HOUSE TOUR TUESDAY, Summer Vignettes

Warning:  If you are a first time visitor, you should know that 

I  love   the beach. 

I go every chance I get.  So in my landlocked Kansas home, I use a lot of natural items that remind me of my time by the water.  (If you crave a little more inspiration, you can look here, here, here, and here.  There are lots more posts on this, but I should stop boring you now so you'll read the rest of this one!)

I titled this post, "Summer Vignettes", but some of these items are out all year--I just can't help myself!  A friend was recently over to my house and said, "You should do a blog post of some of these vignettes."  So, here it is...  

The huge float was a gift from a great friend who knows me well!

 This is Charlie the fish.

He frequently eats seasonal items and show up on blog posts.
This time he ate some sea glass and a shell. 

I have two of these corbels from a local antique shop.

I had no idea what I'd do with them when I bought them,

but I had to have them.

Forgot that my starfish needed a perch!

 A seashell swag on an antique iron hall tree!
Another TJ Maxx purchase--love that store.

Shock, another starfish in a lantern!

There are two of them too!

They hang beside an antique cabinet.

This cloche is from the same friend that bought me that large float in the first photo!

It sets on top of my Grandmother's bowed-front china cabinet.

And lastly, here's a little carved fish from TJ Maxx.
I paid $12.99 for it and saw it in an "antique" store for $80!

Yes, there are a couple of trends here.  One, the natural sea elements and second the antiques.  I think they make wonderful housemates.

 

Thanks  for stopping by.
I appreciate each visit and love to read any comments you leave.

Have a wonderful summer week!

  Robin

Linking Up With
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm
Boogieboard Cottage
Simple Details 

Beach House Bedrooms

As, promised in my last post, here are a few of the bedrooms from the beach house our neighbors let us use on our recent visit to South Carolina.  Sorry to say, I forgot to photograph the main master bedroom, but this house has three bedrooms that I would consider master bedroom, so, no worries, right?  All of the beds, except the children's, were king-sized.

 

A close-up of the darling pillows in the kid's bedroom.

I apologize for the quality of this photo, the wonderful light-filled rooms gave me a little trouble, but you get the idea--a cutie of a room.

 This pillow was just magnificent, don't you think?  The whole image was embroidered and beautiful.  I also love how it focused the whole bed ensemble.

 Here's the bed with wicker lamps flanking each side and a master bath just to the right.  Gorgeous window above the bed and the sense of calmness in this room was palatable.

This room felt like a Tommy Bahama decorated space.  It had a wonderful armoire across from the bed for storage and TV viewing.

 

This was my room and it had a deck to the right that look over the lagoon.  To the left was a Jack-and-Jill bath that joined with the children's bedroom from the first picture.

This sign, which measures about 2'6" x 18" hung in a hallway.

And.......if you love a good story, set in the same area of South Carolina, I highly recommend the book The Color of Light by Karen White.  To read a review of the book, you'll find it here.

Thanks for reading.  Next week, come by and  I'll show you some of my beach-inspired decor.  Till then, be safe.

Linking Up With

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/
 http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/
 http://www.notjustahousewife.net/
http://verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com/
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

Beach House Tour

We have neighbors that anyone would treasure...they are friendly, helpful and, most importantly, easy to live next door to.  About a year ago, they bought a beach house in South Carolina and invited us to use it!  I thought it was terribly nice of them, but quietly decided we probably never would until my husband told them we'd love to take them up on their offer this May!  Let me just tell you, this beach house was amazing and I had to share it with you.  Enjoy the tour.

The house sits on a lagoon that is connected to a marsh.  We loved watching the marsh fill with the high tides and drain with the low tides.  Did you know that the marshes are considered the nurseries of the oceans?  The ocean creatures come to the marshes to have their babies and the marshes provide protection from predators.

The fish in this lagoon jumped out of the water constantly and were very entertaining....so was the small alligator!

The dining area was the first area we saw when we walked in.

The living room, just beyond the dining area.

A white slip-covered sofa...be still my beating heart!

That sofa, so dang cute!

The living room chairs.  The navy leather was a recliner and the beachy chair (that I just love to pieces) was a swivel-rocker!  I was just in seventh heaven in that chair!  And I just have to point out that end table with louvers and the lamp too!  Too cute!  (I know lot of exclamation points, but I am so excited looking at these pictures and recalling the good time we had)

These gorgeous shells were on the coffee table in the living room--

love that drift wood piece too!

Come back again and I'll show you some of the five bedrooms.  Most of them had their own bathroom!  A great home-away-from-home for extended family and guests.  

As always, thanks for reading and come back to see the rest of this great beach house!

Linking Up With

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.theviewfromrighthere.com/blog/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/
http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com
http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com/
http://www.notjustahousewife.net/
http://verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com/
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/
http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com/
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/ 

Longing for Florida

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~

This is a balm for my soul, to see my husband relax--it makes me relax.

A child napping on the beach just makes me smile.  When he awoke, I wanted to built sandcastles with him, but I didn't.



This is our planet's worse nightmare.  It was just a year ago that terrible oil spill happened.  What has it done this past year to the health of the planet--not just my favorite beach?  I had already forgotten...

The Summer Mantle

It's that time of year when the reservations are made for our annual Florida trip and the countdown begins for one of our favorite weeks of the year.   It only seems right that our house starts to resemble the beach--just a little bit.  Each year I try something different on the living room mantle and this year, I had a little help from my friends, by way of gifts and garage sale sleuthing--thanks Stacey.

Meanwhile, other spots throughout the house get doses of the sea too.  I have noted that this seems to be the year Pottery Barn jumped on this beach trend, but we've been doing this for 10 years already.  Maybe Pottery Barn should hire me, ha, ha, ha.

Because my last post was sooooo long, I'll just leave you with the pictures this time.  As, always, thanks for reading, especially with the problems blogger has been having.  Have a great loooong weekend!  Robin


I've linked up with The Lettered Cottage http://theletteredcottage.net/ideas-for-summer
to see hundreds more pictures of mantles for summer and The Faded Charm cottage  http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/