THE HOUSE DOCTOR - SETTING SEASONAL STYLES

ANOTHER WAY OF BRINGING THE BEACH INSIDE FOR SUMMER

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

No one loves the beach more than me or my family.  We love everything about it and as soon as we leave we are already making plans for the next time we can return.  That is why I love to give our home a beachy theme every summer.  

A few weeks ago I wrote about turning your home into a beach cottage for the summer months.  I spoke of several ways that can transform a house into a beach retreat (even if you are not really there) during the long hot days of summer.  That article contained several classic decorating tips and photos of what I've used several times over the years inside our home to achieve this "let's hold on to summer" look. If you are seeking ideas for summer decorating that are beachy; here is the link: http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-house-doctor-setting-seasonal-styles.html.

Some years are different than others.  Life is always changing and nothing ever stays exactly

the same; but it all is good!  This article is full of beachy themes too, but it will be about a more casual, more modern and trendy type of beach cottage look.  I guess the words that describe this look best would be "lots of sunshine and bright beach colors."    

If you are doing this type of theme-decorating that I do; by following along with all the changing seasons of each year; it is always fun to change up the look of your themes from year to year.  Variety is always more interesting and there are a million and one ways to emphasize the beach look inside your home.  On this particular year that I'm thinking of; when summer approached I wanted to incorporate some color schemes using coral.  I wanted a more trendy, “pop-looking,” colorful entrance.  Of course I wanted people to feel the wonder of the beach when they first walked into the house. 

It all started with our front door.  On the outside I hung an old wooden cross that has been used a lot at our house with many different themes.  It has a weathered look and is like something you might see for sale at the seashore.  I added a little sign that said “by the seashore.”  Your imagination could naturally take over after that.  The little pops of blue really added to the effect I was seeking.  I loved it.  We were off to a good start right outside the front door!

I kept the inside of the door very simple but beachy by hanging a blue wooden boat anchor that I already had on the inside.  It looked great against the solid white door.

One day I was out shopping and thinking about the way I wanted the foyer to look.  I was wondering how I could pull in some brighter beachy colors and add the coral colors that I wanted.   I saw this canvas print that said “Easy Living” and I thought that was just the feeling I wanted to achieve with the house during the beach season.  The painting was very inexpensive; but it had all the right mix of the trendy beach colors I wanted to use, and because it was a sailboat and I had a lot to go with that theme, you know I had to purchase it.  When I got it home and hung it on the wall it became the palette for my whole color scheme for the main part of the house.  The colors in that painting were exactly what I needed to add that little touch of cheer that I had been looking for. 

I thought of some brightly colored bottles that I had scattered around the house and gathered them together to add to the chest under the painting.  

Two starfish from last year’s beach look just seemed to go perfectly.  

The first ten steps into the foyer were covered. 

I was liking the progress of this fresh beach cottage look. 

The year before I had used a large sail boat on the portable bar where your eye rested as you were coming inside the front door.  I still thought it was a good idea, it would fit right in with the entrance painting of a sailboat, but it would add some more natural colors and tone down the bright colors I had incorporated a bit.  I pulled it out and set it in place.  I liked it.  I kept it and used it again this year.

Since I was mixing boats into the decor; I found another one I had in storage and put it across the living room beside a lamp on the floor.  I added a little blue daisy into the setting for a bit more color.  I liked it.  I kept it there. 

Mixing a few basic colors and classic tones with the trendy things seemed to only add interest.  

The foyer was coming together just fine.  The next place my eye went to was the couch table behind the sofa.  I knew it needed something; but I had not quite decided.  I put that off for awhile and let the rest of the room evolve first.  

I found some pillows with a touch of coral mixed with gray.  They seemed to help to add some touches of coral in the room.  I arranged them on the sofa and liked the way they blended into the effects I was aiming to pull together. 

I set my re-purposed chair (I painted it antique white) in the corner by the window and added a contrasting sky blue pillow with a gray seashell design that coordinated with the little bit of gray in the sofa cushions.  I had the photo of Tom’s Pop at the beach that I always bring out in the summer.  (We miss him so much!)   It looks elegant here in front of the sailor’s lantern that I usually always use too.  Most everything was something I usually use every summer, but the painting and the pillows switched up the decorating order into something new and fresh. 

Our coffee table is large and black and things show up well on it.  I always find it easy to use in showing off little treasures.  I wanted something very beachy to go on it's surface.  I have several books about summer vacations and thought they would certainly fit the mood.  I continued the focus on colored bottles and added some blue glass with some clear glass bottles.  I gave them a beach look by filling them up with shells and set them on a silver tray.  I enhanced this by placing a little accent of white lace on top, and a pretty little blue starfish to the side of the arrangement.  All of this made a pretty splash of beach color right in the middle of the room.  

I figured I couldn’t go wrong by adding the old familiar starfish ash tray that I pull out almost ever year.  The coffee table was looking just the way I had envisioned for this summer beach cottage.  I caught myself thinking about shopping for a bathing suit and wondering where I had left my sunglasses and my white floppy hat.  

The book on summer vacations was inspiring me.  I put my feet up for a little while and dreamed of summer adventures before moving on with the decorating.  That is the wonderful thing about summer; you needn’t ever be in a hurry and there is always time for dreaming. 

  

So....back to the task at hand.  What was missing?   

Well, I still felt the need for more coral.  I solved this the next time I browsed through The Christmas Tree Shop.  They have great inexpensive summer decorating items.   I found these small decorative wooden beach chairs that were just the right shade of coral and very cheerful and novel.  I bought four of them and brought them home with me.  I sat two of them (one on each side) on the couch table that I had re-purposed and painted antique white.  They added just the splash of color that I wanted. 

I liked this so much that I put the other two chairs (they have little yellow flip-flops hanging over them with a little hemp rope) across the room on each side of the mantle above the fireplace. 

This novel touch of coral color sort of tied the look together.  I added another starfish just above the fireplace.   I stood back to see the effect.  Overall it was just what I was after, a room full of natural light, with mostly white furniture, and little pops of color here and there.   I added a nautical looking lantern between the chairs and set it on top of a white boat steering wheel.   The rope on the nautical lantern and the jars on the coffee table added to the nautical feel of the room.    I found some warm cozy pillows to put on one side of my other white sofa.  This added some softness against some of the bold sharp colors.  The calico cat just gave a more casual, I'm home sort of feel to it all.  Everything so far began to feel very cozy.

  

I carried the same cheerful trendy-beach theme through the rest of the main living areas.

  I placed scattered bowls of starfish in the dining room and I used the same wooden bowl full of candles and sea shells in my kitchen again, only this time I used a plastic platter of blue and white squares instead of my large black tray.

I scattered little ships everywhere, and I went a bit wild by adding a banner in the kitchen window.  You need something a little novel to make a statement sometimes.  I thought the banner was fun and nautical too.

  

I had re-purposed two old bar stools by painting them a deep bright blue color.  They not only went well with my summer beach look; but they gave me extra bar stools to sit around my counter height table in the middle of the room. I enhanced the look by putting some nautical looking pillows in each bar stool and setting them on each side of the buffet table near the window. 

With hardly any trouble at all our home had taken on a whole new beach cottage look.  

This was on a year that we DID make it to the beach.  You know that feeling; how hard it is to leave it all behind when it is time to come home?  

Returning to our little bit of the beach inside our home only made our great memories last longer!

Having more beach photos to add to my ever growing framed memories for our beach cottage is icing on the cake after having so much fun at the beach.  

I love having a home that flows with the seasons and keeps the memory making going on all year long.  We will enjoy this beachy look all the way up to the end of September.  

Ships ahoy!  Here is wishing you smooth sailing through your summer decorating schemes.