My brother has a t-shirt that says: “The Mighty Midwest. I ain’t afraid of no coast.”  This witty declaration got me pondering, residing in the Midwest, can we pull off beach-inspired decor? (My brain often wanders back to decorating, even at the mention of things seemingly unrelated to the topic. I’m weird like that.)

The recent Pottery Barn catalog is very nautically-themed and makes me want to head beachward. Since cash and time prohibit that aspiration, why not bring a little beach to my Midwest abode? My roomies and I are redecorating our living/dining/kitchen area and, without realizing it, picked a very oceanic color palette– a rich, dark blue-green for the kitchen/dining area and a very pale earthy sage for the living room. We’re still in the decor development stage, but I’d love to see the finished product with a little bit of beach panache. The challenge in that- we live in Iowa. Can we do beach without looking kitsch? To borrow a phrase from Pres. Obama’s campaign days, yes we can. With these ground rules:

1. No sea horse, fish, or palm tree motifs. (I shudder.)

2. Lots of natural materials- weathered wood, jute, recycled glass.

3. Modern twists- bold patterns, pops of an unexpected color, like red.

4. Casual vibe=beach vibe.

5. No beach landscape artwork. (That will read as trying too hard.)

And the end result may go something like this: (Enjoy for now, I’ll give my dissertation on it later.)Dean sofa, in Lichen, Room & Board; Modern Love rug, by Amy Butler for Chandra, at Burke Decor; Round red bamboo vase, Target; Reclaimed elm parquet coffee table, Restoration Hardware; Recycled French bottle lamp, VivaTerra; Fan coral embroidered pillow, Pottery Barn; Reassembled mirror, Anthropologie.


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