And of course to balance your Christmas/winter theme yin, you must also have your perpetual summer yang - we do this too:
- Taking a cue from the fashion world, which finally has embraced white after Labor Day, interior designers are welcoming summer colors and banishing winter doldrums with seashell mobiles, seagrass headboards, wave motifs and bleached-wood furniture.
But bringing the beach home doesn't seem to be a passing cold-weather trend. Some people are making beach themes a permanent fixture in their homes, blending sea glass into splashboards around the bathroom or sinking seashells in flooring. Wave motifs in floor tiles and countertops also are popular.
''Designing with natural objects is back in fashion,'' says Marlene Hurley Marshall, a mosaic artist and author of Shell Chic. ''It crosses all cultures. No matter where you're from, you've likely picked up shells on the beach.''
....Some examples of what's considered ''beachy-keen'':
* Seagrass. Used in bedrooms, bathrooms and even kitchens, seagrass as a floor covering is popular for its texture and durability. ''It's the modern-day equivalent of wall-to-wall shag carpeting,'' Ruffin says.
* The nautical aesthetic. Experts suggest using sailboat railings to encase a staircase or choosing sailcloth for curtains and shower curtains. Try canoe oars to line the ceiling: ''You lie down and think of paddling through the water,'' Sindlinger says.
* Turquoise. Once a strictly Miami beach home kind of color, turquoise in its many shades is being embraced by designers. Paired with chocolate brown or taupe, the combination lends warmth to the room. ''It's a nod to the Caribbean,'' Sindlinger says.
* Shells. These beach souvenirs are the rage — from shell chandeliers and shell-encrusted claw-foot bathtubs to Christmas trees adorned with shell garlands. ''Shell decor is sumptuous, outrageous, and it has exotic allure,'' Marshall says. [USA Today]
We do all of that to varying degrees: we make sculptures from sea glass, shells, driftwood; have Hawaiian art scattered about; no oars though.
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