French Meets Beach Coastal Decor....

As some of you may know I said I am trying a new decor scheme at home and I'm slowly making a start. I have been debating whether to start now or wait until we move but being as I hate being in limbo I decided to make a small start now. Why French/Beach/Coastal cross you're asking??...Well for some time now I've been wondering what I would really like my decorating style to be and after much thought it was pretty obvious....I have loved Paris ever since I learnt from my grandfather we had French blood in our family (he was French/American Red Indian) and I took French in high school. France has long been a dream destination for me to go to and one day I hope to get there. Beach/Coastal....I can't believe (for me at least) it took me so long to think to use this scheme in my home. I have always loved the beach and the sound of the ocean for as long as I can remember, my family were always at the beach swimming, snorkeling, collecting shells and starfishes, (when you could find them on the beach....I haven't seen a starfish on the beach in over 20yrs...so sad) building sandcastles and generally enjoying the sunshine and the water. I learned to swim at the beach before I ever set foot in a swimming pool and to this day I much prefer to swim at the beach and love the feeling of the sand between my toes. So for this reason I thought I would combine my two greatest loves, everything French and anything coastal. So far there have only been a couple of decorative changes to home but there will be more coming. If anyone has any advice on how to combine the two I'd lover to hear from you as I know there are so many great decor girls out there. Here's hoping all my interior design study has paid off.

These shells were my Grandfather's he collected off the beach. They would have to be at least fifty years old now, my Grandmother passed them on to me a few years ago now and I do cherish them. I remember always picking them up and listening to them as a child whenever I would visit my grandparents house. So it's only fitting they're used in my decor makeover. The love sign and starfish were found at Thingz Living a couple of weeks ago.

The top of my bedside table. The Paris print I bought off ebay about three years ago and I finally found a lovely frame to put it in (again from Thingz Living) just last week.

I love this bedside table. My Grandfather made it many years ago and it has done the rounds in the family. Now I'm just debating between staining it or giving it a coat of lovely white paint. Any suggestions?? I didn't want to overload the Beach/Coastal feel with this Paris print that's why I've only used the Starfish with this display.

So there we have it a start on French/Beach/Coastal decor. I'm looking forward to doing more and jazzing up Chris' bedside table a bit too, though the look on his face was 'huh' when I told him my plans. So I have to make sure it's jazzed up in a manly way....that should be interesting. Any way I'm off to get Mrs Grumpy Pants (Bec) some afternoon tea. So all suggestions are welcome and I look forward to hearing from you all...have a great afternoon.