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Beach House Inspiration

As soon as I saw the featured photo of this beach house on Coastal Living, which showed surfboards I had to tour the house. The house itself is located in Washington and has a gorgeous view and a coastal interior design. I say "coastal" instead of "beachy" because when I think of a beach house I think of an overwhelming amount of beachy items, including shells, starfish, blues and whites, etc. This coastal house incorporates the beach without being overwhelming. I love the rustic details, the calming paint colors (grays, tans, lavender), the big windows that let in the natural light, and the overall comfort of the home. See the photos below:

Great Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Living Room

Gym

Master Bedroom

Upstairs Deck

Master Bathroom

Guest House

Guest Bathroom

Porch

Courtyard Dining Area

The great room is my favorite room in the house. I love the rustic feel with the hardwood floors and dining table, the light fixtures and natural paint color. The fireplace adds to the cozy feel of the home and I especially love the built-ins. I also love the living space with the natural light and bamboo shades and the reading area. I love the pop of purple in the wing-back chair and the use of a garden stool as a side table. The pink flowers in the background also add color to the room.

I hope you can find some inspiration in these photos to incorporate into your home!

Spring at Pottery Barn

I was looking at the new spring items online at Pottery Barn and found a few things to update our home this season. See below!

I love these faux white cherry blossom stems. These would look perfect in our front room. However, instead of spending $64 (per branch!) I'll first check out Michael's and AC Moore. 

I love the look of this stemware. I'm thinking the goblets could also be used as wine glasses. The glass etching and fluted stems make it look elegant:

I love these hooks for hanging lanterns. The first is used to hang from a tree or hook and is reasonably priced at only $3! The second is a tall stake that will stand firmly in the ground. These are sold for $15 each, but I've also seen them used as plant hangers so you could always check out a farmer's market or your local plant store to possibly find them at a cheaper price. I've already seen a ton of lanterns being sold in all sizes and colors at Home Goods and Marshalls. You could scatter a few around your yard or using the chain, inside your home.

Lantern Chain:

 Lantern Stake:

I would recommend using candle buttons to keep a burning candle in place if hanging a lantern from a hook. These are also great to use in other vases and even to keep pictures in place when leaned against a shelf! I bought these from Crate and Barrel for only $.95 for a set of 15.

Dwell Studio Love

I absolutely love these rugs from Dwell Studio and the prices are pretty reasonable, too.

I love this bold striped rug. Would definitely brighten up a space: 5x8 only $200 and also comes in a runner for only $125:

This rug a little more expensive at $350, but I love the color and pattern:

This Ikat pillow would look great paired with our Pier 1 turquoise pillows. It's out of my price range at $58 per pillow, but I'm inspired to find one similar at Home Goods.

I've seen this Eames rocker so often lately and I always wonder if it's comfortable. I have seen it mostly pictured in nurseries and I can't imagine it being a very comfortable place to sit for a long period of time. But, I'd love to try it out to see what the hype is. The original rocker is priced around $480, but replicas are sold too. EZ Mod Furniture sells a replica of it in 4 colors for $160:

Molded White Plastic Rocker:

I watched Emily Henderson win on Design Star on HGTV. I am loving her new show, Secrets from a Stylist, in which she learns about the homeowners through personal style and builds a room around their tastes. It's such an interesting show and so different from all the others. My favorite episode so far was her 1st one on Hollywood Regency. Here are the pictures of the "after:"

I love everything about this room. I love the dramatic and fabulous light fixture, the high wingbacked matching chairs, the teal curved sofa, and I especially love the painted white credenza in the corner.

Check out more of her portfolio here.

Loving Turquoise

Turquoise reminds me of the ocean and island jewelry and summer. We were teased last week with spring weather and this week is rainy and chilly. I wanted to add some items I'm loving in turquoise in hopes that the weather will soon be warming up and the sun will stay. What motivated me on this turquoise post were these bracelets I recently bought at Forever 21. I couldn't find them online so this picture will have to do. :) Me, at 37 weeks pregnant:

These bright pillar holders would add a fun pop of color to a table or fireplace mantel (Z Gallerie):

This stemware would make a fabulous addition to any tablescape from the new Diane von Furstenberg line at Bloomingdale's:

I'm also loving this new Island Ikat bedding at West Elm:

And, of course I have to add my turquoise coral from Pier 1 (and I recently blogged about it here, seen at Marshall's):

These aqua pillows are so pretty! We have the darker turquoise on one couch and the purple on another. They are so soft and comfortable. They are 20% off at Pier 1 right now & only $16 each:

I love these hand blown vases in a mix of blues from Crate and Barrel. Use alone or filled with flowers:

I hope this brings you some inspiration in decorating and accessorizing with turquoise!

The Price of a Roman Shade

During one of JC Penney's recent home sales I wandered over to the window department to inquire about a Roman shade for our side door. I picked out the style and fabric I liked and the sales representative plugged in the measurements to give me a quote. I'm thinking $60 with the sale, especially since it was only 1 I needed.

These were the selections and I was interested in the Pleated Classic (on the bottom left):

These were the 2 fabric swatches I chose, and let me tell you that they were both on the bottom price scale:

The total price for 1 Roman Shade in the Pleated Classic = $565!! And that was for ONE shade and with the sale price. I was shocked to say the least. I understand they are custom made, but still! So, my search continues on finding an inexpensive Roman shade, preferably a light blue shade. I also want something that will still allow light to filter in.

Flower Pop

I'm loving these flowers from Pottery Barn Teen. Not only would they look great in my nursery, they would also look great in a girl's bedroom or even a bathroom as unexpected wall decor. I also would be creative in a design (think a wreath or solid circle) or scattered along a wall. A fun piece of decor for any room. They also come in solid white or cool colors (blue and green).

Petal Pop Wall Stickers, set of 12 $29:

I found this perfect piece of faux stems for only $3.88 on clearance at Pier 1. It fills an empty corner in our dining room perfectly and I like that it can stand by itself. Oh, and I forgot to add this was originally $30- a definite steal!

I also saw this plush owl that would look super cute in the nursery, but at $25 I didn't love it that much:

Chandelier Update

The chandelier I bought from Babys R Us featured in the previous post is actually a plug-in. It was not advertised on the box so as we started taking apart the current fixture and took the chandelier out we realized it had a cord and plug! So, I've now begun a new search for the perfect (hardwire) chandelier. I love this one from Lowe's- very inexpensive (only $66!), but it only comes in black or bronze so it would have to be spray painted white. Also, it is unavailable in the stores surrounding my location so I need to go to the store to check on the status.

This Ella Chandelier is still a possible contender; although, I'm loving the price on the one above ($66) as opposed to this $129 one from Pottery Barn Kids:

Nursery Updates

The nursery is almost completed. Just a few more projects to finish, then I can relax. Hopefully the baby doesn't come before that! Below are my current to-do projects, which I hope will be completed this time next week.

Fabric from Jo Ann Fabrics for the crib skirt, as mentioned in my previous post:

The chandelier I bought yesterday at Babys R Us needs to be installed: 

Finish the drawer liners: I bought 1 roll of gift wrap at the Container Store, but failed to realize there were only 2 sheets per roll. I ordered 3 more rolls from Parkside Papers of Wooster & Prince prints. The 1st is the pattern I bought initially, which will only fill 2-3 drawers (there are 9 drawers total). The other 2 patterns are similar in color, but will break up the monotony of the first one.

Curtains: The blinds have been completed and look great! I'm thinking of going with a shade of gray with the curtains. Gray would look soft against the light blue walls, but will look great with the pink. West Elm has two possible selections; however, I think I'm going to wait until the rest of the room is completed to figure out the exact color for the windows. At least the blinds are up!

I love these pewter silk panels:

As well as these platinum linen panels:

The crib skirt will be first and I plan to finish that before the drawer liners arrive. The chandelier will be completed by my husband and father-in-law, and the curtains, as mentioned, will be last. I will post again with completed photos!

Oh, and don't get me started on the glider. I've been waiting on this one from JC Penney to come back in stock in chocolate and now the glider is sold out, as well. I may have to look for a replacement...

Fabric Shopping

Yesterday I was shopping for crib skirt fabric. Because my Dwell Studio bedding did not come with a crib skirt and one was needed for my crib I had to shop around. I was looking for one to match the bedding, as well as one that would go with the sheets and white breathable bumper I plan to use until she is a bit older. Here were some of my possibilities:

Land of Nod: Lavender Floral/Lattice Reversible Crib Skirt, $49:

(I love the print and this would match more with the white bumper)

Amazon: American Baby Ruffled White Crib Skirt, $24

(A reasonable price, but I decided the ruffle was a bit too much and I wanted a more tailored look)

Amazon: Hot Pink Tailored Crib Skirt, $39

Then, I saw a post on Young House Love's website on how to make your own crib skirt. It looks super easy and since I've become a pro at using the Heat 'n Bond I figured I would try this instead. So I headed to Jo Ann Fabrics today and bought 3 possible crib skirts. I figured I could always switch the skirts for a new look or use the fabric for another project in the future. These were my final selections, and it was a total cost of $33- less than the Amazon hot pink crib skirt I was leaning towards buying.

The pink diamond print is whimsical and fun, the middle is a solid hot pink, and the last fabric is a pretty teal print:

I will keep you posted on the final pick and the end result!