Patio Pick-me-up

Spring is here in some parts of the country, and you might find that last year's patio furniture is in need of a new, fresh piece of bling.

Here are some of my faves from StylishBeachHome's extensive collection of outdoor furniture pillows.

Blue and Orange Pillows

Coral Print Pillows

Large Red Floral Pillows

Teal Blue Chevron and Damask Pillows

Orange and Lime Floral Pillow

Orange and Grey Suzani Pillows

Miami Beach Chic via Pillows

I have been waiting a long to time to show you these!  When Cindy brought this look home from the show in New York, I went nuts!!

Remember when you first looked at a topographical map? Through the fog and confusion and the adjustments your brain was making as it was trying to make sense of it, did you have any inkling what a great piece of art it could be? And to have this cool art of the most beautiful islands and peaceful beaches in all the world on a pillow?

What a fantastic way to remember your vacation, or to keep the fantasy alive for your dream destination. Hawaii anyone? Each pillow comes in your choice of colors: sand or blue.

Now you need to see the vision:  Imagine these pillows adding a little life to this penthouse in Miami Beach:

{via}

Or here ...

{via}

These unique, modern pillows want to live in your modern beach home.

And guess what?  I have more.

They come in modern art prints!! I am imagining a wall collage of the 8x10 prints, framed in black.  But you don't have to imagine it.  You can get them over at StylishBeachHome.com.  These come in a variety of sizes and framing options.

Bahamas Print

Sanibel Island Print

Surround yourself with the world's most beautiful beaches!  And Pin them if you love them!!

~Natalee

Decorating With Turquoise

Looks like color week is spilling over.  I almost posted this on Saturday, but that day isn't that popular for reading blogs, so I decided to save it for today to give it the attention it deserves.

Turquoise is very popular in home decor, and also happens to be popular with every color I've already featured.

Here we go!

Bold Turquoise

{via}

When decorating with turquoise, the key to not making your room seem like a cartoon on the Funnies page of the newspaper is to provide the brain and they eye lots of space to process the color.  This designer anchored it with lots of white, only painted the accent wall turquoise, kept the clutter to a minimum, and chose a room with lots of light.

Ion Floor Lamp | Beach Pillows | Pulsar Ceiling Lamp | Ivory Silky Shag Rug

Notice the same concepts here, as well as another common theme: accents with equally vibrant colors in small doses.

{via}

Nob Hill Chair | Photon Ceiling Lamp | Match Chair

Beachy Turquoise

Finding a beachy turquoise room is very easy ... the color really lends itself to a fresh, light, coastal feeling. It is the color of the sea, after all.

{via}

Andes Jute Rug | Blue Skies | Palm Tropical Green Pillow

You don't have to go over-the-top.  See how this room is mostly neutrals, with a few well-placed, light turquoise pillows?  This space really speaks to me!

{via}

Beach Pillows

Calm Turquoise

Light and white always seem to be the answer to creating calm.  Wood tones have a similar effect; they balance out the pop of color in these chairs to give the feeling of a cheerful, fun space.

{via}

Dramatic Turquoise

{via}

This photo caught my eye because I noticed the chairs were identical to our Outdoor Ikat Pillow.  I never dreamed ikat could be dramatic, but I you have dramatic lighting and accessories, it obviously can be done.

Pulsar Ceiling Lamp | Vector Ceiling Lamp

{via}

Turquoise and grey are a great pair, aren't they?

This concludes Color Week, but you know there will always be colorful things happening her on the

Stylish Beach Home blog!

                                                                                                                     ~Natalee

Mom, can we use your beach home?

It was Sunday December 23, 2007 and about 22 degrees in Cincinnati, OH when I told my husband that we need to get out of here. I suggested that we go to Naples, FL where my parents have a beach home!

I didn’t really listen to his answer because it went something like this: “no way. It’s a 17 hour drive, we have to be here for Christmas, and we have to be home by New Year’s Day! And I will be the one doing all the driving!” After a little debate (that I won) as well as pleading with my parents to use their beach home, we decided to leave on the 26th and return on January 1.

Little did we know that on December 26, 2007 we started a family tradition that has been going strong for 6 years with no end in sight. At 4 AM, we loaded up the minivan with our two kids, my sister, her two kids, coloring books, iPods, DVD players, food to feed an army, and off we went.

Seventeen long hours later, we rolled into my parents’ beach home and our short vacation had begun. The long drive was worth it. Perfect sunny weather, long beach walks, relaxation, tiki bars, picnics on the beach, and outdoor fun. It doesn’t get any better than this. It may be 20 degrees back home but we were lovin’ the summer style down on the Gulf Coast!

The ride home was a different story. I guess we weren’t the only ones that decided to go down south for the holidays. Bad weather, bad traffic, and cranky kids helped contribute to a 22 hour trek!

I highly recommend a spontaneous trip with your family. However, there are several things that you cannot do without on a long drive: car charger for your cell phone, iPad/Tablet charger, headphones for kids unless you want to hear video games for hours on end, iExit app which provides great information about every exit on the highway (gas stations, restaurants, etc).

Luckily we quickly forgot about the long ride home and instead looked forward to our next winter getaway.

PS: Since my parents are kind enough to allow us to stay at their beautiful beach home, I intend to spruce it up a little on my next visit with a couple of these chic pillows!

Please follow us on Pinterest!   StylishBeachHome.com

~Cindy