By Cindy Clay Srader
When furnishing your beach home and you are not sure what style or colors to use, it is a good idea to choose neutral furniture. Then you can accent the furniture with throw pillows in the colors you like (or in my case on sale) to make the room feel as beachy as you want! The rug in this room is a neutral color that goes with the cushions on

By Cindy Clay Srader
If your beach house is like most, you never have enough storage. Here are some “found” spaces that can really help with those problems but also will add to the overall architectural look of your home. The area between your interior walls is approximately 4 inches. This space can be used in a number of ways one being extra

By Cindy Clay Srader
Do you always see just one more thing you “need” to add to your collection? Well, join my club. When I fall in love with something, I have a hard time stopping and I really hate to hide my treasures. Here on Bolivar we can find treasures to collect every day. I would love to see some pictures of yours. “Art is in the eye of the beholder!” A familiar phrase

By Cindy Clay Srader
I guess you could call me a kitchenaholic. I have remodeled many and redone several of my own and enjoyed every minute of it! Learning to blend the different areas of the kitchens that are necessary but make them different to each person is challenging and something I love to do! To me having enough space is everything, efficient use of that

By Cindy Clay Srader
Color, color everywhere! Living in Crystal Beach, the overall look of the landscape has changed dramatically since IKE. The new homes going up are not only beautiful but have a wonderful array of colors. When I drive down Hwy 87, it almost feels like we are living in Bermuda or the Bahamas. I love the look and feel of these homes.

There is nothing I enjoy more than entertaining. Because of health restraints I have not done much but I need to start forcing myself. I enjoy it too much to not make that effort. This week I am only doing my article on Beach inspired table settings. Notice that there are many items on this table that can be “do it yourself”. Spray paint a few branches to add that coral look to the table. Don’t skimp on these. They look

By Cindy Clay Srader
If you are like me you like to go junking and find those pieces that you can remake for your home. This picture shows how you can put so many different pieces together and make it work. If you have a busy, large family, this room will not give you any anxiety when a child or grandchild spills! I love this old wooden kitchen table that has many coats of

By Cindy Clay Srader
Everyone has something they love and is a true part of their everyday life. What better place to showcase that than in your beach home. This room, as an animal lover, is one of my favorites for the beach. I would love to see even one of my dogs on our surfboard. I will leave that to my grandkids and nephew and their friends. This picture, which is an

By Cindy Clay Srader
Some beach houses have very small guest bedrooms. There are a few options with these rooms as far as what type of bed you may want to use. Most people either put bunk beds or a double bed in the room. In this picture try to imagine the space in front of you as the doorway. By positioning twin beds opposite heads from each other

By Cindy Clay Srader
If your beach house is like most, you never have enough storage. Here are some “found” spaces that can really help with those problems but also will add to the overall architectural look of your home. The area between your interior walls is approximatley 4 inches. This space can be used in a number of ways, one being extra

By Cindy Clay Srader
When moving to the beach and making it our home, frequently we have favorite pieces that we may not think will fit in with your beach décor. Some pieces look wonderful painted white and lend themselves to enhancing your other furniture. Think of how beautiful this piece would look against a bright colored or even a beautiful

When decorating a room, your vision should always start with the bottom layer. In this room that layer is actually a beautiful wood floor. The next layer is a natural rug, maybe raffia and then topped with an animal print. The good thing about this animal print rug is that it is angled and it actually tricks the eye to make the room appear larger. This rug on top of the main rug ties the furniture into a grouping. Since

By Cindy Clay Srader
When I saw these counters I feel in love. These countertops are manufactured in the same way that quartz countertops are, but in this instance sea glass is used. There are so many different colors that the options are infinite! The countertops are poured with the glass in it and then polished smooth. I am all for anything that makes

This room is a dream for any little boy! If you like nautical, this is about as nautical as you can get. This same look could be made with white platform beds like the ones sold at Pottery Barn. The bed is basically a platform with drawers. The sails at the end of the beds can be made with dowels bought from any home goods store. Making a triangle from canvas and attaching to the dowels make a

By Cindy Clay Srader
In last week’s article I talked about using a bump out window to help make a benched dining area. You can still have the same feature without having the window. In this room they upholstered the back and the seat in the same fabric. I have actually seen a headboard that looks just like this at Pier 1. In a beach house, storage is always at

By Cindy Clay Srader
Once again I am in love with a bump out window. Sounds odd I know but I wish I would have thought of this in my kitchen when we were building it. How wonderful to be able to expand you seating for a meal or to simply curl up with a book. The great thing about these nooks/window benches is the storage you can have under the cushions. In this picture you can

By Cindy Clay Srader
I love plantation shutters. Even in a home that is not on the beach it adds the flavor of the tropics. The shutters in this picture are very similar to ones that we had in our room in Maui recently. They are on tracks and slide to either side to completely open or close over the windows. Many of us have large windows so we can take advantage of the

By Cindy Clay Srader
Elegance for a Dinner Party. Sometimes it is the simple things that make your meal elegant. Just because we live and play at the beach does not mean that we need to always use paper plates and sporks. Sometimes when people come to my home they do not understand why I use ceramic plates and linen napkins. I love to make any get together

By Cindy Clay Srader
I love Wallies! They have so many designs and you can literally use them in each room. I even used some Fish Wallies on the back of some white kitchen chairs I had before IKE. The great thing about them is that they are not permanent. The come off easily, the two that I featured here would look great in any beach home. The parrot is my favorite. They also have full

Is Beach casual not your style? Who says you can’t be as formal as you want while still having the relaxing feeling of the beach. This dining room uses the formality of the beautiful custom chandelier along with the upholstered his and her chairs. By combining this with the wicker chairs and the painted table it all works to bring the feeling “up a notch” while still keeping it beachy. Notice the hemp rug that

What does summer and the beach bring to mind? Sun, sand, friends, cooking out and the only thing that will really destroy our fun is Mosquitoes! If you have a covered deck, one of the smartest investments will be to screen in the porch. There are many ways to do this after the fact but this picture shows how it can also add to your living space. The joy of being able to keep your doors and windows open for some

It is that time of year when we need to start planting, so I have given you a list of drought tolerant plants for our area. My favorites are Lantana and Phlox. They re-seed every year and all I do is cut it back and wait for the blooms. The Phlox has many babies that can be transplanted to other areas and they then start the process all over.

By Cynthia Srader,
When planning a kitchen, I always like to have an area designated for breakfast prep. Placing your microwave, coffee maker and other breakfast supplies all being in one place is a great convenience. Duplicating this same area in a master suite lets the owners have their first cup of coffee in the morning privately and if they are lucky enough to

By Cynthia Srader
This room will bring a smile to anyone’s face. This light filled room with the wonderful views has been designed to use the view as the artwork. The white walls and light chairs do not take away from anything. The punch of color in the coffee table and the pale aqua of the sofa adds color and actually draws the eye to the view. Using the reed shades

The word Waterfall means many different things. Vendors are always looking for a way to improve or change the way we use things. I actually love this new look. It is the way the granite is installed on a free standing island. The granite is added on the sides seamlessly and becomes a waterfall over the side. This look is a modern take on a counter top. It is not going to be for all kitchens, but if you are

This kitchen just looks fun. If you wanted to have a kitchen like this it is mucho easy. If you already have an all white kitchen, the lower cabinets can be painted separately with your favorite color. Notice how a group of upper cabinets were also painted on the inside the same color as

By Cindy Srader
“HOW TO”… Use “the best of your space!….Have Fun!

I think that these dish/storage drawers are the best thing I have ever used. I put all of my dishes in drawers using this system. It is basically a pegboard system using large pegs so you can organize whatever you want and they will not move when you open your drawers. Today a lot of