Around Memorial Day I started to get the itch to do a little redecorating. I had some spring inspired decor going on, and as spring was still in full swing, it would have been OK to leave it up, but I was tired of it. I was tired of cool days, and grey skies, and ready for sunny, hot summer. In my opinion, summer starts *IN* June, so decorating for summer during early June is perfectly acceptable. So I did. I don't live near the ocean. In fact, I live the furthest away from the ocean than I ever have in my entire life. It takes a couple hours to get there (if you live anywhere that isn't NH, I'm sorry. Our state is small), from clear on the other side of the state, which is where I am. That doesn't stop me from loving the ocean however.
For day trips, and summer days, I am totally a lake person, but there is just something about the ocean that calls to my soul. I love the salty air, the white sand, the waves that crash upon the shore, and the rock jetties. I can sit all day and watch kids play in the sand, boats travel across the horizon, and gulls begging for whatever scraps they can get. Then at the end of the day, I like to brush the sand off and go home.
As I thought about how I wanted to start out my summer decor (it might change in July and/or August, who knows), I knew I wanted something beachy. The areas that I've given in to decorating seasonally, for non-holiday times, are the porch, the dry sink/cupboard in the kitchen, and the side table in the dining room. For the past 10 years, there has been an apple basket full of driftwood that I've been collecting since I was a teen, and a basket of shells and sea glass that is just as old. In the the late spring, as I was thinking that I shouldn't leave that stuff on the porch year round, it inspired my seasonal decor for summer.
I took all the long driftwood and tied it together with some jute. Then I took the remaining driftwood and put in in a basket on the bench that lives under the kitchen window. I left the shells in their basket, and called the porch done. It's not quite done however, because as I typed this post I realized I still have a vase out there with pussy willows and I want to put something in it's place. I just don't know what yet. Maybe a mason jar full of sand with a candle. Maybe an old sailboat if I can find one cheap enough. Something.
I took the long driftwood into the dining room and put it on the side table. I bought myself some white daisies, and put them into an old olive oil jar, which inspired me to go to my bottle collection and get out the biggest, bluest bottles that I could find. The ones that remind me of sea glass. I arranged those next to the vase, and am quite pleased with how they came out. I know they came from my backyard, but I can imagine that they washed up on the beach and were collected by someone who loves it just as much as I do. Ok, moving on. While I was doing errands, on the same day that I bought those flowers, I picked up some white decor sand at Micheal's, alongside some river stones that were on clearance for a dollar. I put 2 bags of sand into my glass apothecary jar (best $10 I ever spent) and went and picked out some big shells, a star fish and some sand dollars from the shell basket on the porch. Simple, and yet elegant at the same time.
That same day, I picked up a long mango wood platter at Target. It's intended for bread, or crackers or something, but it just screamed "I look like I could've washed up on the beach" and so I brought it home. As I thought about what to do with it, I spotted that bag of river rocks. I poured the bag into the bowl, got some sea glass and more shells from the porch and put it on the dry sink. Next to that I placed my cupcake holder, and put in a dozen Styrofoam balls that I covered with jute. Rope reminds me of boats, which reminds me of the ocean and that is how it all ties together, in case you are wondering. I really love how it changed the feel of the house. I don't typically decorate per-say for summer, and I'm so glad I did. It feels summer, and makes me think that it will be here soon.
For day trips, and summer days, I am totally a lake person, but there is just something about the ocean that calls to my soul. I love the salty air, the white sand, the waves that crash upon the shore, and the rock jetties. I can sit all day and watch kids play in the sand, boats travel across the horizon, and gulls begging for whatever scraps they can get. Then at the end of the day, I like to brush the sand off and go home.
As I thought about how I wanted to start out my summer decor (it might change in July and/or August, who knows), I knew I wanted something beachy. The areas that I've given in to decorating seasonally, for non-holiday times, are the porch, the dry sink/cupboard in the kitchen, and the side table in the dining room. For the past 10 years, there has been an apple basket full of driftwood that I've been collecting since I was a teen, and a basket of shells and sea glass that is just as old. In the the late spring, as I was thinking that I shouldn't leave that stuff on the porch year round, it inspired my seasonal decor for summer.
I took all the long driftwood and tied it together with some jute. Then I took the remaining driftwood and put in in a basket on the bench that lives under the kitchen window. I left the shells in their basket, and called the porch done. It's not quite done however, because as I typed this post I realized I still have a vase out there with pussy willows and I want to put something in it's place. I just don't know what yet. Maybe a mason jar full of sand with a candle. Maybe an old sailboat if I can find one cheap enough. Something.
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