these beautiful peachy-orange tulips yesterday!  There is just something about a fresh bouquet of simple spring flowers that make the whole room feel alive. 

The "At the beach" sign hung in my entry way at my old house - I  think it belongs it here too. 

Big pink conch shell came from my mom many years ago - I think it actually traveled with me to Hawaii in 1983 when I lived there for 3 years.  It  was  brought home from the island of Tobago in my mom's suitcase when I was still in high school.  Has been a great little traveler!

Love the tropical fish and colors in Tom's signed watercolor.  Am drawn to the dark turquoise,  the perfect compliment to my vignette - so  glad that we could find a place of prominence for this underwater fantasy.  Color just makes a room happy.

Framed picture of me sleeping on a driftwood log at Beach 4, on the North Coast of Washington, up by Forks.  Memories of bringing home piles of driftwood for art projects, wild wind, crazy wild water and skipping rocks with Alex.

The  leopard print sunglasses are just too fun for words! Found them in a "retro-beach" store in Ocean Shores the weekend after I moved out of my house.  (Yes, I do wear them!)

I use these glass jars for displaying some of my larger pieces of beach glass and my shell collection.  They also make great book-ends - as long as the jars have something in them to weigh them down. Love the glass and island wicker mix together; simple, with unlimited possibilities. At Christmas, could see these filled with  gorgeous white shells mixed with Christmas gold and silver....

More to come, especially after I find the perfect dining room table.  Trying to wait until I can go to the Alameda Flea Market the first weekend in April, but I might not make it that long - am anxious to unpack my vintage inherited blue willow dishes.

Have a great weekend! We will be out exploring more in San Francisco...