Beach House Glamour

"When you have a place at the beach," says Kenneth Brown, "you suddenly have more friends than you ever realized." This is surely the case now, that this interior designer has transformed what he calls " a white box with no rooms" in Santa Monica, California into a brilliant loft, which showcases a perfect blend of Hollywood regency and beach house rustic.

**Featured in Western Interiors Magazine, February/March 2007, Photographed by Dominique Vorillon and text by Amanda Dameron.**

how bout some 'Bungalow Chic'

If you open up the pages of this month's Blueprint, you will stubble upon a lovely little bungalow, that is not only chic and cozy, but design-wise very much obtainable! Located in Greenport, New York, this little piece of heaven serves as a weekend getaway for owner Elena Colombo. So those of you still looking for beach house inspiration...do enjoy!


Love these tree trunk stools, which was a DIY project including many layers of fire-engine red enamel paint!


Other elements include a Moroccan rug from westelm.com and sofa pillows from wshome.com.


A yellow/green, blue, and white kitchen...only wish I could pull something like this off. So inviting!


Looking for a similar dining table, this one is from seabrookclassics.com, and those same chairs to go with, callled the "Holz" from dwr.com.

Simple bedrooms with a lot of character. Some elements include a red quilt is from garnethill.com and the lamp from noiny.com.

Love the indoor/outdoor feel of this space! Note there are no windowcoverings to give the owner clear view of Shelter Island. Shown here is a side table from mgandbw.com.

Covered in shells

Back from Southern California...slightly tan (more like a nice shade of pink), and thought I would feature summer home inspiration with these shell mirrors:

This fun mirror is called Ron Morgan Coral Mirror from Antique & Art Exchange

I was surprised to find this cute Atlantis Mirror from Z Gallery

Another Atlantis Mirror, from one of my favorite places to shop: Oly Studio

I love the color! This Starfish and Shell Mirror is from Downtown

A Vintage Shell Decorated Mirror from Gustavo Olivieri

One of my favorite of the mirrors from Galerie de France

So very fun! this Round Radiating Shell Mirror is from Mecox Gardens

Another great shell mirror from Galerie de France... I love this one!

A Round Scallop Shell Mirror from Downtown

So many shells this mirror is from Pegaso Gallery International

After a few days living the beach life, I'm back. Although I found little time to hunt for antiques while catching up with family and friends, this trip turned out be a chance to lounge and recharge before a hectic summer. The fresh air and sunshine (margaritas too!) helped me find some inspiration..so I hope you enjoy these Shell Mirrors!

**For more shell decor inspiration and information, I noticed yesterday's blog from Style Court featuring a shell encrusted console table from CBell (where you can find additional beach house inspiration, like coral chandeliers!), and a fun DYI book called Shell Chic!