Coastal Entryway Focal Wall Design

Hey friends!  It's been a busy weekend of painting, painting, and more painting here at our little beach house. My husband took our 3 kiddos away for a big camping trip while I stayed home, shoved all the furniture to the center of the rooms and tackled the walls, doors, and trim of our second story - it's not done yet, but it IS looking good! :-) I'm so excited to see the progress!!!

More on that soon, but today I wanted to catch you up on an edesign I've posted on my design Instagram recently (here is my personal & style Insta).  I often create and share designs there first (and share HERE), so come follow along!

COASTAL ENTRYWAY

Ok, so I seriously have an absolute obsession with Carol Benson Cobb's artwork. And that is not a word I use often! Her artwork is just SO stunning and inspiring - totally my thing.  One of her pieces is a clear focal point in this design below. You can find her work here, here, and here (the most options including originals - what a dream!).

Turquoise Aqua Blue and Clear Bubble Chandelier / Brass Gallery Light / Benson Cobb "Blue Horizon" Artwork / White Round Mirror (alternative with shell inlay) / Blue and White Striped Solola Pillow / Solid Blush Pink Burlap Pillow / Perella Ivory Linen Bench / Faux Areca Palm Tree / Beach House Natural Beige Area Rug

Weekend sales worth mentioning:

Wayfair (up to 70% off living room and outdoor pieces)

One Kings Lane - Summer in the Hamptons sale celebrating their first ever store location. Congrats OKL!

Pottery Barn - Summer Kick Offf Event up to 70% off items for every room

Nordstrom - Half Yearly Sale (up to 40% off) ends June 4th!

ShopBop - Designer Boutique Sale (up to 50% off luxury labels)

I hope you found today's design inspiring! 

From the beach,

Anneke 

Follow along on Facebook!

Coastal Chic Home Office Design

***this post contains affiliate links which in no way change the price to you.

As we work on one room at a time here at our little beach house paradise in Seattle, I can't help but have our office on the mind. With smaller spaces, it can be a great option to use a console table as a desk, like THIS ONE featured in today's design, or THIS ONE which is a major contender as a console table desk (it's gorgeous!)

Today's coastal chic home office design isn't for us personally, but it's pretty close to my idea of perfection and I'm hoping to incorporate most of the elements. :-)

Also, some MAJOR (30-50% off) Memorial Day weekend sales worth checking out:

BaubleBar Jewelry: up to 70% off (that's crazy!) soon many cute pieces for all seasons!

Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale (yesterday's post)  

Neiman Marcus Designer Sale  (40% off)

Saks Fifth Avenue (40% off)

Shop Bop

ILY Couture - just launched their Americana collection and it is CUTE you guys! 20% off new arrivals

Wayfair

Joss & Main (especially outdoor!)

Kathy Kuo Home (20% sitewide with code MEM20)

Serena & Lily (20% sitewide with code AMAZING - they rarely have sales!)

SSENSE - designer handbags on MAJOR sale (20-30% off) with no tax for US delivery

blanket / blue lamp / devon brass chandelier / reed pillow (20% off) /

left heron artwork & right heron artwork (20% off!) / office wingback chair / turino console table / basket with tassel (20% off) / live fiddle fig leaf plant / tuscan planter / neutral diamond rug (currently 25% off!)

SHOP THE DESIGN

From the beach,

Anneke

Follow along on Facebook!

Driftwood Home Decor

When we first moved into our beach house a few years ago, one of my favorite pieces I found to decorate our home with was a HUGE driftwood fish that was eventually named "Finley" (thanks to some amazing ideas from you guys!). And yes.....he had to be named. ;-)

There's something about adding driftwood pieces to a home to get that beach house feel, whether you live right on the beach or not.  It's all about balance, so too much can overdo it quickly.  

Driftwood home decor ties in really nicely with coral, sea fans, green plants (like monstera, philodendron, and fiddle fig leaf), white slipcovered furniture, and of course navy blues (like navy rugs or pillows).  Creations can often be found in the form of sea animals, candle sticks, lighting, mirrors, and furniture. 

driftwood turtle / driftwood anchor / driftwood whale tail / large driftwood seahorse / driftwood mirror / whitewashed driftwood fish / driftwood pelican / driftwood side table / driftwood pineapple

"Finley" the Fish!

chair source

DRIFTWOOD ANIMALS

 

DRIFTWOOD FURNITURE

 

DRIFTWOOD LIGHTING AND MIRRORS

 

DRIFTWOOD HOME DECOR ACCENTS

There are so many beautiful driftwood pieces out there!  Thanks to a lovely follower on Instagram, I just learned about the handmade shop Beachwood Dreams - check them out for AMAZING driftwood pieces!!!

From the beach,

Anneke

Follow along on Facebook

Casual Blues Mood Board & Dealing with Over-Analyzing Everything

Hey friends! With the transition of Spring to Summer upon us, it's my favorite time to check out all my fave home decor & fashion sites (like Nordstrom and Wayfair) and get a jump on what to share with you here on the blog and beyond.

But before sharing today's Casual Blues picks, I have to have a little honest talk with you guys. Hope you don't mind!

Awhile back though I was feeling stuck. Like overwhelmingly stuck and found myself over-analyzing every little decision, process, combination of design items, what others might think of my work or choices, what to tackle and when, etc.

These are ALL things I know better than to let trip me up, but what can I say? We're all human!

If you're like me, you're passionate about A LOT of things and want to pursue many things in life. I've often felt conflicted with my interests, loving to build and paint furniture, buy designer handbags and wear heels and share style ideas, but not care if you saw me in "DIY mode" (aka no makeup and a paint stained shirt). I like to talk about the deeper things in life and am admittedly horrible at small talk. I love quality. I'm creative at heart as a singer and designer. And at the end of the day, I believe it's truly about the people in our lives and the homes we share life in.

When you work in the online space, you have a tendency to feel like you have to be "All THIS" or "All THAT" to make it work, but the longer I'm here, I've realized that just doesn't work for me.  I just want to share my ideas with the world and spend as much time with my family enjoying life along the way.  This video by Marie Forleo really helped: 

With that said, I've realized I need to kick the over-analyzing to the curb and just not worry about it! Easier said than done, I know. :-)

Oftentimes when we let ourselves stay stuck in "overanalyzing mode", the truth is.....nothing gets done. Can you relate?

Here are a few things that have been working for me:

1. Live with integrity.

     If I'm making decisions with integrity and a place of service and caring, whether as a wife, mom, or business owner, I don't need to waste time over-analyzing texts, comments, distant opinions, and situations that haven't even occurred yet. 

2. Focus on what I'm grateful for NOW.

    When we over-analyze, it's guaranteed to be about something that's already happened OR something that may happen or is about to happen in the future.  My personality type can get very stuck in the past and future, so being aware of that helps me to recognize when I need to pull my thoughts back to the present and focus on what is working now.

3. Do 3 things.

     Over-analzying has a tendency to paralyze a person, as noted above, so quickly getting things out of your head and onto paper, then taking ACTION on those items can be really powerful.  Steady progress is where it's at in anything: business, health, reading, friendships, etc.  Small actions can get you unstuck.

4. Have grace with myself and others.

     This is HUGE. We all struggle with different things at different times.  One day you're good, but that person you're working with is having an off-day.  Choose to be gracious, because none of us are on our A game 100% of the time. 

Onto today's mood board that I am SO not over-anazlying! ;-) lol See what I did there. 

So now is definitely the time to be on the lookout for all things Summer and Patio sets, not to mention the pretty summery tops and sandals to enjoy them in.

TIP: When shopping for outdoor sectionals, seating groups, dining furniture, etc. it's ESPECIALLY important if you live near salt water that the framing and materials use rust-free aluminum or stainless steel.

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Blue and White Solola Pillow / Juliska Blue and White Striped Plate / Blue and White Striped Napkin / Blue Fishes Napkin / Nautical Rope Table Lamp / Navy and White Long Sleeved Romper / Gray Diamond Area Rug / Natural Tote with Colorful Fringe / Schutz Nadira Heel / Faux Monstera Leaf / Blue and White Striped Rattan Armchair / Rattan Fold Up Palisades Lounger Chair

xo,

Anneke

P.S. Don't forget to enter the jewelry and painting supplies Giveaway on Facebook - two days left!!