WELCOME to CAROLINA PANACHE! I believe our homes should be a haven, a place of beauty and peace that reflect who we are and what's important to us. I'm on a journey to add personality and panache to every corner of my house. For me, good design evolves, grows and changes with the needs of one's lifestyle. I want my home to be creative, to be stylish, to be entertaining, to be real. I hope you will join me on my journey. It's always more fun to travel together.
This blog is all about bringing style and elegance to the home. The art of dressing your home goes beyond hanging a few items on the wall and arranging furniture. Much like a fabulous set of earrings or a new stylish handbag may take your little black dress from fine to fabulous, home accesories and key furnishings can take your rooms from ho-hum to singing the Halleluiah Chorus! Join with me as we discover new ways to add panache to every room of the house.

Outdoor Wednesday - Gone Shellin'

Happy Hump Day! It's Outdoor Wednesday and this fun party is hosted by Susan at a Southern Day Dreamer. Be sure to pop over to see a full list of Outdoor Wednesday posts.
I thought I would share a few pics from our Spring Break trip to Florida.
Our first Saturday there, my sister-in-law, Linda took us "shellin". We drove over to Honeymoon Island State Park just before sunset and searched for sea treasures that had washed up on the beach during high tide. My oldest son takes in a gorgeous West Coast sunset.
Linda is a professional photographer and took this opportunity to capture some magic on camera. Linda lives only a few miles from the beach so most Sunday afternoons she spends some quality "down" time searching for shells and shooting scenes of the coastline and beach.

Here Mr. Panache and his little sister are getting up close and personal with a Hermit Crab. We found several shells that were still "occupied". Of course, we tossed those back into the sea. Our little excursion was fairly successful. We came back with a couple bags of various sized shells to be cleaned and bleached.
Spring and summer are perfect times to display shells in your decor. I use shells is a variety of ways and places. Just that little reminder of lazy, relaxed days of vacation seems to lighten my mood. The pictures that follow show some neat ideas for incorporating shells and sea treasures in your everyday decorating. Enjoy!

Display a few shells and Starfish along with personal photographs and an elegant silver vase. The shiny, reflective surface of the vase is perfectly paired with the these chalky white treasures.
Placing pretty cool-colored bowls filled with shells around your bathroom is the ideal method for bringing the beach home with you. The soft aqua of the bowl is the perfect spring and summer hue.

The warm weather months of spring and summer are meant to be relaxed and laid-back not formal and stuffy. Mixing beachy decor along with your classic or traditional art and accessories adds a touch of whimsy and downplays the formality just a bit.

Sometimes less is definitely more! And this bedside table certainly displays that mantra. Three large shells is all that is needed to add a touch of the beach to this bedroom.

A simple but elegant display - take a large clear vessel and fill the bottom with 3 cups of sand. Insert one large "statement" shell and viola - the perfect summertime accessory.

A large shell shaped bowl finds it's place by holding a pretty display of scented soaps and Starfish.

We haven't talked alot about coral but what a perfect paring with these sea shells. Coral is so "now" and it adds wonderful seaside appeal to any room.

Here, a groups of shells clustered together adds the right amount of texture to this monochromatic display.

A framed piece of art and a single Starfish displayed with a shell-shaped bowl of kumquates brings a touch of the sea to this tabletop display.
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Don't forget to visit Susan and all the other OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY participants for more inspiration! Until I see you again,
Happy Decorating!
~Alisa












17 comments:

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

Such a gorgeous post, Alisa!! Thank you!

"Blossom" said...

Makes me want to go to the beach; our family vacation is coming up in June. This is a awesome post this time of the year.
blossom

~CC Catherine said...

Hi Alisa! Happy Outdoor Sunny Wednesday! ;) Ya know, I always love your posts! This one is close to my heart, as the ocean and shells always bring back memories from our family trips when the children were little. We've got a glass shaped bowl that we've collected over the years and some of the shells were inscribed by our children with love notes to us. I always bring it out and showcase it in the summer like you mention, along with some of my other seashells and beachy items! The one bamboo looking antique table you have in the one pic, I have one nearly identical to it from the early 1900's, an heirloom of my grandmother's. I love it, and it looks so good like this. Stop by my place today and sign up for my Blog Give Away for Mother's Day. The items I'm giving aways are "DaySpring Exclusives"., and will I'm sure be something you'd love. They have scriptures on most of the items I'm giving away. Ciao for now~ ~CC Catherine

Stacey said...

What a fun post. How neat that you actually got to find your own shells too. :)

Marie said...

Absolutely gorgeous...my favs are the bowls of seashells!
-marie

ellen b said...

That photo of your son is fabulous! I love to stroll along the beach and find goodies. Love all the shell decorating too :0) Happy O.W.

Ashley ~ said...

I am so ready for sun and the beach*! Thanks for sharing your trip with us*! _Ashley*

Christi @ A Southern Life said...

Great sunset pics. What fun - looking for shells. Thanks for sharing.

santamaker said...

This is gorgeous. Love , love the shells and all your special touches.

Crystal said...

Hi Alisha,
First visit to your blog, Happy Outdoor Wednesday. Just loved all of your posts, the sunsets are just gorgeous. There are times I wish I lived in the south, instead of Pennsylvania.

Thanks for sharing!

Chandy said...

What beautiful shells you have there! I love the beach so I can't wait to incorporate shells into my decor!

Sandra said...

Beautiful! You always post such pretty things! Love it!
Happy Wednesday!
Sandra

Carolina Mama said...

Just lovely! And now I want to go 'shellin'!" :)

Anonymous said...

This is a lovely post! I love the shelf or maybe it is a mantle with the blue jar, the traditional pictures, and the "beach treasures".

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Charla

Maryrose said...

Wonderful pictures. There is nothing like the sunset from the beach. Loved it.
Maryrose

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

Sorry I am late getting around to visit... I hope you had a Happy Outdoor Wednesday....and that you will participate again soon! Thanks for sharing your photos.~ Susan

Moments of Grace said...

Alisa,
How I love to read your posts. I check everyday and enjoy each and every one of them. Your tablescapes and decor ideas have inspired me to redo some of own rooms. Thank you so very much for the care and devotion you put into your posts.

Marie

P.S. I still love how you call hubby "Mr. Panache". What a sweet gesture.

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