July 20, 2014

Summer of '14 Home Tour

Come on in...I have the air conditioner running for you to take
a tour of the Summer decorating at The Kat House!

As you come in the front door the entry way and the dining
room are all one space.  Straight ahead of you the French 
buffet holds two glazed terra cotta lamps made from garden urns.

A new item in this vignette that I recently recycled is the lantern.

In its former life it was a light fixture.  I found it at a garage sale
 for  $1.  At first I thought I would try to save the candle
 section of the light fixture but then I decided it would
 be more versatile if the lantern was empty so I just
 cut the wire and pulled the "guts" out.  
The upcycled light fixture got a couple of coats of 
DIY chalk-y paint, a coat of dark wax and a simple
painted wooden ball knob on top. 

To add some nautical feel to it I also added some rope.

In front of the lantern is a shell that was on clearance at Michaels.
I thought that the color of the shell went well with the lamps and
the art print on the wall.  When I researched what kind of shell 
it is, I discovered that it is a Cornetian or Queen's Helmet shell
 that is sometimes used to carve real cameo jewelry. 
Usually the shell is cut into parts and carved into cameos that are small and used in jewelry.
I did see some photos where the cameo was actually carved onto the shell in the space in the
photo above where the dotted circle is. 

On either side of the lantern are fishing floats that came from 
Hobby Lobby.  Between the float and the lamp on one side

The other side of the vignette has faux wave coral from Target.

The art print of shells was sprayed on the back with spray adhesive
and attached to foam core that fits inside the white frame that has
the art changed inside of it seasonally. 

On the dining room table in the same room more shells and
coral are on display. 


The center of this vignette is a grouping of DIY coral and seafans.

It is surrounded by a former Summer wreath that was

The vases in this vignette had sand (cheap at Home Depot if
you aren't going to the beach to gather some) added as a base
for the flameless LED candles and shells.


so large that you couldn't actually eat at the table without
moving some of the stuff so I kept it smaller this year by
just adding candles to the backside of the vignette.

They are also LED candles. I didn't want to permanently make
Summer candles with a shell on them.  To make a place (that
could be removed) to attach a shell to  with glue, 
I added a band of wrapped twine on the candles.

Only a small amount of glue was needed to attach the shell.
I don't think it went through onto the candle. 

Behind the dining room table display is...

....the display cabinet.

This was once a brown piece that I loved for years but when
Annie Sloan chalk paint became available in the U.S. I 
decided to take the plunge and paint it a lighter color. 

I never did completely finish painting the piece but I am 
going to open the doors for you so you can see the DIY
coral collection that is inside for this summer. 
I'm not good at photographing things behind/under glass. 

An update that the DIY coral and sea fans got this year was
to have shells glued onto their base.  They are a couple of 
years old now and the bases needed a little love. 
These are faux coral made to look like Spiny Coral. 

Moving from the dining room into the living room, a stand
that we made from framing wood and covered with a damask
fabric holds an urn with DIY starfish is on your right. 



I brought back my "Beach Boy" to be in the center of 
the living room.  He has some funky "ribbon" from 
Hobby Lobby that reminds me of fishing net over his
shoulder and at his feet.  Shells are attached to the "net". 







Behind "Beach Boy" is the sofa which has pillows with DIY 
cases featuring vintage-looking octopii. 

The fire place and bookcases take up one wall of the living room.

The beach art print also is one that has been attached to a 
foam core board and put into a frame that has seasonal 
artwork inserted in it.  You can see lots more pictures of
the mantle and bookcases in this blog post. 

Another area of this room that has already had a blog post
done on it and more photos and instructions is the white
mirrored buffet holding a re-painted lantern. 



The kitchen area of the house is also open to the living room
on the back side of the house.

A Summer vignette was made for the kitchen table. 

More photos of this vignette can be seen in this blog post. 

A door from the kitchen leads out to our carport.  
Actually, most folks coming to see us come in through the 
back door.  I had left-over summer decorating items and a
baker's rack that I just don't have room for in the house so
to make that space a little more welcoming, I put them
at the entrance to the carport. 

Left-over sand was also used to make this vignette
more summer-y and use a vase filler. 





Plastic star fish and sea horses from the toy aisle at Dollar 
Tree were painted white to use on top of bottles, etc. 



"Not quite right" foam star fish were attached to foam bases
and look like they are "dancing" on the top shelf.

More starfish are stacked in vases on the bottom shelf.

I hope you have enjoyed the Summer tour of my house!
Come on in through the back door next time since we are 
friends now.

I'm sharing this post over at
Under the Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase
Boogie Board Cottage's Masterpiece Monday
Between Naps On The Porch's Metamorphosis Monday
Mod Vintage Life's Mod Mix Monday
Dwellings' Amaze Me Monday
A Stroll Thru Life's Inspire Me Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesday

15 comments

  1. Beautiful collection of sea shells, which I love! I have some but not so much as you and you have inspired me with so many creations, you are so talented!
    Your house looks lovely and very summery!
    FABBY

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your summer home is beautiful, Gayle. All of your coastal designs and vignettes are so stunning, and inviting! You did a fabulous job in putting it all together!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Потрясающе! Какая у вас большая коллекция ракушек, так красиво все оформлено, очень сильно понравилось!

    ReplyDelete
  4. A shell extravaganza! My favorite part is the mantle with the aqua accents and the shell topped bottles on the bakers rack~what a great tip to paint plastic to look better! It is so amazing that you carried your theme everywhere in your home, looks like a model home!
    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your home and all of your summer decor. You have definitely done some great DIY projects. Great tutorials too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love your summer touches, especially the fireplace mantel and the plants on the hearth!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, everything looks beautiful! Love your shells and summery vignettes and your hutch is gorgeous!
    Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY...
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow, you went all out.......it looks
    great, love all those pretty shells
    and all your diy projects, that was really clever using the plastic starfish and painting them white.
    They look great on those lil bottles. All very pretty, thanks
    for sharing your Coastal summer
    home.......
    Blessings, Nellie

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am such a fan of coastal design so of course I love your beautiful home. Your DIY coral and sea fans are still one of the most creative projects I have seen.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow! Your home looks fabulous. It's really giving me that summer vibe with all those shells and sailing themed accents. You really brought the beach in your home. I love it! Thank you so much for sharing those wonderful design inspirations. All the best!

    Naomi Walters @ Chicora

    ReplyDelete
  11. Loved the tour!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

    Thanks too your your visit and sweet words!!

    Hugs,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Loved the tour...your home looks beautiful dressed for summer!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. We just returned from the beach, and I just loved your tour -- so many pretty beachy accents to enjoy! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. A beautiful collection of seashells and magnificent marine hues! Your home is bright and welcoming.

    Have a lovely week!

    Poppy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just love the beautiful summer decor of the soothing theme of the sea..love all of the vignettes from the table to the pretty painted cabinet...and the statue is so cute!...

    ReplyDelete

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to comment on my blog!

© Miss Kopy Kat. Design by FCD.