WHEN IT IS TOO HOT TO GO OUTSIDE
When the REAL part of summer arrives each year; that time when the sun is so hot in the sky that we are all longing to stay in our air conditioned rooms for hours at a time; I pull out the beach decor.
This one simple action always makes us (and our house guests) feel like we are on a vacation, whether we are or not!
If we can’t stand the heat enough to be outside in the yard or on the patio; we can just pretend we are at the beach and sit in the living room and talk and sip cold drinks.
INCLUDING THE SHIPS OF THE SEA
One favorite part of this summer decorating scheme will include the ships of the sea.
They are really ships, but often people will call them boats.
Boats and ships are always going places. There is a mysterious sense of adventure that they provoke; so I enjoy adding this characteristic to our home.
THE FEELING OF “GOING PLACES” IN LIFE
After all: we ARE going places!
If you don’t believe me just check out the OH THE PLACES WE SHOULD GO topics of this blog, but it is actually more than that. We are going places in our hearts, our minds and our souls; drinking in all of the wonder and joy that life has to hold and realizing how precious each and every moment can be; even if we are only sitting around in a “pretend” beach house and telling each other stories all day.
You never know where the next port-of-call might be and our ships are trimmed and ready to go at any given moment!
SIGNS WITH CLARIFYING MISSIONS
When I display our ships I usually use a little sign with them which says “Seize the day!”
Actually it says “Seas the day;” but you know I love playing with words.
This adds a whole new sense of urgency to all of the boating that is going on here; and sometimes I throw in a few banners and flags just to keep the theme festive and headed in the right direction of happiness.
There are classic books that match this decorating theme and I love to leave them laying all around the house.
DISPLAYING THE BOOKS OF SUMMER
One of my favorites is The Old Man And The Sea by Earnest Hemingway.
Then there is Moby Dick and Treasure Island and oh so many more. They too lend to this “let’s go to the sea” type of mood.
I’ll use them all for coffee table books that any visitors passing through can pick up and leaf through the pages while they are here. I’m hoping that the mood catches on and they decide to visit long enough to relax and enjoy a summer novel or two.
Perhaps my grandchildren will become interested in these books when they are older and staying with us for the summer. They will certainly be familiar to them.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
No room or theme should be without some good, solid, classic books. Their covers should be old and well worn. I suggest browsing antique shops and old bookstores for such books that have been well-used; hard-covered books which might even have notes written inside their covers that tell stories and present mysteries to someone leafing through the pages.
Throw in a few bowls of sea shells and a few starfish surrounded by colorful bottles (good for tossing into the sea with a message inside) and you are good to go until the end of the summer!
Ahoy Mateys!