They say that "your home is you", but is this sea life motif really me? Hardly! I'm not a "fish in the water", I don't even know how to swim, that's why my husband and I seldom go to beach resorts. The only thing I enjoy is walking barefoot on the sand and drinking cocktails by the beach or near the pool while reading a book.
Because sea life is not me, I was at a loss earlier on how I was going to share this with you. I thought I'd take my time since I needed to gather more inspiration.
But hey! I recall now that my zodiac sign is "cancer", and surely, that may count for something, don't you think? So I went ahead because this is my chance to showcase my blue-and-white ceramics as well as my seashells. I've been attempting to do this for sometime now but I just couldn't figure out how; well, not until I saw a picture of both mixed together and voila! a light bulb clicked.
"That's it".
This idea got me very excited that I immediately thought of doing a minor change in my living room. At the same time, I was happy that I could finally use the starfish shells that my older daughter got me when her family vacationed in Shangrila, Mactan.
After my initial draft, I felt self-conscious publishing it.
"Mom, where's your blog on the star fish Christmas tree?",
my younger daughter; who looks out for my latest blog every weekend sent this iMessage.
"I changed my mind, publishing it feels like I'm bragging and it may not even be good enough, it may look mediocre to others", I replied. She then messaged back:
"Those who love you will appreciate it".
This gave me a big boost, that I gathered enough courage to publish it. However, if it is not what you expected; then just scroll quickly. Do I sound like I'm lacking in self-confidence here?
This year, I thought I'd skip putting up my green garlands, my grape-vine blinkers, pine-cone wreaths, my brass Santa Claus sled, the glazed red and gold balls and silver-glittered Christmas ornaments; including the red tabletop merry-go-round and toy train that's supposed to go around the Christmas tree. Instead I focused on the starfish, this being the "star" and the only thing that says:
"It's Christmas!"
So here it is, come look!
There is light....
Nowadays there are a lot of very modern and interesting lighting fixtures to brighten up a room, but I still I like this antique-looking one with iridescent and opalescent Swarovski balls that scatter beams of sparkling brilliance around. My husband thought it is nice to include it.
My mantel: A curated clutter look.
Every time I do an arrangement, I always attempt to be minimalistic; heeding decorators who often say that "less is more". The thing is, I tend to search for things around the house that I could incorporate in the mix so I often end up with "more is more". But then an interior design expert said that "more is fabulous!". So here I've done "so much more" again.
The main event here is the pair of big shells on the floor, sandwiching the blue-and-white jar. They came from my husband's ancestral home. When my in-laws retired and went to live in Vancouver, my husband brought these two shells home.
"When do you think your Mom got them?", I asked my husband.
"I don't know, they were just there for as long as I remember", he replied.
Since it's Christmas, I thought, I'd put my gifts along as well.
A Myriad of Stars
This bushida tree has ample little branches that hanging a lot of starfish is possible. Again, my younger daughter said :
"I like the idea of the 'floating' starfish". You may wonder about the silvery-white "net" with tassels I put in to mimic a fishnet, I thought it added a nice touch.
Picture perfect
This is my husband's corner.
Someone said that:
"a chair is only finished when someone sits on it".
We love this wing chair, it is beautiful, well made, functional and worth every penny we paid for it. When family and friends come visit, this is a favorite place to take a solo photo.
Celadon passion
Most of my celadon collection are showcased here. I put grayish-silvery blue and Aqua throw pillows to mimic the silver sand and blue sky. I see that they blend well with the celadon and they contrast with the brown leather couch.
All's well with shell
Most people would put only a few things on their coffee table, perhaps at the most, they will put five, but for me again, there's more. I thought that this is also another place to put the blue-and-white vases with the shells again.
Starfish obsession
This is a second coffee table which I placed right beside the bigger one.
Serene green
This place has the best view of the house. My husband likes to sit on one of these armchairs where he can see through the dining room and on towards our bedroom door.
By the French Window
This sofa has the French window as its backdrop. Again, I added throw pillows to match the color of the sea and sky. Notice I did not put blue drapes as I intended earlier. I feel that my alternate curtain looks like sand when hit by sunlight.
Vibrantly orange
I love the vibrant colors of fall, and orange seems to be my color palate. I placed my orange vases here to match the large throw pillow as well as the two big oblong orange ornaments that hang on the dried twig, adorned with tiny orange flowers. This corner is an inviting place to sit alone.
So, that's it folks.
What do you think?
Did I do justice to the sea life theme, even though it's not "really me"?
Good or good, I'd appreciate your comments.
I'm sure by now, most of us already adorned our homes with things we love; things that we feel comfortable and happy with. Afterall, that's what makes a house a home.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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