UPSCALE SHELLS

Summer is the time for shells, beach cottages and all things surf and sand! I pour over magazines who's beach homes are graced with views of bright blue water and white sandy beaches.

Homes filled with bleached linens, outdoor showers and lots of beachy elements! Things that are swoon worthy... but do not work with my Lancaster County home!

Determined not to miss out on the summery feel of beach life, I am upscaling shells to make them feel at home in my family room decor...

To make this work in my traditional farmhouse inspired home, I chose just a couple of beach elements... shells and rope knots... and contained them to one area of my family room... the coffee table.

I also kept a very tight color palette which helps tie the vignette together. These colors would be found at the beach... sand beige... blue...white... and soft textural browns.

Mixing just a wee bit of coastal detail with decor elements that are authentic to my family room gives them an upscale and not contrived or out of place look. There is no way I can pull off a full blown beach look in the middle of bucolic farmland!

Shells, starfish and sand dollars fill a blue willow bowl that is set on a complimentary saucer. The shapes, texture and color of the shells looks so pretty in this very traditional bowl and give the shells a more upscale feel.

This big flat-bottomed basket has great texture and works well to hold the books that work as a riser for the bowl full of shells and little blue pitcher.

If you look carefully in the picture above... the top book is one I published of our vacation in Bar Harbor last summer. I like MY PUBLISHER to make books. It is a bit addictive!

Big rope knots in blue and white continue the beachy theme.

A big glass bowl on a wrought iron stand holds assorted white shells. A white candle is nestled in the middle to bring a soft glow to the arrangement.