1/31/11

Room Color Schemes from the Shore

room color scheme from the shore and the beach from photograph by Rafael Neff
Each year Pantone lets us know about the latest color trend. Last year it was Turquoise, this year it's Honeysuckle, a reddish pink. We sea lovers, of course, simply turn to the shore when looking for room color schemes, right! So here are some ideas, inspiration and tips. Some are new, others are a recap from posts published on Completely Coastal last year.

color inspiration from beach chairs
I found this gorgeous photograph by Rafael Neff in the February issue of House Beautiful, complete with the color matches..., which illustrates that beyond creating room color schemes from nature (sea, sand, sky, shells, etc.), we can also capture the feeling of a favorite spot by drawing inspiration from its beach culture; in this case, the awesome giant wicker chairs on Germany's North Sea.

room color scheme from dog beach
Donna Frasca (see below) illustrates that anything goes. Say, you love Dog Beach and you want to capture the essence of it -include the ball in your room color scheme!

blue room color schemes from the ocean
And on Ocean Decor from a Memory Donna's pulling the Colors from a Vacation Video.

room color schemes from the shore
Then, Amanda of House Revivals recently purchased a beach house, and is thinking about softening the living room space with a huge area rug in the colors of her surroundings -shells, grasses, sand. A beach room color scheme can be very earthy too!

color inspiration from shells
You might remember Alisa from last weekend's Coastal Mix. In her post The Art of Collecting, she shared her color inspiration from shells.

Lastly, the Coastal Living Idea House 2010 which many of you loved. And I also loved that they showed us how they derived the color palette for all the different rooms.

Color Palette Seashells

shell colors for decor inspiration

driftwood color palette inspiration
If you turn to the shore for room color schemes, you certainly don't have to figure out which colors work together. Nature's color combinations are perfect! The only challenge that remains is to use the colors in a way that pulls everything together harmoniously.

Related Posts:
Ideas to Bring Home the Beach
Nautical Colors

1/28/11

Coastal Mix -The Art of Collecting, Sea Shells and a New Book

coastal living beach style book
The new book Coastal Living Beach House Style is jam packed with ideas.
To take a look inside visit Elisabeth at I Heart Sunny Days.

Other featured decorating books:

Island Life by India Hicks
Coastal Style by Sally Hayden and Alice Whately
2 Books for Beach Home Decor Inspiration



Alisa writes about The Art of Collecting...


... which brings me to these sea shell things:



The World's Largest Sea Shell is in Texas!
Click the link and find out more at Shellbelle's Tikihut.


rustic cottage with shell hanging
A great sea shell cluster hangs in textile artist Robin Brown's Rustic Cottage.
The tender Pink inside a conch shell is one of her favorite colors.


sea shell mosaic on fireplace mantel
A Fireplace Mosaic that includes a family's shell collection.

And if you love this, let me remind you of these posts:

Seashell Mosaic Vintage Mantel
Make a Seashell Heart
Decorating Pots with Shells
Seashell Covered
A Shell House Like no Other
A Shell Chic Cottage in Austin


Hermes window London with shell bikes
Hermes Window in London during summer 2009.


sea shell mermaid
Cricket spotted this Sea Shell Mermaid outside Bamboozle, a store in Pass-a-Grille, FL.


shell art hair clips
Sea Shell Art @ Seashell Finery
Lisa Given's line of shell art accessories also includes shell hair clips!


Thinking about Valentines Day? Check out Sponsor Specials and these posts:

Gourmet Chocolate Gift for Valentines
Anchor Necklaces -Nautical Gifts of Love
Cool Gift Ideas under 50 Dollars


Happy Weekend!

1/27/11

Surf Decor meets Art

surf decor with art board
I've posted inspiration for surf decor on Designers who Take the Surfboard Inside and Surf Theme Suits at Casa Camino. But did you know that many artists are turning used surfboards once headed for the landfill into art? And one place where surf decor meets art is Home at Sea. They sell full sized recycled surfboards (approx. 6'8"x19") with stained glass mosaic art by Denise Hutchins.

surfboard mosaic artist Denise Hutchins
Denise has always loved the beach and started working with stained glass in 1992 and has done various projects such as windows, lamps and mosaic stepping stones, then found her true inspiration when a friend of hers had some old surf boards sitting unused.

mosaic surf decor

surf decor with art surfboard
And if desired, surfboards can be made into a table or a countertop too! See all designs at Home at Sea and visit the artist @ Surf by Design.

1/26/11

My List of Nautical Luxury Decor Items

luxury wing chair with flag design
If you treated yourself to a nautical luxury decor item, what would it be? Here's my list of items. Number one, the very awesome Nautical Flag Wing Chair by English designer Timothy Oulton. Oulton is known for being driven by a passion for traditional handcraftsmanship, so I could expect this chair to have a very long life! Browse Signal Flags subcategory.

nautical pillows by Dransfield and Ross
Nautical designer pillows. And I'm currently loving the knot-tying lessons on the Pillows by Dransfield & Ross. You can tour the designer duo's classic home @ Elle Decor -how they obtained their New Jersey estate is a sweet story! Plus, want to learn how to Tie the Monkey Fist Knot?

pillow with rope design
I spotted the blue version of the rope pillow at Country Living. The Rrope Table is available at Ballard, Wing Chair at Crate and Barrel. Browse Rope subcategory.

recycled wood coffee table with rope detail
I would love to have a great nautical coffee table, not in this house, but in my rustic style dream cottage. I'm very fond of creative recycling, Nauti & Co fits the bill. Their theme is rugged luxury decor, making frames and Tables with salvaged wood and nautical elements such as rope. Or perhaps a Captains or Sailors Trunk from OurBoathouse.com. Same feel with the added benefit of storage.

anchor rug
Another nautical luxury decor item would be an ultra cool carpet like this Anchor Rug by Jonathan Adler. Or create the look with one of these Nautical Rugs.

antique anchor andirons
Sometimes I miss having a fireplace, and for my dream cottage I envision a rather large one..., and perhaps complete it with a pair of antique Anchor Andirons spotted at Traditional Home.

wreath made with small boats
And one unique and captivating wall art piece such as this Boat Wreath. Browse Boats subcategory.

nautical search light reproduction
And my list of nautical luxury decor items wouldn't be complete without a nautical light. A lighting fixture that reflects life at sea from Fredeco, a rustic Sailboat Chandelier as seen at Outer Banks Trading Group, or this fabulous reproduction of a Search Light.

Related Posts:
Nautical Quilt Love
Sea Style Living with OurBoathouse.com
Nautical Replicas at the Carter Store
Salvaged Nautical Antiques and Vintage Pieces

1/25/11

Food and Ice Cream Art by John Pack

food and ice cream art
Exquisite food and ice cream art!

ice cream art from seashells
Edible?

ice cream shell sculpture
Nope!

ice cream art by John Pack
John Pack, a retired editorial illustrator for the Washington Post, lives in Fort Lauderdale and creates the most incredible food and ice cream art, but not the edible kind. His work is made from seashells, coral, sea glass and other found objects. He saws, dyes and glues pieces he finds washed up on various beaches into life-sized ice-creme cones, sundaes, cakes, as well as burgers. His work is displayed in galleries, and a single ice creme art scone can cost up to $2,500. To see more of John Pack's stunning food art, click here.

I discovered John Pack on Ocean Home Mag and just needed to have him here on Completely Coastal in the new Fun with Food category.

1/24/11

Homemade Garden + Plant Markers

spoon plant and garden markers
Rita of Beach House Living (see here) makes and sells these wonderful antique Silver Garden and Plant Markers that you can add to pots and garden..., and just in case...

silver spoon collection
... you have a bunch of vintage silver spoons stored away in a box like Lindsay of Shrimp Salad Circus, you could try make plant markers yourself.

marking plant marker with spoon
The process starts with hammering the spoons flat (fun!)...

stamp silver spoon
... then some practice may be needed to get the letter impressions just right -it's an art form after all! For Lindsay's step by step tutorial, click Spoon Plant Markers.

Also, to make the plant markers, you need the right letter stamps -not too small, and with long enough handles. Lindsay bought her stamps @ Tool Emporium on Etsy.

And if you try it...


... hopefully your garden and plant markers turn out like Rita's masterpieces on Beach House Living. And may I just say, for all the work and precision that goes into making these, I think they're a steal, starting at $7.00 a piece!

Browse all Misc Crafts and Craft Projects.

1/21/11

Coastal Mix -Beach Quote, Crafty Things, Free Download, Oprah and more

beach quote
A photo with a beach quote posted by Chris on Facebook.

See all posts with Quotes.

And speaking of Facebook. Enjoy Completely Coastal? Give it a Like on my page and/or Be-Friend!


glass display coffee table
Visit Laurie in her Hawaiian Home and find out how easy it is to make a glass display table like this.

For more inspiration, check out these posts:
Glass Display Coffee Tables and Curio Tables -A Way to Display.


sisal vase
Linda's lovely beach inspired Sisal Vase.


shell necklace
Eren of Vintage Chica shows us how she made this Shell Necklace.
Eren is also the creator of this wonderful Seashell Heart!


Grace Kelly Sailing
Graceful Sailing @ Habitually Chic.


sea inspired fashion and rooms
From seaside style Outfits to Room Decor @ The City Sage.


free sea poster
Download the I Can See The Sea poster for free @ Ideal Home.


jellyfish picture
I didn't know you could touch Jellyfish!


buil a sandcastle book
Learn how to Build a Sandcastle.

Browse all Books featured on Completely Coastal.


Oprah flying over barrier reef Australia
Oprah's Australia Adventure.
Watch her Flying over the Great Barrier Reef -it's stunning!


And lastly..., some great sponsor specials!

signal flag code prints
Say it with Signal Flags in form of Graphic Art Prints by Empressionista.
Buy 3 get 4th for free til Jan 31st -10% goes to the Queensland Flood Appeal in Australia!


And speaking of signal flags...

signal flag glasses
... Up 2 Code uses them to spell out fun sayings on their Nautical Drinkware.
Go check them out -they're 30% - 50% off!

Sea All Sponsor Specials.


Happy Weekend!