Searching for my Ocean Style

 I've been looking through Ocean Styles dot com and Pinterest and even my closet.  I came across a quilt I love that I rarely used.  I put it away in hopes one day I would get around to doing my bedroom and it would look like it belonged.  I completely forgot about it.  I bought it before moving to Florida, choosing to do my bed room tropical.

I drooled over lamps, window murals, bedding, throws and toss pillows and just played to get it together.  I only have one window in the bedroom with an air conditioner in it 99% of the time.  So what I was thinking was to use this Tropical Window mural,  one on each side of the bed.

 I love these lamps but wondering it they are too beachy for the tropical window... maybe I'll have to make my own window... or swap out with my living room lamps.

Living Room lamps - could use bamboo around the base

and use in bed room.

the lamps are here

use these in the living room

When I looked at tropical bedrooms, I decided my furniture could stay as it is, although I have to come up with an idea for my thrift night table.

matching dresser and chest

very pale yellow but love the bamboo handles

reversible quilt

4 pink tab top panels

 Although you see peach/coral shades, the pink light-weight tab top panels pull the pink from some flowers and/or centers.  I was thinking of the whole wall of curtain hung from bamboo poles.  I am leaning towards coral painted walls.


I originally thought of the dune fence over my bed as a headboard look, but going tropical, I'm going to use bamboo privacy screening instead:

72x180 $25 at Lowe's

My ceilings are only 7 feet high and this is 6 feet high, so I'm thinking of painting the ceiling and a foot down a sky color.


My must haves from Ocean Style are:

1. Glass Float String Lights (here) 
2. Sealites Seashell String Lights (here)
3. Advice from the Ocean (here) and Sun Pillows
4. 10 Beach Bottle Cap Ornaments (here) not just for Christmas!
5. How to Be a Beach Woman Poster (here) to frame. 

and definitely: 

1. The Starfish Lamp (here)
2. and the Nautilus Lamp (here)

Oh the decisions are crazy!  But in order to get the looks that I want, I can shop my house and still shop better choices from Ocean Styles, pulling everything together.


I'll post my Idea Boards when I get the pictures together... meanwhile, think ocean breezes.

Make Your Southeast Garden Sustainable - Lowe's Creative Ideas

I am always looking for information about gardening here.  Even the difference between here and Vero Beach leaves me scratching my head sometimes, but totally different from Long Island, NY.  I am trying to slowly but surely get 'native' plants going and growing here.  I used to do better with containers but the ones I have, I've been trying to get into the ground.





Make Your Southeast Garden Sustainable - Lowe's Creative Ideas


We’d all like to have a more sustainable garden as long as it doesn’t require more time, energy, strength, or money. Here are some ways to make your sustainable garden an enduring one.

Tip 1: Water Wisdom

While I have the best intentions of installing an efficient drip-irrigation system, I haven’t gotten beyond a leaky pipe and a sprinkler. However, I learned a lot a few years ago when watering was restricted due to drought.

• My garden needs less water than I previously thought to survive and grow. I try to group drought-tolerant plants to create areas that seldom need water.
• Watering well once (or twice if the soil is sandy) each week is better than a little bit every day.
• Reducing the water pressure to the sprinkler increases the droplet size and reduces the mist that usually evaporates.
• Watering in the early morning means plants are ready for the heat of the day with minimal evaporation.

Tip 2: Lawn Insights

• Raise the cutting height in summer to prevent the lawn from drying out.
• Use a reel mower for exercise and freedom from noise, fumes, and trips to the gas station.
• Fertilize only enough to support healthy grass, not excessive growth.

Tip 3: Tool Rules

• Buy tools that fit your hands, your height, and your needs.
• Sharpen all blades, including shovels and hoes.
• Use the right tool for the task; for example, use loppers rather than hand shears for a limb larger than your thumb.
• Buy well-made tools for long-term savings and enjoyment.

Tip 4: Good Ideas

• If you have a tree removed, recycle the wood chips for garden paths.
• Compost the easy way by burying non-meat kitchen scraps in empty garden beds.

Tip 5: Go Native

• Often the diehard plants are those that are nature’s gift. Blue phlox reseeds itself in my garden.
• Look to nature for well-adapted plants in problem areas. In a dry bed, eared coreopsis, moss verbena, and bird’s foot violet bloom without care. In a wet zone, sweet bay magnolia, Virginia sweetspire, and swamp hibiscus are thriving.

Really, a sustainable garden is one that belongs to a smart gardener — one who wastes little and uses everything. Have you found ways to be a smart gardener?