Happy May Day! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Our weather is really warming up and I can’t wait for the summertime! I’ve been thinking about redecorating in the entryway to reflect summery things, so that’s on my to-do list. Summer reminds me of even more seashells (you didn’t think I had enough, did you?)and the beach, pink flamingos, lanterns, and all things California. What do you use to decorate?

I realized the other day that I had never let you know who had the most votes for our tablescapes. It was actually a tie! But we didn’t have too many votes, so I would say we all won! Lauren created Pink Summer Chic, Haley did Retro Turquoise Chic and mine was Seaside Charm. It was fun to see what we could all come up with! Thanks to all who voted!

Now on to today’s post. I hadn’t shown anything of my family room since we moved in. To be honest, it’s not very put together. It’s kind of become the dog hang-out room, but I have styled the mantel and the shelves, so I thought I would share those today. Someday, I want to whitewash the brick around the fireplace and really clean-up the inside, but that is going to have to wait for now. I’m really glad the mantle and shelves are white though. One less thing to paint!

I added this old aerial picture from the refinery where my dad worked. I’ve always loved this picture. It hung in my parents garage for years and I finally talked my dad into letting me have it. I painted the frame black and it was ready to go. I also added shutters to the sides. A small lamp, topiary and glass insulators were added for depth and interest.

When styling shelves or mantles, try to use different heights in the items you choose. The lamp wasn’t quite tall enough for my liking, so I used a couple of old books to make it higher.  I also set the insulators on different height candlesticks.

I added a few coastal items to the shelves. I tried to keep it really simple and not over pack it. There are several coastal accents, plus other personal items. I also used a little bit of a green and blue theme.

Adding in different heights and textures creates a pleasing look. These are two of my favorite pictures of my girls.

Love the simplicity of just a basket of old books. I displayed the book pages, but using the spines to add color would look great too.

More books, a seashell, a twine wrapped bottle and a little wooden shoe. I love the little touch to my Dutch heritage! And it was turquoise! It was meant to be!

I added in a few California gardening books along with my whale tail. I also placed my glass fishing balls in a metal basket.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I appreciate each and every one of you! It always makes my day to read your comments too, so be sure to let me know you visited!

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