Quick And Simple Solutions For A Comfortable And Colorful Summer Home

July 30, 2019, in
One of my favorite things to do when getting our home summer-ready is to address the small details to make it feel relaxed and refreshed. Color, texture, art, fresh flowers, and greenery are some of my favorite ways to update our home for summer.  Today I want to share a few DIY projects and decorating solutions to help you create a comfortable and colorful summer home that you can enjoy throughout the season.

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I'm a coastal girl, eastern Long Island to be exact so it's no wonder why I love the beach!  The ocean is my inspiration for my photography and for the way I decorate our home.  It turns out our rescue dog B happens to love the beach too!

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I  like to add textures, colors, and natural elements that mimic how the seasons make me feel.  For summer I set the tone by using natural woven textures, flowers, and bright colors that give off a casual, welcoming vibe. The colors in my photographs represent what I use in our home.

Join me for a walk along the shoreline and spend a lazy day catching rays and a whole lot of passion talking about solutions for a relaxing and colorful summer home. Grab your sunhat and let's get started.

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Bring In The Sunshine:  To let in maximum light and views go for minimal window treatments, or if privacy isn't a concern go with none.  Swap out heavy curtains for seagrass shades and as this may seem obvious, clean windows make a big difference in light quality, so give them a scrub. In our living room, I updated our windows by swapping out verticle blinds with textured roller shades and curtains in a creamy color.

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Swap Out Art:   Hang summer-inspired photographs on your wall!  One large photograph or a collection of smaller ones provides the perfect blank-wall solution.  Another quick trick is to lean a few pieces on a bookshelf.

    Barrel


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Another way to brighten a blank wall is with colorful art pieces. Affordable pieces can be found just about anywhere online or at thrift stores.  If you like to DIY, make your own art using nautical maps like the one I made BELOW.  Can you believe the frame was a cabinet door and the three metal race boats were once TROPHIES?
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Update Your Front Door With Paint:  Give a tired front door new life with paint in a summery hue, such as blue or teal.  A new coat of paint on your front door will improve your home's curb appeal and add style.  If you would like to read the tutorial on how I painted our front door click HERE. 

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Bring In Color With A Fun Fabric Print:  Bright prints on throw pillows, for example, can instantly lift a room's mood - and yours.  To allow the motif to truly shine, keep the wall color neutral and other accessories to a minimum.  Shop my throw pillow collection here.





Fresh Flowers & Greenery:  Bring bright summery colors into your home with freshly picked flowers. Create a relaxing arrangement by placing clippings in bottles. Small clusters of one bright color look cheery and create an undeniable relaxing summertime vibe.
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For a crisp clean look add a few clippings of greenery to a vase. 

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Texture:  Natural woven materials never fail to make a room feel like a summer day.  A basket filled with driftwood or woven hats are simple ideas to add texture to your summer decor.  Area rugs in sisal or jute also add texture. The care for a jute rug is easy, simply shake out the rug to remove any sand and debris that may settle into the fibers and rotate the rug to equalize wear. indoor/outdoor area rug
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Now that you've gotten your feet wet and sand between your toes, I hope you are feeling that summer vibe and the desire to create your own summer home. 




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Patio Trends That Are Heating Up This Summer

July 22, 2019, in ,
This summer it's easier than ever to create a patio area that's an extension of your home.  Design elements that were once considered for indoor use only are showing up in outdoor living spaces.  Whether you have a tiny patio like me or an expensive one, my guide to creating an outdoor patio oasis will help you take full advantage of summer living.  So read on for six design ideas that you can use to make your patio chic and comfortable all summer long.   

 1. Minimalistic Design
With a new focus on minimalistic design, outdoor furnishings such as dining chairs, and tables are sleek and lightweight.  Look for powder-coated aluminum furniture and finish the look with neutral colors like pale gray, white, or black. Or mix and match with a natural material like eucalyptus.  

2. Mixed Materials
Design elements that are considered for indoor use only like textured upholstery, brass, rope, and webbing are combining in new and unexpected ways for outdoor spaces. Soft rugs and cushy ottomans are now popular for outside, and new fabric options now include outdoor safe velvets and linens, leathers, and nubby chenilles.


 


3. The Heat Is On

 Bring a sense of indoor cozy to your patio with a fire feature.  This feature makes outdoor spaces feel stylish, comfortable, and functional as interiors with all the amenities. 

4. Pops Of Color

Think about adding splashes of vibrant colors to brighten up neutral upholstered furniture. Colors like citrus-bright oranges, reds, yellows, and pinks are this summer's top color trend.  If these colors are too bright for your taste add a touch of trending emerald green in accessories. 



5. Go Green

Bring eco-conscious living to your patio with a living wall and solar-powered LED accent lights. Living walls make a design statement and solar-powered LED lights provided upgraded illumination without the complex wiring or tricky installation.  




I love this festive idea: solar-powered lantern string lights around the perimeter of a patio.
6.  Mix & Match

There is no longer a need to rely on matching patio sets for a pulled-together look.  Eclectic, curated outdoor spaces are popular this summer.  To achieve this look to an existing patio set add mix and match patterned outdoor pillows, a textured ottoman, and a vintage rattan side table.


I hope I encouraged you to get inspired to make your patio your new favorite living space!






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Leaning Glass Wall Art With Faux Flowers

July 15, 2019, in ,
Looking for an eco-friendly and cost-effective decorating solution for your bookshelves?  Leaning glass wall art with faux flowers is quick and easy to make and you'll end up with a beautiful piece of art that you can display on a shelf in your home. 

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Materials:
Instructions:


  1.  Choose two different size picture frames (they can be any size you want.)  Make sure they will fit on your shelf.  I used one 5″ x 7″ and one 8″ x 10″.
2.  Remove the back and the glass from your picture frames.



3.  Select the flowers of your choice. Pull the blooms off the plastic stems.

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4.  Cut the plastic stems from the flowers. Use your scissors for this task.


5.  Arrange the flowers any way you like on top of the larger piece of glass.  When you like what you see, add a dab of craft glue to the back of each flower and gently press it onto the glass.


6. Place the smaller piece of glass on top of your lovely flower arrangement.  Grab your trusty hot glue gun and put a dab of glue on the four corners of the smaller glass piece.


7.  Flip the glass, then lay the glass down over the flowers. The glass should be centered on the larger glass piece. Gently push down on the four corners and hold it in place for about 30 seconds or more until the glue adheres to the glass.   After the top piece of glass is in place, the flowers will lay flat pressed between the two pieces of glass.


That’s it, you now have a beautiful piece of leaning art you can display on a shelf in your home.


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I hope you enjoyed this quick and easy DIY wall art idea.  
xo

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How To Acheive The Hamptons Style In Your Home

July 09, 2019, in ,
Originated on Long Island, New York The Hamptons interior design style represents an elegant, relaxed coastal living, it comes with a hint of luxury under clean lines with ocean beach colors.  Classic architectural design features include high pitched or coffered ceilings with exposed beams, wood floors, neutral and ocean-inspired colors, natural materials, and lots of natural light.  When you walk into a Hampton's home you're likely to encounter a bright and airy space with details in accessories borrowed from natural seaside elements like driftwood, seashells, and beautifully colored beach glass.

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So how exactly can you achieve The Hamptons style for your home?  It all comes down to choosing the right furniture, textures, and colors.  My design formula? Combine modern with classic and elegant with simple. 

The Color Palette:  The Hamptons-style interior has a predominately neutral color palette with crisp white walls and warm tones of sand, cream, and ivory.  These neutral tones are complemented by colors related to the ocean like navy blue and white, soft blues, green, and turquoise.

These are the colors that you should be implementing in order to achieve a true Hamptons feel throughout your home.  For example, the room below is painted crisp white, the rug and coffee table bring in the warm neutral tones and the accessories add an eye-catching dimension to the style. 

Pinterest

You can also bring in ocean colors through artwork.  Fill your walls with ocean prints and enjoy scenes of blue skies and waves inside your Hamptons-style home. 




Textures:  Mix a variety of textures into your space to create a relaxed and elegant Hamptons feel.  Layer rugs in natural fibers of jute and sisal or woven with textures of natural cotton or wool.  If you prefer carpet, look to natural tones and simple textures that evoke sandy shores. Use rattans, linen, and woods in the same beach palette all layered together to achieve a living space perfect for your Hampton's Style home.  In my living room (featured below) I anchored the living space with a wool rug and used a sisal rug in the entry.

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Here I mixed a variety of textures and colors to achieve a relaxed and elegant Hampton style.

The artwork behind the sofa is called This Way to Summer.

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 Furniture:  Combine modern and classic style pieces in your space.  Hampton-style furniture is designed to be comfortable and welcoming with beautiful finishes and a range of different textures.  Slipcovered and neutral upholstered oversized sofas are often found in a Hamptons home.   Make sure to dress your sofa up with throw pillows.



Horchow
 

The Hamptons Style is timeless and will work anywhere even if you're not near the ocean. 
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