Shore Style

Who says you need to live near the beach in order to enjoy the soothing colors and scenery of the crashing waves and sandy shores? For my living room, I've been inspired by "beach life" or should I say "the best life". To me, there is no better way to spend your time then on a beach with a book in your hand, while watching your husband bob up and down in the tide while searching for the perfect shells. And since our best memories and mementos are from the beach, I figured why not try to compass that feeling into our home. We already had the shells from trips past, beach themes tend to keep surfacing at home decor stores, and my shabby chic obsession lends itself nicely to the creams and aquas of the beach inspiration.

When my husband and I get an idea in our head it doesn't matter if it's 20 degrees outside, we will find a way to get it done. And that is precisely how this fireplace surround and bookshelves came to be. I wanted a larger fireplace mantle and my husband wanted bookshelves, so in the middle of January we threw on our down jackets, pulled on our gloves and 3 toe numbing days later we had our dream fireplace surround.

It's taken a while to fill all the shelves and decorate the mantel top. There are still some empty shelves but I am happy with what we have so far. It has really become a collection of items from our travels. Shells from our trips to Florida, aqua sea glass and a photo taken of us on our honeymoon sit atop the mantel.

A blue glass Ball jar filled with tiny white wild flowers adorn one of the many shelves. A clock I bought in England sits above it. I looked for one similar in the states, but never found one so I was overjoyed when I spotted this one overseas. On the top shelf sit my collection of Nicholas Sparks books.

The tiny antique jewelry box and eyelet pot filled with peonies and roses are treasures I also found in England. Below that sits more of my favorite books held in place by an A book end, standing for Adamo. One of our many wedding albums takes up one whole shelf. I thought the colors of the album went well with the surrounding decor.

Detail was a must for the fireplace surround. I knew I wanted molding details and dimension. We used small sand colored tiles to create the mosaic around the fireplace insert. I wanted a new mantle with an old world feel to it and I think we were able to achieve that.

Jacklyn Lorraine