Beach Room Ideas

As the header photo of my blog implies, I love the beach. I like to see the myriad of colors the sky, sand and sea display at any given moment. I enjoy the feel of the early morning tide lapping at my feet, the glowing sun warming my shoulders and the sand sinking beneath me. I relish the sounds of the waves crashing, the swishing of the palm leaves, and the breeze humming in my ears. What's not to love? It's God's creation speaking loud and clear!

So for some time now, I have been working, in my mind, on making the family room, an Ocean Room, a Beach Room. The window view opens unto the pool where we have some of those swaying Palms. I have been collecting little things for some time (even unconsciously): photo frames, sea colored fabrics, Starfish, sand castles, not to mention the vacation photos I have taken that make me want to "skadoo" right into the pictures and be there again. The question is, how to put it together so it's relaxed, refreshing and stylish?

I looked online where there is a world of ideas: Check it out. Absolutely Dreamy in  Coastal Living magazine,  Laid back in Country Living and the doable, vintage "lived in" look from the Lettered Cottage.  What I noticed about these amazing images is that these rooms have mostly the color scheme going on, gorgeous views and little, if any, of the knick knacks I have painstakingly been collecting save for a star fish here or there!

This is nothing like those rooms, I know!! That book shelf on the left I wanted to paint like a "sea foam" color and put it to the left against the wall facing the room, like an accent piece.  Or, should I paint it in white to go with the tables, even though the wall is already white. The entertainment center is way to the right against the wall and it's that natural wood and cannot be painted. I see it as a wall fixture, set apart from the furniture.

Now that the room has been set up, I have two items I am stuck on: the bookcase I mentioned before (in above picture) and this beautiful white table with shutters and glass on top. It's sitting  in the middle of the "beach" room and I don't know what to put on it. I did some frames, NO WAY! Then I tried a collection of sand castles, YIKES! It seems the table is so pretty that putting anything on it seems like a bad idea.

Here is a picture of it. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!! Luckily, no one has put their feet on it, and they better not!