Patriotic-Nautical Tablescapes - Perfect for 4th of July Parties!

It's that time of year again!  Parties with friends and family at the coast celebrating America's Independence.   I love how inspired you can be using red, white and blue to create a fun table setting for the holiday, many times simply using dinnerware, linens and glassware that you may already have in your cupboard.

Add a coastal-nautical twist and you are ready for guests at the beach!

 Here's this years' collection of ideas that we've been saving on our 

Pinterest Board "America the Beautiful". 

(all images sources can be found on our Pinterest Board)

So many fun ideas!  

To celebrate the 4th at the Coast, we are offering Free Shipping through this Sunday - Code: rwb13

For all of the details click on over to our Celebrate Independence Day - Coastal Style newsletter

A Beach Art Galley Wall

Tom and I splurged this month and bought a few new pieces of furniture; a wine cabinet, (gotta have one of those!) a new desk for Tom, new office chairs for both of us, and a fun couch table with baskets for storage.  Now that our little abode is starting to look more like a real "complete" home, I see a real need to rearrange all of the art in our living room and along the walls in our dining room.  So, for the past few months I have been collecting ideas on my "Beach Art" board on Pinterest, to see if anything strikes me for inspiration.

The more I think about it, the more I really like the idea of a gallery wall, as our ceilings are almost 10 feet high and we have a ton of room to play with.  Now, to simply edit our collected (combined) art, and family photos to figure out what style works the best for our eclectic taste and for our space.

Picture rails, no picture rails? Love the collections, and mixed objects in these images! (Pottery Barn)

Such fun family photos!  Especially love the idea of the unifying theme of black and white "beach".  If only we had a staircase...

This is just plain whimsy!  Again, wish we had a staircase... and wish my mom  (or my grandma!) had saved her bathing suits.

Aqua and sand dune color blocking sea shells, sea stars, sea fans and sea biscuits.  I like the idea of bringing together different sizes and different materials, but marrying them with matching frames. But that would mean that I would have to think about re-framing some of my favorite pieces.  Hmmm... might not work.

Pretty! Neutral and soothing for the beach, but too matchy-matchy? (Coastal Living Magazine)

Another great collection, interesting fish, birds and shells.  Brought together by a neutral color palette, but still an unique mix of art.  Love the round mirror as the center highlight!  Hmmm....now, that's an idea that I could start with?

Great use of blue and white! Especially the royal-navy blue frames on the white "ship-lap" type of wall.

These last images are probably my favorites! Combining just the right sea blues, shells, books and fabulous collected art images.   Honestly though, if I could just talk Tom into hanging a few picture rails (hammering is not his favorite thing!) I would opt for image inspiration #1.

What do you think?   Do any of you have a wall like this in your house?

P.S. All image sources (if there is one) can be found on my Pinterest Board - Beach Art

There are Shells in Texas!

Or so I've been told by one of my favorite new customers!

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail asking if we still carried a particular lamp because it could not be found on our website.  As it turns out, I actually have this lamp in my living room - but it has been out of stock for a number of months.

After checking with our manufacturer, we put it back on our website within a few hours, and let the customer know that it was now available if he'd like to order.

This is the absolute BEST part about being a small business owner!  It is so exciting and incredibly gratifying when customers' actually take the time to send photos of their new home accessory because they are enjoying it so much.  We love seeing how our coastal home decor looks placed in someone's "real" beach house!   Makes up for a lot of long hours of hard work. (not too mention the caffeine overload!)

This past Saturday morning, Kip started sending me these images.  How fun to see where they've placed their new display lamp among their family photos in their gorgeous living room.  I am crazy about the bright colors mixed with a modern beach motif that they've chosen for their Texas coastal retreat!  (Hmmm... might have to start thinking about adding "chevron" stripe rugs to our collection...)

Step one - the clear glass lamp with no shells. 

And then they went for a walk on their Texas beach...  Just take a look at these beautiful, naturally colorful shells!  Wow, I am so envious of their collection.

Yep, perfect accessory to their family beach hideaway!  They can add and subtract to their ever-changing shell collection; bits of sea glass, driftwood - or even create a beachscape for the holidays.

"Caron, Thank you for making your lamp available.  

We really like it. Happy!"

I do love my job. I'd like to think that we are in the "Happiness" business.

P.S. The Glass Display lamp can be found in our Coastal Lighting Collection - Display Glass Cylinder Lamp

Beach Cottage Sea Blues and Summer Yellows - How can you go wrong?

Seriously - what says beach cottage more than the color combinations of blue and yellow? Bright, happy, and 100% cottage!  Not to mention the colors of sea and summer...

Enjoy a little "cottage by the sea" inspiration for an early summer Friday!

One of my favorite images from bhg.com!

Classic beach cottage look!  White, painted-distressed furniture combined with cozy, comfy chairs and a sprinkling of beach combing treasures.  I really like the clam basket idea for gathering shoes or flip flops.

 Oh! Happy lemony-yellow striped walls with found treasures. The perfect napping space or retreat to while away the hours, nose buried in a summer beach read! Now if only I could find a vintage oil painting like that one..

 Mostly blue and white, except for that really cool travel art piece!  Fabulously framed and a perfect accent statement.

 Lovely!  Bright yellow coffee table just brings everything together in this living room so that it is not just a "standard" blue and white beach house space.

And just for fun and a sense of whimsy!  Love that shell chandelier and the marlin souvenir - (Coastal Living Magazine)

And now to show off some of our brand new yellow, navy and aqua blue pillows from Surya.  Sorry - could not resist, I am crazy about these fun modern cottage designs!  

The entire mix-and-match collection can be found in our New Summer Beach House Pillows.

Have a great weekend!

P.S.  Image sources can be found on our "Coastal.Sunshine Yellow" Pinterest board

The Romance of a Seaside Master Bath

Wow!

Someday...

Romance and pops of modern seaside decor, and it all works perfectly mixed together!  Love the idea of this luxurious rug covering almost the entire space, combined with a delicate shower curtain trimmed in matching turquoise.  A pretty chair and dressing table to sit and dream, with bright stripes of lime green, blues and aqua.  Topped off with a velvet pillow for a touch of elegance!

Not to mention the awesome polished nickel sphere chandelier!

If this was my master bath, Tom would have a very difficult time prying me out of that tub.  Bubbles and candles here I come!

A tad bit of advice about your bath hardware  - make sure that you choose one finish for everything.  For example, if you like polished nickel, then choose polished nickel for the pulls, knobs and faucets.  If you mix your finishes, for example chrome and nickel,  over time there will be a very distinct difference in how everything looks together.  Nickel is warm, and may patina, polished chrome is colder.  Trust me on this!

Sources for chandelier: A quick Google search for "Eric Cohler Armillary Sphere Chandelier" will bring up many retailers. (I don't have any personal favorites to recommend!)  I like how the designer of this bathroom added the white silk-like shades to soften the look and give the chandelier a nautical-romance vibe. 

Silvered Shell set can be found on our site! Antique Silver Shell Set

Indigo Seahorse Velvet Pillow - also can be found on our site (PS there are several motifs to choose from; shells, coral and sand dollar!)  

Have a wonderful relaxing weekend!

Photographers: John Bessler and Jonny Valiant
Image Courtesy of Traditional Home and The Hampton Designer Showhouse