When I come home on the weekends, I am amazed at how many more houses are being built.

Random finds.

Life Preservers

Simple Beach Decor Ideas

Ladies, this is an article that your husband or significant other will love because it doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t have to be built!

So the sun teased us a little bit this weekend and that got me to thinking that I wish summer was here already.

Last week it was all about the hammock. This week it’s about shelter.

Now that the weather is getting nice, I am thinking about my hammock.

I know a lot of you have already seen this done. I am just a little behind the times.

So here is some food for thought.

Did you think that raffia skirting was for tiki parties only?

Chalk Paint painted furniture…can you imagine painting with out prepping, sanding or stripping your furniture? Annie Sloan and CeCe Caldwell paints do just that. Chalk paint can be use on furniture, glass, concrete plastic, just about any surface you can think of.

Last week we talked about making a driftwood Christmas tree. We are always picking up interesting pieces and stacking them under the stairs for some later project.

(The seahorse in the thumbnail was made by my old neighbor, Maryann Martin, married to Robert Martin of Martin Electric, after seeing one in a magazine. They hung it in the stairwell.

In 2009, we were one of the first houses to be rebuilt in our neighborhood, Sandy Shores after Hurricane Ike. That first year was really cold and desolate, no trees or plants, just wind and sand. When Aron would drive down the beach he would pick up big pieces of driftwood and stack them to use later for firewood. From lemons to lemonade…

Rita Wilson, aka Queen Rita from Ft. Worth, is retired from the furniture business, so naturally you would expect her house to be awesome. And she doesn’t let you down. Her colorful vacation rental, Queendom by the Sea in Sandy Shores (listed with Swede’s) is an invitation to have a great time at the beach. She was able to use her connections in the business to furnish her home. No designer

Easy, Breezy bedding ideas.

My neighbors in Sandy Shores have a flair for color.
See what I mean.

Vintage Travel Trailers

Things to do with old surfboards:

Charlene, who is one of Aron’s clients and friends, works for Whole Foods when she is not treasure hunting, and Dexter is a semi-retired boilermaker. They travel back and forth from Clear Lake. Let’s take a peek inside where you will find 50’s vintage bamboo furniture. She also loves (Henry Link) faux bamboo and wicker furniture from the 60’s. Charlene is not afraid of color! I love her style which I call

Part two of awesome bunk beds.

Aron was asking ME about bunk beds the other day and I just look at him, “What are you talking about?”
“Chris wants built in bunk beds in the house we’re building, got any ideas?” Are you kidding?

So when I get up at 3:00 A.M. because my mind won’t let me sleep I start looking.

Shadow Boxes

You know what? People down here are creative and resourceful.

Sue Softee, who grew up in Port Neches and has a beautiful house in Tidelands, showed me her most recent projects.

Beach Realtor, Kathy Hammond has has several open houses which I have been lucky to attend. One of my favorite ones had a huge covered porch with swing beds. Sadly, the house is gone but the memory is not.

Any one of these could be made from scrap wood.

What is it about aqua that makes us feel good? All of these bathrooms make me want to soak for awhile.

Who wouldn’t want furniture that is durable, doesn’t rot, split or crack, needs no water proofing, painting, or staining? Did I mention that it is also easy to clean, comes in lots of colors and can be left outdoors year round?

Outdoor Showers

Take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary.

Aron has a ton of this in the closet, some are just worn out, too small or just sitting there because he never liked them.

What to do?

You won’t believe this but a lot of stuff happens while I am just standing on the deck at my shop. Last week a lovely lady walked up and asked me what Aron was doing with the scrap wood from a job he was working on in the back of his truck. “Well he was planning on taking it to the Bolivar Sanitation to discard it.” So anyway, I asked what she wanted it for. She was building a