Beach House Entry Organization for Fall - 101

Have the back-to-school blues?

Amanda Webster Mudroom Design featured at House of Turquoise

Maybe it's a good time to think about a freshen up (clean up!) in your entry or mudroom to get ready for fall beach fun and back packs?  Here are a few tips that might inspire a new look at your beach home to greet Autumn with minimal cost and just a little re-organizing to create a welcoming space.

Classic East Hampton Summer House Tour - Coastal Living Magazine

Step One - Start with a clean slate!

De-Cluttering your space will help to even see where your new design needs to start. It's also just a great way to access your gear for next year - does it need repairing, donating, or maybe even tossed in the recycling bin? Clearing a space also helps me transition from one season to another and makes it a little easier to say good-bye to summer.  (booooooo)

House of Turquoise - Nina Liddle Design

• Put away all of the summer gear; oars, life jackets, bathing suits,beach bags, beach towels, etc and store safely for next year. Maybe just hide in the garage out of sight, cause I am sure that you will still be spending time still at the beach looking for shells or having a few more boating adventures. (or as in the image above - store your surfboards on the ceiling!) 
• Shoe Patrol - Unless you live in a tropical climate (or Southern California!) then time to stash the pile of flip flops! And impose a strict limit on how may shoes per person can be left at the front door or in your mudroom.  I am the worst offender of this rule! 
• For each family member; allow only one dedicated space for back packs, purses, school bags or briefcases. Use heavy-duty wall hooks, pretty storage baskets or cubbies. If no space, then backpacks, etc. go in the bedrooms. 
• 

Loved this fun idea with the chalkboards and pegs from DecorChick!

• Toss in the washing machine and dryer: Before putting away summer pillows, cushion covers or beach towels, or canvas beach bags, make sure to give them a quick run in your washing machine.
• Roll up the summer style rugs.Time to transition away from seagrass, jute and lighter striped area rugs.  Vacuum and clean-up any spots or spills before rolling up and storing until next spring. Make sure to store in a dry (non-damp!) space to preserve.

Bay Head Beach Bungalow - Chango and Co. Interior Design

Now where to start?  Here are a few of our essential ingredients for creating an easy beach home entry or mudroom for living at the coast during fall and winter!

• An Entry Area Rug
• Heavy Duty Hooks
• Bench
• Baskets for Storage
• Built in Shelf or Entry Table
• Mirror
• Artwork

Stay tuned for Beach Home Entry Organization for Fall - 201!

Summertime Prawn and Broccoli Pasta - Delish!

Truly, you can't mess this easy Summertime seafood recipe up!  Almost fool-proof with just a word of advice - have all of your ingredients ready to go before starting.


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 Lemons. 1 for zesting and then cut into thin slices; 1 for lemon-wedge garnishes when the pasta is done 
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed (or dried if you don't have fresh)
• sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
• linguine pasta (we like fatter pasta with this kind of sauce)
• 3-4 Tablespoons butter - NOT margarine
• 1-2 pound fresh prawns, medium-or large sized, peeled, de-veined and with tails off
• 1-2 cups of broccoli
• 1 cup sliced red pepper; yellow or orange are fine too!
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
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1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a glass 9 x 13 (or larger)  baking dish, combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Olive oil should liberally cover the bottom of the pan.  If it doesn't, then drizzle more in.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in oven for 10-12 minutes.  Check it every few minutes - if it looks like it is getting too brown, remove and proceed to the next step.

2. Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to the package directions. Drain and toss with a pat of butter or olive oil.

3. Remove glass baking dish from the oven, add butter and swirl to melt.  

4. Add prepared prawns, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, garlic and the lemon slices.  Don't squeeze the lemon slices - just add to the prawn and veggie roasting mixture.  Give it a quick toss to mix well with olive oil/butter and spices. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until prawns turn pink.  You might want to check at 6 minutes or so to make sure that you are not overcooking the prawns. There is nothing worse than rubbery seafood.

4. Remove roasted lemon-garlic prawn and broccoli mixture from the oven and dump into the pasta. Stir completely into the pasta, over low heat for just a few minutes with a few squeezes of fresh lemon and a dash more of olive oil.  Taste test it for salt and pepper seasoning.

5.  Serve in your best pasta bowls with a great fresh rustic bread and a special white wine. Sauvignon Blanc during the summer months would be perfect!  

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and left over lemon wedges. Enjoy! 

P.S.  The glasses and dinnerware can be found on our site!

Blue Crab Bay Stoneware

Pasta Bowls

Blue Crab Bay Deep Serving Bowl

Seahorse Large Etched Wine Glasses

A Beach Sunset Hued Palette

Try A New Color Palette for Summer Coastal Decor - Coral, Pink and Gold

So excited to have Cottage and Bungalow Magazine share some of our favorite Coral, Pink and Gold Products in their "Extra Color Palette" summer feature.  We love the ideas that Sarah Jane Stone put together in the article, and have a few of our own to suggest for inspiration to creating a sunset hued bedroom in shades coral, pink and gold! Love these fabulous Coral Sand Dollar Beaded and Appliqued Pillows! (P.S. they are available in Navy Blue too!) So glad that Jickie Torres, the editor for Cottage and Bungalows magazine chose this Terrace Palm Rug.  They are so versatile, and affordable ($127.00 for a 4.10' x 7.9')  for adding a pop of warm color to a room. (P.S. they come in lots of sizes and other colors too!)  Coral Palm Rug Add Gold Themed Bedding to create a sense of luxury and warmth! The gold geometric inspired pattern of our new Palm Beach comforter set creates a luxurious sophisticated feel to your coastal bedroom. The slight sheen of the gold border adds an extra glamorous touch to the look, while a softer yellow covers the reverse. Three decorative pillows with gold detailing complete the look.  Absolutely gorgeous!  We love Sarah Jane Stone's style idea in the Cottage and Bungalow article, of adding fabulous pendant lighting to create a "glistening inspired by sunsets" This new Five Cays Pendant in Gold Leaf is one of our new favorites!    Create a sense of drama in your coastal home with this large 32" Five Cays Pendant in Gold Leaf  with the added mirrored tile details circumventing the center and the bottom of this extraordinary lighting fixture.  Love the slightly fluted top detail, and on-trend styling! Don't forget the Glistening Coastal Accents! On Trend for this summer - we are seeing so many gorgeous golden coastal accents! Including these glamorous,  large Gold Sea Fan Sculptures molded from real specimen coral pieces, rendering them incredibly life-like and delicate like a natural sea fan found on a tropical reef.  Complete your look with art! We are rather fond of these new 20" x 20" Gold Embellished pieces - fun and also very affordable. These new Resort Themed pieces from artist Suzanne Nicoll are pretty cool too, only adding to the Sunset hued themed. Would really add a special pop of color and tropical artistry to a bedroom! Resort Flamingo Resort Cockatoo What do you think? If my bedroom weren't already decorated in aqua and driftwood shades, I would definitely give this Coral, Pink and Gold look a try. Have a wonderful weekend! P.S.  If you don't already have your copy, I think these "Summer Styling" issues are on the newsstands now - I can usually find one at Barnes and Noble or at larger grocery store chains.